Adjustment
Process in a New Culture
From
Beyond Language
By Deena R. Levine and Mara B. Adelman
A. Introduction
The process of living in a
culture different from our own can be an exciting and stimulating experience.
It is also a tremendous challenge as we realize that our “normal” way of
perceiving and behaving may not be appropriate in the new cultural setting.
Each of us has been conditioned by our family, friends, and educational and
religious institutions our culture to act, interpret, think, perceive, and feel
in certain ways. These are based on certain core values of our culture, such as
“be an individual,” “might is right,” or “time is money.” These values change
from culture to culture and, therefore, the behaviors leading to success or
happiness in that culture change also. Understanding those values, then, is a
key to understanding the culture.
Based on these values we each
create our own personal interpretation of our experiences, which is reinforced
and shared by our friends and cultural institutions. This value orientation and
way of behaving is rarely challenged, since it is accepted by our peers and
helps us feel secure in our environment. It is only when we encounter someone
different from us and choose to spend extended time with that person or in a
different culture that our “normal” responses and the values that support them
are called into question. This is especially true when our basic needs for
friendship, respect, etc. can no longer be satisfied by our usual ways of
behaving. What has been easy for us to do in our own culture is suddenly
difficult and ineffective, or insulting, to those in the foreign culture. We
become frustrated and irritated as we find our previously accepted ways to be
in conflict with the lifestyle of those around us. We may feel anxious about
the sudden loss or change in our familiar surroundings. There are no longer the
thousands of non‐verbal cues we unconsciously rely on to tell us how to act and react. We
realize that it is necessary to change, to adjust to the foreign culture, but
how do we begin? We begin by relaxing and realizing that this experience of
frustration is part of a normal reaction to the challenge of the cross‐cultural
experience that is referred to as “culture shock.” It is a positive sign that
you have, in fact, realized that you are living in a foreign culture and are no
longer willing to be just a tourist. You want to be a participant in the life
of the culture.
B. Discussion
Understanding the cultural
adjustment process can help you in coping with the often-intense feelings that
you may experience as you begin your life in the US. Each stage in the
process is characterized by “symptoms” or outward signs typifying certain kinds
of behaviour.
- “Honeymoon” period: Initially, many people are fascinated and excited by everything new. The visitor is elated to be in a new culture.
- “Culture shock”: The individual is immersed in new problems: housing, transportation, shopping, and language. Mental fatigue results from continuous straining to comprehend the new language.
- Initial Adjustment: Everyday activities such as housing and shopping are no longer major problems. Although the visitor may not yet be fluent in the language spoken, basic ideas and feelings in the second language can be expressed.
- Mental Isolation: Individuals have been away from their family and good friends for a long period of time and may feel lonely. Many still feel they cannot express themselves as well as they can in their native language. Frustration and sometimes a loss of self-confidence result. Some individuals remain at this stage.
- Acceptance and Integration: A routine (e.g., work, business or school) has been established. The visitor has accepted the habits, customs, foods, and characteristics of the people in the new culture. The visitor feels comfortable with friends, associates and the language of the country.
This cycle may repeat itself
throughout we stay in a new culture. And, these feelings are
normal. Note also that upon returning home, we may experience some of the
same feelings as we did when we first arrived in the new culture. This is
called “reverse culture shock.”
1. Look for logical reasons for
things in the host culture that seem different. Relax your grip on your
own culture.
2. Resist “looking down on” or
making jokes and comments about the host culture. Avoid others who take
part in such derogatory remarks.
3. Talk about your feelings with a
sympathetic and understanding friend or see a Foreign Student Advisor in the
Office of International Services to talk about your feelings.
4. When you hear yourself making
negative judgments or generalizations, stop and try to view the situation
objectively - without value judgments.
5. Take care of your physical
health. Eat nutritious foods, get enough sleep, and, most importantly,
get some exercise every day (take a regular walk if nothing else)
The Re-entry Process
A similar process occurs when
visitors return to their native countries, although the stages are usually
shorter and less intense. The following "W" shaped diagram
illustrates reactions and emotions experienced when a person leaves a foreign
country and returns to his or her own country.
