英语专业八级 Mini Lecture 1

[00:31.29]Chapter Two

[00:33.37]PART Two

[00:35.44]MINI-LECTURE 1

[00:37.96]In this section, you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY.

[00:45.94]While listening, take notes on the important points.

[00:50.21]Your notes will not be marked,

[00:52.73]but you will need them to complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture.

[00:58.19]When the lecture is over, you’ll be given two minutes to check your notes,

[01:03.66]and another 10 minutes to complete the gap-filling task.

[01:07.93]Now listen to the mini-lecture.

[01:11.00]Today I will focus on the issue of cultural understanding.

[01:16.46]With the increasing globalization, the world becomes really small nowadays.

[01:22.26]As a member of this globe, we get more chances to contact foreign cultures.

[01:27.51]Then if we want to understand a foreign culture very well, what should we do?

[01:32.65]And what kinds of process will we experience before we achieve that goal?

[01:37.79]The answer is not very difficult to imagine.

[01:41.95]Just like learning a language, developing cultural understanding occurs step by step over time.

[01:48.40]Development of cultural consciousness is a process

[01:52.67]that starts at the stage of no understanding and moves,

[01:56.16]in best case, to the stage of true empathy and cultural respect.

[02:00.54]So, in order to make a clearer explanation about the process,

[02:04.37]the five stages of cultural understanding are presented here.

[02:07.76]Stage one: No understanding.

[02:10.28]This level involves no awareness of the new culture.

[02:13.56]The point is quite easy to see.

[02:15.63]For a person who has few chances to get contact with other cultures,

[02:19.68]a new one sometimes might as well be like something from an unknown planet in outer space.

[02:24.82]The person does not know anyone from the culture and has encountered few,

[02:29.41]if any, basic facts about the culture.

[02:31.82]So, naturally, the person certainly has no way to understand that culture at all.

[02:36.75]Stage two: Superficial understanding.

[02:40.79]This level involves awareness of very superficial aspects of the foreign culture —

[02:45.93]frequently negative aspects.

[02:48.01]At this stage of cultural awareness,

[02:50.75]the person knows a few basic facts of the new culture.

[02:53.92]These facts stand out and often serve as the basis of stereotypes.

[02:58.73]However, stereotypes are offensive

[03:01.02]because they imply that all people from a certain culture have the same characteristics.

[03:05.95]At this stage of cultural awareness, when stereotypes are keenly felt,

[03:10.43]the person is highly ethnocentric,

[03:12.73]that means the person just focuses on his or her own culture as the norm of what is “right”

[03:18.31]and comparing the new culture with the “better” culture back home.

[03:21.92]Stage three: Growing understanding and possible conflict.

[03:27.39]In this stage the learner begins to be aware of more subtle,

[03:31.76]sometimes less visible, traits in the foreign culture.

[03:34.82]I will give you an example here to illustrate this point.

[03:38.33]A student learns that a given culture focuses on the family far more than on getting things accomplished.

[03:44.78]As a result, he or she begins to appreciate the huge importance of family value in this culture.

[03:51.01]So, we can see this understanding helps the person to see why things operate the way they do,

[03:57.14]but such an awareness does not always bring acceptance.

[04:00.64]In this stage, the person is still ethnocentric, home culture-oriented,

[04:05.56]comparing the culture that is “new” to his or her “old” home culture —

[04:09.39]and usually feeling that his or her own culture is much better.

[04:13.11]I think some of you, as English majors,

[04:16.17]may have the exact same experiences

[04:18.36]when you come to be familiar with your foreign teachers or friends.

[04:21.74]You do appreciate some of their cultures,

[04:24.48]but you just can’t accept them from the bottom of your heart.

[04:27.43]Stage four: Greater intellectual understanding.

[04:31.04]At this stage, the learner begins to comprehend intellectually the people in the foreign culture,

[04:36.95]yet there is still little emotional empathy;

[04:39.79]the person cannot “feel what it is like” to be a member of that culture.

[04:43.84]The learner thus starts to see things intellectually through the eyes of the “cultural bearers”

[04:49.09]at least part of the time.

[04:50.62]But they just cannot really feel the same way the members of other cultures feel.

[04:55.66]The learner begins to shed ethnocentrism a little bit and starts to understand the new culture more deeply.

[05:02.88]The person knows why things are done in the way

[05:06.16]they are done and accepts these things with less irritation.

[05:09.98]So, you can see now the learner obviously comprehends the beliefs and actions of the people in the culture.

[05:16.22]The comfort level is higher, and the person does not complain extensively about cultural differences.

[05:22.13]That makes a big sense in the process of cultural understanding.

[05:26.50]Stage five: True empathy and cultural respect.

[05:31.75]This level is the highest one of cultural awareness.

[05:35.25]To attain this level, the learner must actually live in the foreign culture for some time.

[05:39.95]As for how long the learner must live in such a culture so that they can reach Stage Five,

[05:45.86]the amount of time is variable, greatly depending on the individual.

[05:49.47]At the fifth stage, unlike the previous stages,

[05:53.08]the learner does not just see things intellectually from the viewpoint of the culture some or most of the time.

[05:59.20]Instead, he or she actually feels part of the culture, respects the culture fully,

[06:04.23]and empathizes emotionally with those who have lived all their lives in that culture.

[06:08.72]By doing so, the person, in a real sense, achieves a true cultural understanding.

[06:13.97]In summary, today’s lecture is centered on the stages in the growth of cultural consciousness.

[06:19.66]Altogether there are five.

[06:21.62]1. No understanding — means one does not know anyone from the culture, knows few, if any, facts.

[06:28.95]2. Superficial understanding — means one knows some superficial facts and stereotypes.

[06:35.63]3. Growing understanding and possible conflict —

[06:40.55]means one is aware of more subtle traits but may experience cultural conflicts;

[06:45.47]probably believes one’s own culture is superior.

[06:48.64]4. Greater intellectual understanding —

[06:51.60]means one understands the culture intellectually but not emotionally.

[06:55.97]5. True empathy and respect —

[06:58.92]means one understands the culture both intellectually and emotionally;

[07:03.08]can feel what the people in the culture feel.

[07:05.81]Hope the lecture will be helpful in your nurturing of cultural awareness.

[07:09.97]Thanks for your patience.