Intercultural Communication and Understanding

 Here we go again one vlog one week! I want to mention that I wasn’t in the class last session, but based on what I read in the document and slides, I learned a lot about cultural awareness and communication between different cultures.

In this lesson, the topic was Cultural “Other” Awareness and Cultural Perspectives. Cultural awareness means understanding and respecting the similarities and differences between cultures. Different countries have different ways of communicating, behaving, and interacting with people. By understanding these differences, we can communicate better and reduce misunderstandings or prejudice.

One part of the lesson talked about how people act in social situations. For example, when riding an elevator with strangers, some people may smile, make eye contact, or start small talk, while others may avoid eye contact and look at their phones. I think this depends a lot on culture and personality. In Japan, people are usually quieter and more respectful of personal space, while in Malaysia people are often more friendly and open to conversations.

The lesson also discussed appropriate topics for small talk, such as weather, hobbies, sports, or news. Some topics like politics may be uncomfortable depending on the culture.

Another interesting point was how people make friends at university. Many students become friends through clubs, classes, dormitories, or mutual friends. I think joining activities and clubs is one of the best ways to connect with new people, especially in another country.

The videos in the lesson also compared high-trust and low-trust societies. I found it interesting because trust changes how people interact with strangers and society. Japan is often seen as a high-trust society where people follow rules carefully, while other countries may communicate more directly or casually.

Overall, this lesson helped me understand that cultural differences are normal and important. By respecting other perspectives, we can communicate more effectively and build better relationships with people from different backgrounds.

评论

发表评论

此博客中的热门博文

Cultural Self Awareness & Self Introduction

 For what we discuss in the class, we been talk about a lot of different and similarity on the self awareness and self introduction in each countries.  For my group members, we are coming from Malaysia, Thailand and also Japan. For what we discuss about, we a have similar point on self awareness, We didn't over showing off ourselves when we are introducing ourselves to other people. My members told me that, most of the Japanese people are very humble and they won't boast themselves up too much. I am totally agree with that because in Malaysia people also tend to be more modest when introducing themselves. We usually avoid talking too much about our achievements or strengths, especially when meeting someone for the first time. Instead, we prefer to keep a low profile and let others discover our abilities gradually. This is similar to Japanese culture, where humility is considered an important value in social interactions. However, there are also some differences. For example, ...
阅读全文

Understanding Conversations in Different Cultures

     Unfortunately, I was not able to join the class last week. However, after reading the lecture slides and discussion questions by myself, I found the topic really interesting. The lesson about conversations and discussions made me think more deeply about how people communicate differently depending on culture, personality, and social environment. Even though I missed the class activities, I still learned a lot from the materials and reflected on my own experiences communicating with people in both Malaysia and Japan. One thing that interested me was the difference between casual conversations and discussions. Conversations are usually used to build relationships and make people feel comfortable, while discussions are more focused on exchanging opinions and ideas. In some cultures, especially Western countries, people are encouraged to express their opinions directly. However, in Japan and many Asian countries, harmony and politeness are often more important than open...
阅读全文

Sleep and Rest in the world

For the class discussion and also all of the class materials,I read an article from the Japan Health Ministry about sleep issues in Japan, and it made me reflect on my own daily habits. The article explains that a large number of adults in Japan sleep less than six hours per night, which is considered insufficient for maintaining good physical and mental health. Because of this situation, the government recommends that people should aim to get at least six hours of sleep every day. This recommendation may sound simple, but in reality, it is quite difficult for many people to achieve. In modern society, people are often busy with work, studies, and social activities. Many individuals also spend a significant amount of time on their smartphones, watching videos, playing games, or browsing social media late into the night. As a result, they tend to sacrifice sleep without realizing the long-term consequences. I think this is not only a problem in Japan, but also in many other countries ...
阅读全文