The "Re-entry"
Adjustment Process
In the first diagram, each stage in the "re-entry"
process is characterized by symptoms and feelings.
1. Acceptance and integration. See description given for the pre
ceding diagram.
2. Return anxiety. There may be confusion and
emotional pain about leaving because friendships will have to be disrupted.
Many people realize how much they have changed because of their experiences and
may be nervous about going home.
3. Return honeymoon. Immediately upon arrival in one's
own country, there is generally a great deal of excitement. There are parties
to welcome back the visitor and renewed friendships to look forward to.
4. Re-entry shock. Family and friends may not
understand or appreciate what the traveller has experienced. The native country
or city may have changed in the eyes of the former traveller.
5. Re-integration. The former traveller becomes
fully involved with friends, family, and activities and feels once again
integrated in the society. Many people at this stage realize the positive and
negative aspects of both countries and have a more balanced perspective about
their experiences.
Individuals experience the stages
of adjustment and re-entry in different ways. When visitors have close
relatives in the new culture or speak the foreign language fluently, they may
not experience all the effects of culture shock or mental isolation. An exile
or refugee would adjust differently from someone who voluntary travelled to a
new country. Certain individuals have difficulties adapting to a new
environment and perhaps never do; others seem to adjust well from the very
beginning of their stay.
Day-to-day living in another
culture is undoubtedly an educational experience. While travelling, and living
abroad people learn second languages, observe different customs, and encounter
new values. Many people who have lived in other countries feel that exposure to
foreign cultures enable them to gain insight into their own society. When
facing different values, beliefs, and behaviour, they develop a deeper
understanding of themselves and of the society that helped to shape their
characters. The striking contrasts of a second culture provide a mirror in
which one's own culture is reflected.
C. Conclusion
The experience of cultural
adjustment, or culture shock, takes place in stages that can be shortened
depending upon your preparation, your understanding of the process, your
willingness to take risks, and your acceptance of the necessity to modify your behaviour.
The first stage is that of the “tourist” whose involvement in local traditions
is minimal, whose knowledge of the culture is superficial, and who perceptually
screens the surroundings and remains wrapped in the secure comfort of his or
her own culture. After a month or two, the personal, social, and cultural
differences intrude more and more into your life and you become frustrated with
how difficult your life has become. You may try to avoid contact with the
locals, complain a lot about the “stupid way they do things” there, hang out
with others from your own country, and sleep a lot to cope with the assault on
your personal comfort zone. You might even feel angry with the locals and
become hostile toward them.
By contrast, you might just
abandon your own cultural ways and “go native,” becoming more “local” than the
locals. These ways of “coping” are, of course, maladjusted ways of responding
to the new cultural environment, and result in making you inhibited from
functioning with full effectiveness and from taking full advantage of the
exciting opportunities available in the cross‐cultural experience. The
alternative to these responses is to neither reject your own culture nor the
ways of the new culture, but rather to adapt to the new situation by remaining
open to learning and behavioural growth. It requires you to pay attention to
those around you, refining and expanding your skills in interpersonal intercultural
communication through being creatively flexible in your responses to the new
situation. You must be willing to take risks and make mistakes as you ask
questions and modify your behaviour and interpretations to coincide with those
of the locals. In this way, your “personal reality” is altered by the culture
in which you now live and you are ready to enjoy the rest of your experience:
the third and fourth stages.
“The world is a book, of which those who stay in
one place read only one page”
St. Augustine
References:
Deena R. Levine Mara B. Adelman. (1982) Beyond
Language; Intercultural Communication for English as a Second Language.
American Language Institute San Diego State University.
LeVine, R. (1984) Properties of culture: An
ethnographic view. In Schweder, R. and LeVine, R., Eds. Culture Theory:
Essays on Mind, Self, and Emotion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
(1984), 67.
How to Prepare: Cultural Adjustment.” Center for
International Education, University of California, Irvine. www.cie.uci.edu.
Accessed on 25 October 2015.
