FACULTY OF APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCE

SEMESTER JANUARY 2013

HBET3403 LISTENING AND SPEAKING IN AN ESL

MATRICULATION NO. IDENTITY CARD NO. TELEPHONE NO. E-MAIL LEARNING CENTRE

: 660613055252001 : 660613-05-5252 : 013-6533138 : salendar@ymail.com : MELAKA LEARNING CENTRE

66061305252001 660613-05-5252 HBET 3403 TABLE OF CONTENT

1.0 2.0 2.1

INTRODUCTION HOW CULTURE INFLUENCE OUR COMMUNICATION THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURE AND

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LISTENING 2.2 3.0 CULTURE INFLUENCING SPEAKING MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL ESL 6 8

CONTEXT IN MALAYSIA AND THEORIES/STUDIES ON LISTENING AND SPEAKING IN CROSS-CULTURAL SETTINGS 4.0 4.1 THE TRANSCRIPT OR THE CONVERSATION THE TRANSCRIPT OF A CONVERSATION IN A MONOCULTURAL SETTING 4.2 THE TRANSCRIPT OF A CONVERSATION IN A MULTICULTURAL SETTING 12 10 10

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THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WAY THE INTERLOCUTORS COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER IN TWO

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DIFFERENT CULTURE SETTING 6.0 LISTENING AND SPEAKING IN CROSS-CULTURAL SETTINGS 7.0 8.0 REFERENCES JOURNAL ARTICLE CITED IN THIS ASSIGNMENT 17 19 15

66061305252001 660613-05-5252 HBET 3403 1.0 INTRODUCTION The excerpt gives reader a clear idea that culture influences our perceptions, beliefs and attitudes. In the early years second language learning took place in order for learners to gain access to the great literary masterpieces of civilization (Allen, 1985). Learners were exposed to cultural experiences associated with the target language. In the sixties, another educational purpose for second language learning emerged - cross-cultural communication and understanding (Nostrand in Lessard-Clouston, 1997). Culture then became essential not only for the study of literature but more importantly to encourage communicative competence. The relationship between language, society and culture is further explained through the domain of sociolinguistics which examines language use within different social contexts. In relation to this language use includes the social functions of language and the forms these functions take in the evocation of social meaning as peoples lives, opinions and beliefs are strongly influenced by the society they live in. Although sociolinguists have a common concern in examining the relationship between language, society and culture, there exist various interpretations of the meanings of these terms. However, they do agree on the principle that there exists an inextricable bond between language and culture. Stern (1983) posits the cultural aspect of second language and foreign language teaching in his three-level framework. The foundational level incorporates linguistics, educational, anthropology, sociology and sociolinguistics theories. Ethnographic or cultural description of the target language is the essence of the inter-level or level two while the sociocultural component of the target language is the foundation for level three. In Sterns conceptual framework language, culture and communication is synonym with society. Therefore like many other conceptual frameworks it also emphasizes the inclusion of culture in ESL education.

66061305252001 660613-05-5252 HBET 3403 2.0 HOW CULTURE INFLUENCE OUR COMMUNICATION 2.1 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURE AND LISTENING Hearing is a physical ability while listening is a skill. A good listener listens to not only what is being said but also what is left unsaid or only partially said. Listening involves observing body language and noticing inconsistencies between verbal and non-verbal message. There are three basic steps in listening process. The first is hearing. Hearing means listening to just enough to catch the fact of what the speaker is saying. Second is understanding, which means interpreting what we heard and understand it in our own way. And the third is judging which means thinking about what we have understood, whether it is true or not. Listening requires us to concentrate and use other sense in addition to simply hearing the words spoken. Research shows that culture affects the way people interpret, understand and judge the information they hear. The term culture is often understood as nationality. In fact, nationality refers to the nation in which one was born, now resides, or has lived or even studied in a nation for long enough to become familiar with the customs of the area. Nationality identifiers are Malaysian, Japanese, Mexican, and Canadian. Culture goes beyond that. Culture consists of those individuals who have a shared system of interpretation (Thomas, 1998). Some of the culture identifiers include American Indian/Native American, African American/Black, male/female. Cultural differences in listening may be seen by examining the Western logical format of developing arguments. The typical pattern is to analyse the situation, state the problem such as the undesirable condition of things, propose a solution which is the desirable or acceptable condition and evaluation which is a check to see that the solution is proper and would give the best results. Though it is difficult to generalize about all members of any particular nation or culture, research in listening allows for the identification of some tendencies among peoples of common groups

66061305252001 660613-05-5252 HBET 3403 Cultural influence in listening involves interpreting the words of a speaker differently. Cultural noise, a strong factor in communication, is the set of preconceived, group attitudes that individuals from differing nationalities, ethnicities, and genders have developed. These attitudes often prevent a receiver from dealing objectively with a message. A prime example of cultural noise is the attitude that any action by a representative of one's own group is always right, whereas the same action by a member of another group is wrong. Thus an individual who has always voted for one political party may well ignore the negative aspects of that party while easily accepting the negative aspects of an opposing party. Another example is an Israeli who is not able to listen objectively to a message about Arabic home rule. Cultural noise can also arise from the topic chosen for a speech. Certain controversial subjects might cause members of the audience to become negative listeners.

