Learning Journal #2

Figuring Out Foreigners talks about how communication styles differ in different cultures. Some societies are more individualist and some are more collectivist, and place high emphasis on nonverbal cues and some are very literal. However no society is exclusively individualistic or collectivist; and individuals within a society fall on different parts of the spectrum. The United States is a predominantly individualist society -- emphasizing individual rights and achievements. Korean, my target culture, on the other hand, is a collectivist society. This results in Korean culture having norms and traditions that I am familiar with; and working with my language partner and watching Korean videos have helped to better understand how body language and use of different dialects in a conversation and convey different meanings within the Korean society.

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  • Hi Tanjila! After reading your post, I was curious to do a bit of research about collectivism v. individualism in Malta. I definitely think that it is important when learning a language to be knowledgeable about social cues. For example, we may choose different words or phrases to adapt to the expectations (individualist/collectivist) of a group. Similar to other European countries, I found that the younger generations of Malta are more individualist, in comparison to the older generations. One thing that I did not consider, though, was that Malta is very hierarchal because it is such a small country. There is a lot of value placed on family reputation and generational wealth. These acute social distinctions might impact the way the language is used.

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