跨文化交際與第二語言學習中的困惑和焦慮

1、跨文化交際與第二語言學習中的困惑和焦慮 摘要現(xiàn)代科技的迅速開展和世界經(jīng)濟的高度全球化使得跨文化交際成為當今時代的突出特征。本文那么針對跨文化交際中不可防止的困惑和焦慮問題進行研究。文章視第二語言學習為跨文化交際的一種具體形式,鑒于“困惑和“焦慮的傳播學理論尚未廣泛應用于第二語言教學的研究中這一現(xiàn)象,在 Berger“減少不確定性理論和 Gudykunst“焦慮/不確定性協(xié)調(diào)理論等傳播學理論根底上,對語言交際中的“不確定性即“困惑和“焦慮進行探索,并深入研究第二語言學習中的“困惑和“焦慮問題。本文從語言學和跨文化交際學的角度出發(fā),分析了跨文化交際和第二語言學習中關于困惑和焦慮的三個理論問題,即語

2、用推理,文化假設,困惑和焦慮程度問題。同時,本文在實證研究(問卷調(diào)查及訪談)的根底上分析了這三個問題在跨文化交流和第二語言學習中的具體表現(xiàn)。通過理論分析和實證研究,本文認為第二語言能力,對異文化和語言的期望以及群體差距是產(chǎn)生不同程度困惑和焦慮的原因,尤其是第二語言能力包括語法能力和交際語言能力嚴重影響交際者與二語學習者的語用推理能力和文化理解能力,從而成為困惑和焦慮產(chǎn)生的關鍵因素。因此,跨文化交流人員以及第二語言學習者必須不斷擴展語言文化知識,增強信號敏感度以及交流、學習的欲望,提高自己的異文化適應技能。第二語言教學人員也應該給予困惑和焦慮足夠的重視,必要時幫助學生控制和減少困惑和焦慮。 關鍵

3、詞:困惑,焦慮,跨文化交際,第二語言學習8Table of ContentsIntroduction.1 Chapter 1 Literature Review4 1.1 Culture and Communication.4 1.1.1 Relationship Between Culture and Communication.4 1.1.2 Intercultural Communication and Second Language Learning.7 1.1.3 Intercultural Problems: Uncertainty and Anxiety.7 1.2 Previo

4、us Researches.9 1.2.1 Uncertainty Reduction Theory URT of Charles Berger9 1.2.2 Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory AUM of William Gudykunst101. 3 Comments12 Chapter 2 Problems Arising from Uncertainty and Anxiety.132.1 Pragmatic Inferences13 2.1.1 Conversational Implicatures14 2.1.2 Presuppositio

5、n.172.2 Cultural Assumptions20 2.2.1 Individualism/Collectivism Dimension.21 2.2.2 Uncertainty Avoidance23 2.2.3High-and Low-Context Cultural Patterns.252.3 Degrees of Uncertainty and Anxiety28 2.3.1 Predisposition.28 2.3.2 Group Distance31 Chapter 3 Diagnoses of Uncertainty and Anxiety in Intercult

6、ural Communication and Second Language Learning.33 3.1 Research Subjects339 3.2 Instruments33 3.2.1 Questionnaire.33 3.2.2 Interview.343.3 Findings34 3.3.1 Uncertainty and Anxiety Arising fromSecond Language Competence.34 3.3.2 Uncertainty and Anxiety Arising from Expectations.41 3.3.3 Uncertainty a

7、nd Anxiety Arising from Group Distance.433.4 Limitations44 Chapter 4 Implications for Intercultural Communicationand Second Language Learning.46 4.1 Implications for Communicators and Second Language Learners.46 4.2 Implications for Second Language Teachers and Administrators.49 4.3 Suggestions for

8、Further Research.50 Bibliography52 Appendix A .56 Appendix B.59 Appendix C.6110List of FiguresFigure 1 Cultural Influence on Communication7 Figure 2 Individualism.22 Figure 3 Uncertainty Avoidance24List of TablesTable 1 Uncertainty & Avoidance Levels of Students with Different Second Language Co

9、mpetence SLC35 Table 2 Uncertainty & Anxiety Caused by Grammatical Competence & Communicative Competence.37 Table 3 Uncertainty & Anxiety Caused by Grammatical Competence38 Table 4 Uncertainty & Anxiety Caused by Pragmatic Inferences39 Table 5 Uncertainty & Anxiety Caused by Cult

10、ural Assumptions40 Table 6 Uncertainty & Anxiety Levels of Students with Positive Expectation &Negative Expectation.41 11IntroductionWith the rapid progress of global economy and the frequent contacts of people, intercultural communication has become commonplace and inevitable. Intercultural

