Week Two Paper
Jesus Cabral
Brandman University
Face defined according to Rosenberg, S., is a multi-faceted term, and its meaning is inextricably linked with culture and other terms such as honor and its opposite, humiliation. Saving face or giving face has different levels of importance, depending on the culture or society with which one is dealing. Perhaps the most familiar term to many is "saving face," which we understand simply to mean not being disrespectful to others in public, or taking preventive actions so that we will not appear to lose face in the eyes of others (2014, p.3).
In the case study “Adventure English: Experiences with Face-Saving” Cardon, P. W., & Scott, J. C. (n.d) Jackie Wong established a cordial polite and respectful relationship with Cory Wright. This is important since saving Face in Chinese Culture is very important. In other words, reputation, social prestige all while avoiding
Her requests for a daily lunch that the kids liked and a Chinese lunch for the final week so they could have a meal they like were reasonable requests. Jackie felt that the group’s requests were not being honored by the fact that the trip to the water activity park did not take place and no one was notified prior to the change, that some students felt that teachers were not very respectful and allowed the children to play for long periods of time rather than schooling them did not allow Jackie to save face since she discovered the issue after the fact and she had selected this school so her decision making skills were going to be questioned and well as her direct bosses face affected by a poor outcome. After Robin’s business oriented solutions Jackie must have felt like a “number” and without authority and very frustrated but could not display
For example, in this article Tan recounts several times in which she was challenged by both professors and students about her portrayal of Chinese culture and Chinese men. However, she seems to have garnered the most criticism from other authors. On this topic, Tan
The central issue with the general education classroom teachers and Ms. Isabelle is that they were so willing to push Juanita onto Ms. Isabelle and not put any real effort or make changes themselves. That dealing with Juanita was a hassle that they were overall not willing to put up with, and that Juanita be put in special education even though she did not fit statistically wise.
Her principal was described as "maniacal" (Wong 1). Wong identified speaking Chinese as an "embarrassment" (Wong 2). The words she chose
Under Sue’s theme of “Pathologizing cultural values/communication styles” (76), a form of microaggression develops. Asians are typically taught to listen rather than speak. The school system typically emphasizes participation to speak in class which may be more intimidating for Asians due to their background and important of silence. Participants of Sue’s study “felt forced to conform to Western norms and values (‘talking more’) when such behaviour violated their cultural upbringing” (77). In other words, Asians participants felt uncomfortable trying to fit the White standard of talking and participating in
Chang-Rae Lee’s Native Speaker expresses prominent themes of language and racial identity. Chang-Rae Lee focuses on the struggles that Asian Americans have to face and endure in American society. He illustrates and shows readers throughout the novel of what it really means to be native of America; that true nativity of a person does not simply entail the fact that they are from a certain place, but rather, the fluency of a language verifies one’s defense of where they are native. What is meant by possessing nativity of America would be one’s citizenship and legality of the country. Native Speaker suggests that if one looks different or has the slightest indication that one should have an accent, they will be viewed not as a native of America, but instead as an alien, outsider, and the like. Therefore, Asian Americans and other immigrants feel the need to mask their true identity and imitate the native language as an attempt to fit into the mold that makes up what people would define how a native of America is like. Throughout the novel, Henry Park attempts to mask his Korean accent in hopes to blend in as an American native. Chang-Rae Lee suggests that a person who appears to have an accent is automatically marked as someone who is not native to America. Language directly reveals where a person is native of and people can immediately identify one as an alien, immigrant, or simply, one who is not American. Asian Americans as well as other immigrants feel the need to try and hide their cultural identity in order to be deemed as a native of America in the eyes of others. Since one’s language gives away the place where one is native to, immigrants feel the need to attempt to mask their accents in hopes that they sound fluent ...
By juxtaposing both the English and Mandarin language, Wong is effectively showcasing and questioning the institutional dominance the English language may possesses over both worldwide linguistics as well as individual’s freedom of expression; Stating we may need to break free from the constraining borders English may pose on an individual, and instead write or speak in any way we wish in hopes of effectively getting our point across. The narrator wants herself and others to break free from the strict dominant borders, empowering others to live a life filled with full freedom of expression regardless of one’s style of writing or minority
The problem was that Mrs.Billups only assumed what the kids liked and didn’t like. She didn’t really try to understand them. And Melody just couldn’t take it anymore so she caused a racket. (Page 54 Then Maria, who is always inna good mood, started throwing crayons. Willy began to babble. And I bellowed…) Thankfully, her mom stepped in and tried to make Mrs.Billups understand. (Page 58 …”Well I think that’s what happened to Melody. She said herself, ‘If I have to go over those letters one more time, I’ll just scream.’ So she did…) This didn’t exactly (From Mrs.Billups point of view) solve the problem, but it ended peacefully because Mrs.Billups still didn’t fully understand and she eventually quit her job. Leaving Melody and her classmates very
Case 5.3: Getting the Message (Northouse, 2013) demonstrates an example of situational management. In summary, Ann Calbera is a program manager of a college campus radio station (WCBA). The radio station has a strong pipeline of student workers who value the media experience from working at the station. As a program manager, Ann is well respected, takes great pride in developing relationships with the student workers and allows them to be creative which the students respond positively to leadership style. However, the student workers have a lack of understanding on how their behavior negatively impacts the station and violates FCC rules by which the station is governed by. Even though Ann provides the students with a detailed policy and procedures handout, FCC violations still occur on a regular basis which result in illegal practices and consequences.