66061305252001 660613-05-5252 HBET 3403 2.2 CULTURE INFLUENCING SPEAKING Cultures do influence speaking just the way they influence listening. For instances, Germans tend to communicate even more directly than people of the US, expecting that "frankness, honesty, and directness will govern the communication. German orderliness is a matter of not wasting time, getting directly to the point, omitting pleasantries (Alred, 1997). Czech writers and speakers closely follow the German patterns (Connor, 1996). The Chinese concept of self makes it difficult for Chinese speakers and writers to be direct, to express a point of view, which is a typical American pattern. The Confucian concept of self, on which the Chinese self is based, presents individualism as problematic. Arguments are often delayed, include narration, and use statements that seem unconnected to the ears of the Western listener. Chinese public communications rely greatly on appeals to history, tradition, and authority, and frequently refer to historical and religious texts, as well as proverbs. While cultural norms in Japan do not value talkativeness and the Japanese tend not to be outspoken (McDowell & Yotsuyanagi, 1996, pp. 12). Japanese speakers tend to be less forceful and dynamic than US speakers are because they do not wish to draw attention to themselves (p.13). Among the American Indians, the Navajos have a great tradition of rhetoric. Navajo speech is based on "thinking publicly" (Philpsen, 1972). "Rhetoric, for the Navajo, is functional as a means to restore and maintain order, balance, and harmony." (p. 139) The Navajo uses public discussion as a means to maintain or restore harmony, because speech is based on the assumption that all people are rational beings capable of persuasion. Therefore, all of the information needed for decision making is presented. This is in contrast to the north American tradition of only exposing that information which can be used to sway the listener to reach the solution proposed by the speaker, which denies the listener any chance of selecting one of the other possible conclusions.

66061305252001 660613-05-5252 HBET 3403 For instance in early Black life in America, people sat around the campfire and listened to tales, just as in Africa they sat and listened to the griot (storyteller) spin tales of the creation or recreate stories of tribal conquests, birth and deaths. In later years, AfroAmericans moved from the campfire to inside the church to see and hear the minister interpret biblical passages with old proverbs, stories and song. Black rhetoric includes a highly significant tradition of storytelling and a highly charged ritual of the call-response pattern of the Black religious and secular gatherings. The minister often uses a drum beat rhythm; changes in pitch; adds popping, clicking, clapping sounds to dramatize the events in the story. Services are accompanied by song and dance and are often enlivened by sound effects. The members of the audience respond like a chorus. They interpose comments at convenient intervals, add their own sound effects, and sing the songs of the tale along with the minister (Cummings, 1983, pp. 6-7). These facts is in stark contrast to the traditional European American speech in which the audience sits silently, maybe laughing or clapping when they are humoured or are in agreement; but, generally, are "polite" and give passive attention to the speaker.

66061305252001 660613-05-5252 HBET 3403 3.0 MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL ESL CONTEXT IN MALAYSIA AND THEORIES/STUDIES ON LISTENING AND SPEAKING IN CROSSCULTURAL SETTINGS Malaysia is a country with diverse culture and language. Students here come from different cultural background and this cultural noise is one factor that influences their understanding in English as a second language. Some of the cultures in Malaysia are Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indians, Baba and Nyonyas, Chetties, Native Malaysians, Kadazandusuns, Bajaus, Bidayuhs and Dayaks. Wong (1981) classifies Malaysian English speakers according to its hierarchical ranking. At the top of the scale, there are speakers who use English as a primary language and have near-native proficiency, while down the scale, there are those who are not proficient in English and their use of the language is restricted to basic communicative purposes. The closeness of the relationship between language and culture gives rise to the perception of language as a kind of acculturation (Ellis, 1985; Puente, 1997; Gieve, 1999) where language learners assimilate new culture, new codes of expression, new values, and new norms of conduct as well as a different world view. (Puente, 1997). Fantini (1997) asserts that language reflects and affects culture forming a dynamic relation or intrinsic link. This link is manifested in what Fantini terms linguaculture where language is inextricably linked with culture and in turn is taught in tandem with its culture. In relation to this, Malaysian English Language learners need to learn about the target language culture together with Malaysian culture in order to communicate effectively, to achieve communicative competence. Communicative