11、 communication, more often than not, involves relatively greater degrees of uncertainty, due to the difficulty in predicting responses in an intercultural context. We experience uncertainty with regard to the stranger's attitudes, feelings and beliefs. We are also uncertain of how to explain the

12、 stranger's behavior. Uncertainty triggers anxietyMotivation to reduce the uncertainty and anxiety is more acute when they block the communication or when we expect to have further interactions with the stranger. So uncertainty and anxiety play a key role in the proceeding of cross-cultural comm

13、unication. Moreover, uncertainty and anxiety exert an important influence on second language learning and teaching. Thus, the study on uncertainty and anxiety in intercultural communication has drawn considerable attention both in communication field and second language teachingCharles Berger puts f

14、orward Uncertainty Reduction Theory URT in 1975, which centers on initial encounters of strangers. This theory is soon moved beyond the confines of initial meeting of two strangers. William Gudykunst proffers Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory AUM that focuses on encounters between cultural in-gr

15、oups and strangers, extending Bergers work into intercultural contextsIn the wake of the introduction of uncertainty reduction theory, theory validation researches aimed at testing its validity and generalizability have come into full swingMany communication scholars have devoted themselves to exami

16、ning uncertainty and anxiety in intercultural context. Among the discussion and argument, there also arise nagging doubts about this extant theory. Michael Sunnafrank at the University of Minnesota in Duluth challenges Bergers claim that uncertainty reduction is the key to understanding early encoun

17、ters. He insists that early course of a relationship is guided by its “predicted outcome value Sunnafrank, 1986: 3. Again, Stella Ting-Toomey, Gudykunsts colleague at California State University, Fullerton, questions whether the12whole uncertainty reduction approach reflects a western bias. She note

18、s that the implicit goal of uncertainty reduction is to control ones environment ?a theme that is “highly valued by Western, individualistic cultures but not necessarily by Eastern collectivistic cultures. Ting-Toomey, 1989: 379In conclusion, the study on uncertainty and anxiety in intercultural com

19、munication is but an initial attempt in communication field and its relevant theories are still under discussion. And few researchers have applied the communication theories to second language teaching. Nevertheless, the present research and theories constitute an illuminating contribution to commun

20、ication scholarship and lay a solid foundation for further explorationAll of that serves as an explanation for the authors strong interest in and curiosity about uncertainty and anxiety in intercultural communication and second language learning. Considering the complexity of these two offspring of

21、cultural variability and the intricate influence on second language learning, the author fully understands that the research conducted is far from a thorough and comprehensive study, and she has never meant it to be so. It is admitted that the research only accounts for a very tiny portion of the vi

22、sible part of a huge “iceberg. Thus, the present research is more of a question-raising exercise than of a solution-providing attempt with a thorough review of the dimensions of intercultural communication. It is hoped that this paper will help bring some good ideas worth consideration for those who

23、 are concerned with the issues of uncertainty and anxiety reduction in intercultural interaction and in language classrooms so that intercultural communicators and second language administrators, teachers and learners may conduct their tasks more effectively and smoothlyThe goals of the thesis are:

24、1 To identify uncertainty and anxiety in intercultural communication and second language learning, and analyze the underlying reasons based upon intercultural communication theories and empirical research; 2 To discuss implications of this study and work out tentative strategies to control and reduc

25、e uncertainty and anxiety in communication and language classrooms 13After the introductory chapter clarifying the reasons and need for the study, Chapter 1 is devoted to literature review of relevant culture-level concepts and ideas as well as research findings on uncertainty and anxiety in intercu

26、ltural communication, which lays a theoretical foundation for the rest of the paper. Chapter 2 analyzes three theoretical problems arising form uncertainty and anxiety, i.e., pragmatic inferences, cultural assumptions and degrees of uncertainty and anxiety. Chapter 3 identifies uncertainty and anxie

27、ty in intercultural communication and second language learning based on empirical study and intercultural communication theories. Based upon the previous research, Chapter 4 discusses the implications for intercultural communication and second language learning, proposing some tentative strategies o

28、n coping with and reducing uncertainty and anxiety in intercultural situations and language classrooms14Chapter 1 Literature ReviewThere are a host of conceptual issues involved in the discussion. It is appropriate to recognize and define them properly at the outset so as to help clarify the themes

29、the thesis is driving at. Since the thesis tries to analyze and identify uncertainty and anxiety in intercultural communication and second language learning, such terms as culture, communication, intercultural communication, uncertainty and anxiety and second language learning have to be examined an

30、d defined in proper scopeMeanwhile, the author got the inspiration to study this issue thanks to some previous researches which also helped the author construct the theoretical basesTherefore, it is necessary to expand on the most significant theories on uncertainty and anxiety, i.e., Uncertainty Re

