DESCRIPTION:

The Ethnographic Report was written for (TESL 530) Intercultural Communication taught by Professor Michael Chamberlain in Fall I 2020. In Jackson (2014), Knight and deWit defined globalization as "the flow of technology, economy, knowledge, people, values [and] ideas… across borders." The artifact examines the social dimensions of globalization and its varying impacts on wealth, culture and identity, inclusion or exclusion, economics, and poverty. In addition, the document is an exploration of U.S. Individualism influences in changing South Korean Collectivist Culture traits. The Lesson plan presents students with both attributes of these types of cultural norms. It engages students in how an individual's benevolence of service can be an independent expression of individualism in a collectivistic society.

REFLECTION:

Smith (2009) identified that culture affects what you see and hear. Stating it embeds learned expectations in our interpretations, perceptions, and conditioning to expect individual behavior as normal through our learned cultural understandings. My belief system about other cultures outside of America was shaped through watching television shows, programs and their visual presentations, narrations of different countries and people. This experience has helped me not to rely on what I think I know based on my narratives about other cultures and people. In contrasting the individualistic American culture to the collectivist South Korean culture traits, I learned globalization could have adverse effects on honored cultural traditions caused by assimilation. Its impact is far-reaching in reducing the cohesiveness of families and communities. This is seen in my own Black communities here in the U.S., which were once considered tight-knit collectivist communities dependent on each other. The impact of the U.S. Western culture of greed, fame, and "it's all about me" has slowly eroded Black families due to years of U.S. enculturation and political experiences. New generations believe more and expect more with dreams for their lives. There is nothing wrong with having those expectations. But unfortunately, those dreams and hopes are not necessarily collectively focused on helping our fellow man or our own communities and are more self-serving.

APPLICATION:

Discovering my own misjudgments about other cultures will likely be a similar experience for many students because of the lack of resources, travel to gain exposure, view tv, or access to social media to learn about other cultures. Therefore, my responsibility as a language teacher is to approach experiences honestly and humbly and study as much as I can about different cultures through interaction strategies. This will allow a broadening my own and other students' understanding of various cultures, creating an atmosphere for students to present their country and culture in presentation format in any level classroom. Even beginner-level students would complete this activity using many pictures in their presentation, limiting the need for complete sentences. My approach allows students to learn new things about a country and culture foreign to them. It allows me to become sensitized to how our language and behaviors affect groups or those from different cultures. I must be intentional with my lesson plans to incorporate social consciousness topics that have clear outcomes for students, building inter-culturally maturity learning and lessons on how they can adapt for the sake of the other without losing their integrity or identity.