competence is not possible to achieve without cultural understanding as it is the core of language acquisition. This is demonstrated in the fact that when a learner decides to learn a language, such as German, the learner is not only learning the linguistics of German but everything else German and Germany. A learner then avoids all the pitfalls of cultural misunderstanding or ignorance which leads to the breakdown of communication. In addition to communication, learners who are said to have acquired a language are those who are able to align themselves with the culture of the target language. They can also think in the target language thus enabling them to identify with the language by capturing the essence of the language. (Tang, 1999).

66061305252001 660613-05-5252 HBET 3403 Accordingly, intercultural understanding should then be emphasized in ESL education in Malaysia. Intercultural understanding means dual culture understanding where learners are exposed to the target language culture. This exposure is to minimize what Schulman (in Ellis,1985) termed as social and psychological distance in his Nativization model where he posited that language learning may be hindered by social and psychological distance. Social distance refers to the equality of the social status of each culture while psychological distance is realized in language and culture shock, motivation and ego boundaries of individual learners. It is also essential to bridge this gap as it could pose difficulties in communication, especially when the second language learners come into direct contact with target language culture. This gap can be seen in the example of the be verb. The be verb is not found in Malay therefore Malay ESL learners have a tendency to produce linguistically erroneous sentences such as she sad or they rich omitting the be verbs. The difference in the conceptual systems of English with Malay, Chinese and Tamil languages are very much apparent in the tense system. The Malay, Chinese and Tamil languages do not have tense systems. Past events are not marked by the past tenses. On the contrary the English tense system conceptualizes how the English perceive time as a linear flow which is delineated into categories through the use of tense. In the Malay, Chinese and Tamil culture, time is rationalized through the aspectual systems where it is perceived as relative to other events in the discourse. In a nutshell, confusion could occur due to the ignorance of cultural information. Learners need to be aware of ambiguity in some functions of the target language such as in the classic example of the statement Its cold. The statement can function both as a general comment on the weather and a request for the window to be opened. If an ESL learner does not recognize the hidden meaning, communication is surely lost. In addition to this, learners need to be informed about culturally accepted attitude and behaviour in the target language. The Asian way of reacting to praise or compliments with reticence and humility might cause cultural misunderstanding in the target culture. Lack of cross-cultural awareness will lead to misunderstandings in second language speaking and listening.

66061305252001 660613-05-5252 HBET 3403 4.0 THE TRANSCRIPT OR THE CONVERSATION 4.1 THE TRANSCRIPT OF A CONVERSATION IN A MONOCULTURAL SETTING Ay Ting : Yong Wei: Ay Ting : Yong Wei: Hi Yong Wei, why are you looking so upset? Oh, Ay Ting. Well, Im bored. Its a long weekend, what shall we do? Lets go fishing. We can go to the lake near my house. Oh my gosh, its a great idea. We can even have a small picnic there. We can chit-chat as long as we want for an entire day. Im so excited. But, are you sure you wont change your mind? You always call up later and cancel the plans. Ay Ting : Im absolutely sure. Besides, I havent gone fishing in a while and this sounds like a promising trip. Furthermore, its the weekend. I have my schedule cleared for our promising trip. Yong Wei: Well, I dont know. Sometimes you can be quite fickle-minded. The last time we planned to go fishing, you called up at the last minute saying you would rather go hiking instead. Ay Ting : Not this time. I give you my word. Ill be by the lake at 8.00 am and I would stay there with you until dusk. Happy now? By the way, Im sorry I let you down last time. I wouldnt dream of doing that again. Yong Wei: Its ok. Youre my best friend and I dont keep grudges. All is forgiven. But, make sure you are not even a second late, otherwise, I would start off without you.

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66061305252001 660613-05-5252 HBET 3403 Thats not fair. I might have to do some chores for my mom at home, since I would be gone the whole day. You wont really leave me right? Yong Wei: (Hahaha) You got me. Of course I wont leave without you. I was just pulling your legs. Wait a minute.I think thats my mom calling me. She is in one of her bad moods lately and I dont want her to fly of the handle. I should leave now, my mom probably finished cooking dinner and wants my help laying out the dishes. Wont you join us for dinner? My mom will be delighted to have you. You know how much she adores you. Besides she made your favourite chicken soup today. Its really delicious and I know you want it. Ay Ting : Awww. Your mom is a hell of a cook you know. I would love to stay for dinner but I really cant. My fathers business associates are dining with us today. My father made me promise that I would be on time for dinner, looking my best and minding my Ps and Qs. Wish I could dine with your family instead, its so much more fun Yong Wei: I know and I love having you for dinner and we also can watch a movie later. I missed spending time with you as Im buried in schoolwork most of the times. Luckily, I have the fishing trip to look forward to. Buh-bye, have a nice dinner. Ay Ting : You too. Take care and bye bye.

