Olimpia Tesol

 2/16/2021 Difference in Manners Manners are the way people conduct in various situations. Each society's customs have their own way to behave according to traditions and cultural heritage. People with good manners are considered as cultured and polite. I believe there are good manners that are universal. For instance, not speaking rudely, not talking behind someone’s back, using phrases such as “please” and “thank you”, respecting the elders, etc. Nevertheless, manners in one culture could be bad manners in another. For instance, the concept of burping in China and Taiwan is a sign that the meal was good, and the chef will take it as a compliment. Tipping in some parts of Asia is not a custom, on the contrary, it is an insult. It is a sign of begging. Chewing gum in many countries like Asia and South America is considered good for dental hygiene. However, in countries like Luxemburg, Switzerland, and France, is believed to be vulgar. There are many more examples of different manne...

In different cultures, some people are more expressive than others. There are many different subcultures in the United States. In the Northeastern part of the country, people are more expressive. In contrast, in states from the west, such as Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah, people are less expressive. Teachers in classrooms come across African American students who, by nature, are very expressive. Sometimes white teachers might feel these students are bad or rude because of the way they say things or the way they do things. They are not being necessarily bad or rude, they are just being themselves. It is part of their culture. Also, students from Asia will be less expressive in comparison to white students. It is also worth mentioning that Hispanic students will be more expressive. Teachers need to realize that these variances are due to the student’s cultural rules. There have been studies done where Asian students came to universities in the United States and had shared what they experience...

 Each country has its attributional tendencies. Attributional tendencies refer to assume why people do what they do. People's behavior can be attributed to internal or external factors. When people attribute success or failure to themselves is referring to internal attribution. On the other hand, external attribution is about blaming others for failing or taking credit from others for success. For instance, in Hong Kong and India, personal success and personal failure is an internal cause. In contrast, in Japan, personal success and failure are attributed to external sources. And in the USA individual success is internal, but personal failure is external. When I think about myself, I tend to attribute my successes to my efforts and God's help. This thinking process makes me feel good and confident. However, when I fail at something, I often blame myself for it. This is probably the way I was brought up at home. Although, I know that as I get older, I like to find comfort in thi...

 Each 02/13/2021; Week 06; Response to “Personal Space Differences”. Each culture indeed has specific boundaries when it comes to personal space. However, how would someone figure out individuals' protective bubble since we all come from different backgrounds? In the early 1960s, the American anthropologist Edward Hall presented studies of human relationships with each other. He describes the interpersonal distance between people in four zones. The intimate zone, the personal zone, the social space, and the public zone. Each zone has a distinct territory measurement. For instance, Westernized culture tends to have space zones larger than Southern European countries or Latin American countries. When I came to the USA to study English, one of the teachers talked to us about cultural differences we might encounter while living in the country. Out of all the points he mentioned, one of them stuck out to me. It was the one about personal space. He explained how people in the States do n...

It has been an eye-opening experience to read in more detail about the culture and linguistic diversity. There are two types of society in culture, the individualistic and the collectivistic culture. Both follow different patterns of values and behaviors that are passed on from one generation to the next.  Individualistic people's views are oriented around themselves. They focus on independence, individual rights, self-reliance, true to own values, shame to individual failure, look for help if needed, and obtain individual progress. On the other hand, collectivistic individuals are more oriented to do things as a group. The needs of the group come before the needs or desires of each individual. These people are interdependent, they rely on the group, they hold fast to traditional practices and values, they take care of their own, they feel shame when they fail the group, and hierarchical decision-making is greatly considered. We need to realize that the characteristics of both indi...

 Emotional expressiveness is a way we demonstrate feelings of sadness, happiness, anger, surprise, and fear. To display emotions we use face gestures, body movements, and verbal expressions. For instance, crying, writing a love letter, smiling, laughing, or using a loud tone of voice, are examples of emotional expressiveness.  One of the factors that affect emotional expressivity is culture. Therefore, cultural differences influence the way we interpret expressions of emotion. For example, most people in Asia, Scandinavia, or Britain do not show a lot of public emotion; it is part of their culture. On the other hand, people in Latin America (Hispanic), Middle East, Southern Europe are, in general, very emotional in public. Imagine a scale on a horizontal line where one side represents low tolerant expressivity (do not show a lot of emotions publicly) and on the other side represents high tolerant expressivity (show a lot of emotions openly). Where do you think we can...