MISUNDERSTANDING

BY:
AFRIWANI SUSANTI
MEGA FITHRIA
SHERLY OKTAVIANI RUSDY
 Definition

Misunderstanding is a failure to
understand correctly the words or
behavior of

Misunderstanding in communication is
a failure to understand correctly the
words or behavior of what people say
This chapter discussed how noise
causes misunderstandings. This
noise could be language (wrong
grammar, vocabulary, intonation),
paralanguage (space, touch,
gestures), cultural differences, and
physical or visual noise
 Learning Cycle

1. Participate

4. Respond 2. Describe

3. Analyze
There are four steps to analyzing
and learning from a
misunderstanding
Step 1 Participate
In example, you are sitting on a
bench having a conversation,
or you could be watching a
movie, or reading a book or
newspaper or an email, or
having a phone call with an
English speaker
Step 2 Describe
In example, you then write down
everything that happened. You
should try to write down who,
where, when as well as that
was said and how and why.
Include how you felt. Write
down the questions you
have
Step 3 Analyze
In example, you do some more
thinking and by using books
and internet, research why the
response to the message was
different from what you
expected it to be. You could
ask your classmates, your
lecturer, and English-speaker
etc.
 EXERCISES

11. Smoking

You light up a cigarette in the bus. The foreigners

in the bus look very surprised and start opening
the windows. You feel embarrassed.

First analyze their culture

Why are they surprise?

Maybe in their culture smoking is forbidden in
public places
Maybe in their culture no one smokes in the bus
Maybe in their culture smoking in public place is
impolite
Now analyze your culture

Why do you feel embarrassed?

Maybe because the foreigners look at me
more than twice
Maybe because I realized that they think it
is inappropriate
Maybe because they talk about me
 EXERCISES

12. Can you think of an example?

You are going to London on students exchange for

2 months. In a class, when the teacher asks
something, everyone raises their hand including
you. But you start to yell out the answer. Everyone
looks at you surprised.

First analyze their culture.

Why do they surprise?

Maybe in their culture you are not allowed to
speak unless the teacher lets you to
Maybe it is inappropriate; yelling in the class
Maybe they think it is impolite
 EXERCISES

13. Can you think of an example?

When you are doing assignment in the class, you
have a problem. You want to ask your friend.
When you call her, she does not answer you.

First analyze their culture.

Why she does not answer?
Maybe she does not want to help you
Maybe she is listening to the music with her
earphone
Maybe she wants to finish her assignment first and
after that she will help you