The first and second year after moving from China to the United States, I was afraid to talk to strangers because my English was not very well. I had to depend on my husband for dealing with my personal business, such as making a doctor’s appointment, calling to the bank, or questioning to DMV officers. Douglass says, “being a slave for life began to bear heavily upon my heart” (62). For myself, being a dependent and helpless adult is a shame. Moreover, I lacked of extra money to go to school to improve my English. Thus, I stayed home all the time to avoid embarrassment of talking to strangers. After a while, I realized that improving English speaking skills are the essential to gain my self-confidence. So, I spent time to read various articles on the internet and watched English dialogues’ videos on YouTube. As a non-English speaking immigrant living in the U.S., I inevitably encountered a series of difficulties to integrate myself into a new
The Essay written by Amy Tan titled 'Mother Tongue' concludes with her saying, 'I knew I had succeeded where I counted when my mother finished my book and gave her understandable verdict' (39). The essay focuses on the prejudices of Amy and her mother. All her life, Amy's mother has been looked down upon due to the fact that she did not speak proper English. Amy defends her mother's 'Broken' English by the fact that she is Chinese and that the 'Simple' English spoken in her family 'Has become a language of intimacy, a different sort of English that relates to family talk' (36). Little did she know that she was actually speaking more than one type of English. Amy Tan was successful in providing resourceful information in every aspect. This gave the reader a full understanding of the disadvantages Amy and her mother had with reading and writing. The Essay 'Mother Tongue' truly represents Amy Tan's love and passion for her mother as well as her writing. Finally getting the respect of her critics and lucratively connecting with the reaction her mother had to her book, 'So easy to read' (39). Was writing a book the best way to bond with your own mother? Is it a struggle to always have the urge to fit in? Was it healthy for her to take care of family situations all her life because her mother is unable to speak clear English?
Another difficulty cultures deal with is language and the way people speak. In some cases, people struggle to belong by making changes in the way they speak the English language just to be assimilated. They attempt to use words and letters, as well as body language that fit in the norm; all in an attempt to denounce their original intonation and style of pronunciation. One ...
From analyzing the data, the English teacher’s utterances which are classified as using positive politeness strategy are presented as the followings.
Tan was born to a pair of Chinese immigrants. Her mother understood English extremely well, but the English she spoke was “broken.”(36) Many people not familiar with her way of speaking found it very difficult to understand her. As a result of this, Tan would have to pretend to be her mother, and she called people up to yell at them while her mother stood behind her and prompted her. This caused Tan to be ashamed of her mother throughout her youth, but as she grew, she realized that the language she shares with her mother is a “language of intimacy” (36) that she even uses when speaking with her husband.
‘Mother Tongue’ a story by Amy Tan tries to take us through the different events one should change the manner in which he or she uses language with the listeners. As the speaker, one should use the appropriate language for the right audience so as to avoid circumstances in which language barrier can occur. The language which Tan uses with her mother is quite different from the one she uses with her listeners when engaging in public or official talks. It is quite evident that when Tan was confronting the stock broker who wanted to con her mother she changes her diction which matched a sophisticated language from the one her mother used. Language becomes hectic when one is trying to fit in a language he or she can hardly talk (Diyanni 633-639).
People live in the world of communication. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Current English (Moore, 1997), communication is defined as, “The activity or process of expressing ideas and feelings or of giving people information”. The significance of communication can be found within the context of a human existing as a social being. As a human being manages his or her life in the course of the interaction between other members of the entire society, communication is inevitable. Communication occurs through the medium of a language and it is presented in two different forms which are written and spoken (Brown & Yule, 1983: 1-10). The importance of spoken performance of a language is becoming more prominent over the written performance capability. It is because the ability to speak a language reflects a person’s personality, self image, knowledge of the world, ability to reason, skill to express thoughts in real-time (Luoma, 2004: ix). These days, due to the global trend of internationalisation, the ability to communicate in English is needed as an essential skill. Whenever the international exchange happens, the use of spoken English entails. However, it is not always an easy task for people who use English as a second language to be able to speak to the level of a native speaker. They have to perfectly understand the sound system of English, have almost instant access to proper vocabulary and be able to place words together intelligibly without hesitation. Moreover, they also have to perceive what is being said to them and need to be able to respond appropriately to acquire amiable relations or to accomplish their communicative goals (Luoma, 2004: ix). Therefore, non-native English speakers encounter these barriers and they are subject to make mistakes often. In relation to this matter, this essay argues that there are socio-cultural factors as well as linguistic factors that affect non-native speakers’ communication in English. It provides analysis of several different situations when the use of spoken English has generated miscommunication problems in regards to author’s personal experience.