Ay Ting :

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66061305252001 660613-05-5252 HBET 3403 4.2 THE TRANSCRIPT OF A CONVERSATION IN A MULTICULTURAL SETTING Kasthuri: Hi, Hanis. The postman just delivered your invitation. Why didnt you save money and tell me in class? Hanis : It wasnt possible, silly. It is supposed to be a surprise farewell for Ally. You know shes always with us. Kasthuri: Of course, but why are we having this party at your place? Michelles house is bigger than yours, isnt it? Hanis : Yes, but her relatives are coming down from Penang so its going to be a bit crowded over there. Anyway, my parents like Ally and it was my mother who suggested that we hold a surprise farewell for her here. Kasthuri: Really? Hanis : Yes, she was laughing when she suggested this, and she said that it would serve her right for all the pranks she has pulled on all of us! Kasthuri: Yes, I would love to see the look on her face when she realises weve got her at last! What presents are we getting her? Well, I thought no one in class would mind contributing RM10 each, so that would give us RM440. Ive budgeted about RM240 for the food and refreshments. I think we can get her a nice pewter souvenir for RM200, cant we?

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Hanis

What a great idea -itll remind Ally of her Malaysian summer. But I want to get her a novelty gift too. Remember the laugh box she got me for my birthday? It looked like a book.

Kasthuri: Yes, and when you opened it, it kept laughing non-stop! But there arent too many novelty shop in Seremban, so you might not be able to find a really funny gift. Hanis : Not to worry, Im off to Kuala Lumpur this Saturday and will be shopping at Mid Valley Megamall. I know one shop that sells the most fantastic novelties. You can bet that Ill choose one that will really astound her! Kasthuri: Cant wait to see it at the party. Im sorry, Ive to go for Maths tuition now. Bye. Hanis : Well, Ive got tuition myself too. Bye!

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66061305252001 660613-05-5252 HBET 3403 5.0 THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WAY THE INTERLOCUTORS COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER IN TWO DIFFERENT CULTURE SETTING In the multicultural setting the interlocutors seems to understand each other less perfectly. Although, Kasthuri told Hanis that Michelles relatives are visiting her, Hanis did not immediately understand the situation at Michelles house. Kasthuri had to explain that the particular house is crowded then Hanis understood that the party had to be held at Kasthuris house. The conversation between Hanis and Kasthuri also doesnt seem intimate which is probably due to the ignorance of each others boundaries and limitations. On the other hand, in the monocultural setting Yong Wei and Ay Ting seems intimate and close which is due to the fact that they understand each other perfectly. One speaks in the way that the other can relate to. For example, when Yong Wei teases Ay Ting that she would leave her if she wasnt at the lake by 8.00 am sharp, Ay Ting quickly understands that Yong Wei was just playing with her. Through the examples, we can agree that monocultural setting is a more conducive setting for a better speaking and listening skills. Therefore it is proven that in order to be more competent in mastering the speaking and listening skills, we should get to know the culture of the language we are studying. For instance, to master German language, get to know the Germans, to master English, get to know the Americans and British.

