I liked the short part in the book where Crystal talked about the differences between a monologue and dialogue, mainly because I have my own movie review site. He talked about how many people who write blogs are evidently writing monologues but the act of putting it online shows that the writer is intending to make it public - and this results in an opportunity for someone to respond. So is my website a monologue? Or is is a dialogue because people can comment on my reviews? Crystal suggests that it is a "monologue masquerading as a dialogue." I know that by writing my reviews and I am expressing my thoughts to everyone else. I think that the overriding idea behind blogging is (a) anonymity, (b) the fear of speaking in public, and/or (c) spreading your ideas to a mass audience in a cost effective way.
Crystal states that when we are having a conversation with someone, we make eye contact about half of the time. Which makes sense, to me. I wonder if it is the same in Iran. Or it expected that when you are talking to someone that you always make eye contact. I guess that holds the same truth here in the U.S.; when I am talking to an elder, I generally tend to make more eye contact.
I thought it was somewhat interesting when Crystal talked about how babies learn conversation. It seems kind of common sense though. I can see how this could apply to someone who is just learning and language and has a person that they can talk with that speaks the target language....but what if someone was capable of having a conversation (they knew the grammar and vocabulary) but they had no idea how to actually converse. When to start talking, if it is ok to interrupt the person...yes in today's society the media provides an excellent source to learn these small details but aren't people highly likely to make fools of themselves. I don't know...I'm rambling at this point.
I thought the chapter "how we choose what to say" was the most interesting...not because I really learned anything but because it made me think. For the most part, I found myself asking what people in Iran do when Crystal stated something.
Cultural Shock Video
I really liked the video. Even though it could benefit from an update, I think that much of the content is still very relevant today. It takes a lot time for a society to change and I don't think that students' experiences are much different today. However, I think that the video could benefit from incorporating more students' perspectives, particularly of those students who are from the US. Even though they are unlikely to admit that, they, themselves, can be ignorant, it it highly possible to find students to interview that opened themselves up to meeting new people. An updated version can show, to an even greater extent, that everyone benefits from opening up and not closely yourself off.
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