31、duction Theory and Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory 1. 1 Culture and Communication 1. 1. 1 Relationship Between Culture and Communication Definitions of culture range from all encompassing to specific. In spite of the vast quantity of the definitions, many scholars agree that cultures can be de

32、scribed with a “capital C or high culture, such as art, literature, music, etc. and “small c the much broader sense. More often than not, it is the wider sense of “small c culture that is being discussed, studied, or examined by scholarsAccording to anthropologists, the word “culture refers to a gro

33、up-level construct that embodies a distinct system of traditions, beliefs, values, norms, rituals, symbols, and meanings that is shared by a majority of interacting individuals in a communitySimply put, culture refers to a patterned way of living by a group of interacting individuals who share simil

34、ar sets of beliefs, values and behaviors. Ting-Toomey, 1998: 401 By using the anthropological sense of the word “culture, we mean to consider any aspect of the ideas, communications, or behaviors of a group of people15which gives to them a distinctive identity and which is used to organize their int

35、ernal sense of cohesion and membershipAlmost all scholars in the intercultural communication field put forward their definitions based on anthropologists ideas. Samovar, Porter & Stefani 1998: 36 advance their definition as follows:“We define culture as the deposit of knowledge, experience, beli

36、efs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group strivingFrom this definition we can notice that t

37、hey attempt to include as many meaningsas possible, to “include everything from rites of passage to concepts of the soul IbidSecond language teachers are also inclined to follow the definition of anthropologists and interculturalists. Hu & Gao 1997: 8-9 view “culture as the entire living pattern

38、 of a specific group of people, i.e., behavioral patterns of a specific group of people and the systems of values conditioning those behaviors. To put it simply, for ESL teachers, amongst everything else “culture refers to the entire way of life of a society, the ways of a people. An implicit fundam

39、ental principle is that each society must be held together by a common language, for without it, customs, perspectives, and products could not easily be shared. Language is thus perceived today as the main medium for the expression of culture, as well as a central influence in shaping its developmen

40、t. Culture cannot therefore be fully understood apart from language, for the two are so inextricably interwoven with each other as to make each essential to the nature, and even the existence, of the other. Language is part of culture and plays a very important role in it. Learning a language, in fa

41、ct, is inseparable from learning its culture. Deng & Liu, 1989: 3 Communication, like culture, is also a concept difficult to define, because communication is complex and multidimensional. Communication, your ability to share your beliefs, values, and feelings, is the basis of all human contact.

42、 Whether you16live in a city in Canada, a village in India, a commune in Israel, or the Amazon jungles of Brazil, you participate in the same activity when communicate. Whether you negotiate with your partners in the meeting room, bargain with an assistant in the shop, or talk with your teachers and

43、 peers in the classroom, you participate in communication. The results and methods might be different, but the process is roughly the same. The more than 6 billion people that inhabit this planet engage in communication so that they can share their realities with other human beingsCommunication is d

44、efined as a two-way, on-going, behavior-affecting process in which one person a source intentionally encodes and transmits a message through a channel to an intended audience receiver in order to induce a particular attitude or behavior. Communication is complete only when the intended receiver perc

45、eives the message, attributes meaning to it decodes it, and is affected by it. Samovar, Porter & Jain, 1981: 13-14 Communication can be conducted in various situations and on diverse occasions. As the global economy becomes an everyday reality in most societies, we will inevitably encounter peop

46、le who are culturally different in diverse workplace and social environmentsCulture and communication are intrinsically linked. In many respects the relationship between culture and communication is interactive and reciprocal. On the one hand, culture makes the rule governing communication process.

47、Although cultures have many of the same social settings or contexts, they frequently abide by different rules. Consequently, concepts of dress, time, language, manners, nonverbal behavior, and control of the communication ebb and flow can differ significantly among cultures. Culture as an all encomp

48、assing form or pattern for living, helps to determine communicative behavior. On the other hand, communication helps shape, define, and perpetuate culture. Individual cultures are always involved in the communication process. New or alien cultures may be transmitted, understood and acquired through

49、communication. Therefore, it is not difficult for us to infer that our culture influences our communication and our communication influences our cultureHowever, as Gudykunst & Kim 1997 point out, this influence is mostly beyond our17awareness. To communicate effectively with people from other cu

50、ltures, we must be aware of cultures influence on our communication See Figure 1 belowCultureSocializationIndividual characteristicsCommunication behaviorFigure 1 Cultural Influence on Communication Source: Gudykunst, W. B. & Kim, Y. Y. 1997 Communication with Strangers: An Approach to Intercult

51、ural Communication, New York: McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, 181. 1. 2 Intercultural Communication and Second Language Learning Intercultural communication is the process of understanding and sharing meaning among individuals from various cultures. Pearson & Nelson, 1997: 126 Although some scholars make fine dis