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66061305252001 660613-05-5252 HBET 3403 6.0 LISTENING AND SPEAKING IN CROSS-CULTURAL SETTINGS While researchers have provided numerous examples of individual differences in Western versus non-Western contexts (e.g., Gao & Ting-Toomey, 1998; Gudykunst, 2001; Hall, 1995; Hofstede, 1980, 1997; Kim, 1994, 2001), little is known about how the Asian interactants in this study, namely Malay Malaysians and Chinese Malaysians, symbolically use strategies in making sense of interactional processes in daily situations. Given that neither group is homogeneous (Gao & Ting-Toomey, 1998; Nagata, 1979; Reid, 2004; Shamsul, 1998a; Syed Husin, 1984; Tan, 1982, 2000a, 2004), making sense of individual sense making underscores the notion of polytonalitythat is, the involvement of a multiplicity of ethnic voices in defining a situation. At the same time, since these members share a common space (i.e., physical landscape), they have some conceptual similarities (Ellis, 1999). For example, most Chinese and Malays in Malaysia have shown appreciation for what the government is doing with respect to environmental conservation programs. Chinese Malaysians in Kelantan and Terengganu tend to assimilate into Malay culture more than their kinsmen in other parts of Malaysia (Syed Husin, 1984; C. B. Tan, 1984, 2000a, 2002; E. K. B. Tan, 2001; Teo, 2003; Winzeler, 1985). However, the Chinese still retain their identity as C. B. Tan argued (2002; see also Raybeck, 1980; Teo, 2003).This might not be surprising as the term assimilation has many meanings (e.g., Jacoby, 2004). As observed by Smith (1964), Malays and Chinese differ greatly in their attitudes and way of life. Indeed, it was more of acculturation than assimilation as evident by Raybecks (1980) study. Raybeck preferred the term accommodation to assimilation (see Raybeck, 1980, p. 263). (e.g., speak fluent Kelantanese/local Malay dialect) while they retain their Chinese traditional practices backstage (e.g., speak Hokkien/Chinese dialect, drink alcohol, eat pork) for reasons that are less apparent. In so doing, the Malay Kelantanese trusted and accepted these Chinese as our Chinese, orang Cina kita, or Chinese of here, orang Cina sini (Raybeck, 1980, p. 254), for the latters personal and direct contact with the former, as opposed to the outsider Chinese or Malays. Raybeck argued that the small size of the Chinese population and their dependence on the Malays goodwill for economic success account for the front stage and back stage acts (Goffman, 1959) which, in turn, contributes to good interethnic relations at the village level. Whereas in Kuala Lumpur (as it is predominantly Chinese), Tan (2004) asserted that the Chinese do not have

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66061305252001 660613-05-5252 HBET 3403 to concede so much sociocultural adjustment to the Malays (p. 136-137) although he cautioned that sensitivity is very much required. In this sense, assimilation or acculturation is a matter of choice. But what is more important, this scenario exemplifies a certain degree of adaptation with respect to ones economic status.

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66061305252001 660613-05-5252 HBET 3403 REFERENCES

Adaskou, K., D. Britten, and B. Fahsi. 1990. Design Decisions on the cultural content of a course for Morocco. ELT Journal 44 (1):3-10

Allen, W. 1985. Toward cultural proficiency. In A.C. Omaggio (Ed.), Proficiency, curriculum, articulation: The ties that bind (pp.137-166). Middlebury, VT: Northeast Conference.

Byram, M. 1989. Cultural Studies in foreign language education. Clevedon, Avon: Multilingual Matters.

Canale, M., and Swain, M. 1980. Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics, 1 (1), 1-47

Cortazzi, M.,& Jin, L. 1999. Cultural Mirrors, Materials and methods in the EFL classroom. In E.Hinkel (Ed.), Culture in Second Language Teaching and Learning. Cambridge University Press: USA

Ellis, R. 1985. Understanding second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Fantini, A. 1997. Language:Its Cultural and Intercultural Dimensions. In A.Fantini (Ed.). New Ways of Teaching Culture (pp.3 -15).Alexandria, VA:TESOL Publications.

Gieve, S. 1999. Learning the culture of language: Intercultural communication and second and foreign language learning. The IATEFL Newsletter. Issue 18

Kramsch, C. 1993. Context and Culture in language teaching. Oxford:Oxford University Press

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66061305252001 660613-05-5252 HBET 3403 Lessard-Clouston, M. 1997. Towards an Understanding of Culture in L2/FL Education. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol.III, No.5, May 1997. http://iteslj.org/Articles/LessardClouston-Culture.html Accessed on 3/29/2006

McKay, S.L. 2004. Western Culture and the Teaching of English as an International Language. English Teaching Forum Online Vol.42, No.2. file://F:/sandra%20mckay.htm Accessed on 3/29/2006

McLeod, B. 1980. The Relevance of Anthropology to Language Teaching: In K.Croft (ed). Readings on English as a Second Language:For teachers and Trainee Teachers.2nd edition, Boston:Kittle, Brown and Company.

Norrizan Razali, 1993. Cultural Considerations in ESL Texts; A Sociolinguistic Approach at Facilitating ESL Learning in Towards More Effective Learning and Teaching of English. Proceedings Second International Conference. Malaysian English Language Teaching Association, (eds.) .

Steele, R. 1989. Teaching language and culture: Old problems and new approaches. In J.E Alatis (Ed.), Georgetown University roundatable on language and linguistics 1989. Washington:Georgetown University Press. 153-162

Stern, H.H. 1983. Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Syahrom Abdullah, 1995. Encounter of the Cultural Kind. A paper presented at the THAI TESOL Annual Conference, January 1995.

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66061305252001 660613-05-5252 HBET 3403 8.0 JOURNAL ARTICLES CITED IN THIS ASSIGNMENT

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