Part of a series on Teaching Undergraduate Students to be Effective Conversation Partners Created by: Angela Gouger, M.Ed. Target Audience: Undergraduate students volunteering as Conversation Partners

1. International Students and Conversation Being an Effective Conversation Partner Angela Gouger Regent University

7. Structure of the TOEFL Exam (ETS, 2009)

8. Initial Adjustments

9. First Hand Experience "I had a lot of trouble at first getting adapted to living in the USA. What frustrated me most was that I did not know how even the simplest things worked! For example, I had never used an American-style washing machine before and ended up ruining some of my best clothing. It took me a long time also to get used to the American bank system, since I had never used automated teller machines or personal checks….” — Diana, Bulgaria (U.S. Department of State)

11. Culture Shock

12. Stages of Culture Shock

17. Culture …. Kultur Cultura 文化 Культура الاستنبات संस्कृति kültür (Translations from: http://www.babylon.com/)

19. The Culture Iceberg Concept (Peace Corps, n.d., p.10) paintings facial expressions religious beliefs religious rituals importance of time values literature child raising beliefs concept of leadership gestures holiday customs concept of fairness nature of friendship notions of modesty foods eating habits understanding of the natural world concept of self work ethic concept of beauty music styles of dress general world view concept of personal space rules of social etiquette

21. Culturally Constructed Educational Concepts

36. Questions? Contact information: Angela Gouger [email_address] If you have questions after today, please contact me, and I will do my best to help!

38. References Cont. Fritz, M.V., Chin, D., & DeMarinis, V. (2008). Stressors, anxiety, acculturation and adjustment among international and North American students. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 32 , 244-259. Godly, A.J., Carpenter, B.D., & Werner, C.A. (2007). “I’ll speak in proper slang”: Language ideologies in a daily editing activity. Reading Research Quarterly, 42 (1), 100-131. doi:10.1598/RRQ.42.1.4 Graham, S. (2006). Listening comprehension: The learners’ perspective. System, 34 , 165-182. Hellermann, J. & Vergun, A. (2007). Language which is not taught: The discourse marker use of beginning adult learners of English. Journal of Pragmatics, 39, 157-79. Hermann, F.W. (2004). On wine, cheese, and the superlative role of time in the acquisition of English as a second language. Teaching English in the Two Year College, 31(3) , 240-247. Huang, J. (2006). The effects of academic skills on Chinese ESL students’ lecture comprehension. College Student Journal, 40 (2), 385-392. Hullett, C.R. & Witte, K. (2001). Predicting intercultural adaptation and isolation: Using the extended parallel process model to test anxiety/uncertainty management theory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 25 , 125-139. Institute of International Education. (2008). Open doors 2007/2008: Fast facts. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/ Keshishian, F. (2000). Acculturation, communication, and the U.S. mass media: The experience of an Iranian immigrant. The Howard Journal of Communications, 11, 93-106. Lin, L. (2006). Cultural dimensions of authenticity in teaching. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 111 , 63-72. doi: 10.1002/ace.228 Mason, K. (2006). Cooperative learning and second language acquisition in first-year composition: Opportunities for authentic communication among English language learners. Teaching English in the Two Year College, 34 (1), 52-58. Mortenson, S.T. (2006). Cultural differences and similarities in seeking social support as a response to academic failure: A comparison of American and Chinese college students. Communication Education, 55 (2), 127-146. doi: 10.1080/03634520600565811 Oberg, K. (1960). Culture shock: adjustment to new cultural environments. Practical Anthropology, 7 , 177-182. Peace Corps. (n.d.). Culture matters: The Peace Corps cross-cultural workbook. Retrieved January 8, 2009, from http://peacecorps.gov/wws/publications/culture/pdf/workbook.pdf 38