GreenChoi

COMM215005
Instructor:ShireneMcKay
December1,2015

CulturalChangeFinalReport

Overview
ThepaperwillcoverthetacticsandgoalsthatIhaveimplementedoverthe
courseofthesemesterwhileusingtheinformationthatIhavelearnedfromreadingthe
textbook.Inaddition,thefinalpaperwillincludeallthetacticsandthingsIhave
experiencedthroughouttheinterculturaljourneyfromchapterseightthrougheleven.

CompetencyArea
ThecompetencyareaIhaveselectedforthissemesterwasselfawareness.This
competencyareaappraisestheextenttowhichyouareawareofyourownvaluesand
interpersonalstyle,yourownstrengthandweaknesses,andhowyourpastexperiences
havehelpedshapeyourareasaperson(McKay23).Inaddition,italsomeasures
howwellyouclaimtoknowyourself,howcomfortableyouarewithyourself,andhow
wellyouunderstandtheimpactofyourvaluesandbehavioronyourrelationshipswith
others(McKay23).Forme,thisareaneededtobeexploredmoreindepthbecauseI
tendtoshowlittletonointerestinhowmyactionscanaffectothers.NotonlyamI
reactiveinmanysituations,butIbecomeimpulsiveshowingalackofconcernand
respecttowardsotherswhileIamcommunicating.
Forexample,whenIamveryfrustratedorangered,Idonotthinkaboutthe
consequencesifIsayordocertainthings.WhenIamarguingwithmyparentsor
siblings,Itendtoattacktheircharacterandgoofftopicratherthantackletherealissue.
Forthesereasons,Ithoughtitwashighlyimportanttobecomemoreselfawareofmy
languageandactionsandtoshowsomeselfcontroltounderstandhowmybehavior
canimpactothers.
AnotherexampletoillustratethislackofselfawarenessiswhenIdonotthink
aboutthethingsthatarebeingportrayedorwhenIamspoonfedinformation.In
particular,whenIamwatchingaTVorlookingthroughthelensofsomepopularmedia.
Ashumans,itisimportanttothinkcriticallyaboutthethingsthatareshownandgivento
us.IfIlackasenseofawarenessandbecomeoutofsyncwithreality,IfeellikeIwill
turnintoasenselessrobotbeingspoonfedideasthatsomeoneelsewantsmetothink
andhear.Whenthishappens,discriminationandstereotypesbecomeincrediblyeasyto
followandbelieve.Asmanyfamiliarstereotypesofethnicgroupsarerepresentedin

themedia(MartinandThomas373),theresistanceofbothnegativeandpositive
stereotypingiscriticalwhenviewingpopularmedia,inadditiontochallengingoldideas.

Goal
Forthissemester,mygoalforthisclasswastobecomemoreconsciousand
awareofmycommunicationmethods,languageandactions.Furthermore,Iwantedto
bemorecompetentinthisareabecauseitwouldreducethesomeofthebarrierswhile
communicating,anditcouldhelpmebecomemoreawareoftheissueonhandwhile
maintainingahealthyandpositivedialogue.Lastly,thisgoalwillhelpmebecomemore
criticalofmypastexperiencesandimplementthosepreviousexperiencestobecome
moreawareofmypresentbehavior.

Chapter8
UnderstandingInterculturalTransition

Tactic8
Forchapter8,ImadeanefforttocommunicatetomyfatherabouthisUcurve
experience,anditseffectonhisadaptationprocess.Alsoknownasthehappiness
curveforsome,Iwasinterestedinmyfathersexperienceandperspectiveonthe
Americandreaminordertotrulyunderstandhisprocessofculturaladaptationasthis
canbeappliedtomanydifferentmigrantgroups(ThomasandMartin337).

TacticImplementation
Iaskedmyfatherabouttheprocessofassimilation,andhisviewpointonthe
Americanlifestyle.AsmyfatherwasexplainingtomeabouthisUcurvejourney,I
learnedthatsomepeoplemaytakelongerthanotherstocomeupfromtheU.Some
maynevercomeuponthecurveorreadjusttothenewlifestyle.Asexplainedinthe
book,theadjustmentphasemaybeexperienceverydifferentlyifthesociopolitical
contextisnotconducivetoindividualadaptation(ThomasandMartin341).Myfather
alwaystalksaboutgoingbackhometoSouthKorea,andhowhislifestyleinSouth
KoreawasmuchmorepositivethanintheUnitedStates.Althoughthecultureshockfor
myfatherhasdiminished,readjustmentisstillverydifficultforhim.

TacticRecommendations
Bycommunicatingwithmyfather,Ibecamemoreawareofmyfathersissueand
itmaybeunderstandthatthereadjustmentperiodcanvarygreatlyamongindividuals.
Communicatingandhavinganopendialogueaboutthisissuehasmadememore
awareofUcurveandadaptationprocessformigrantsingeneral.Ontheotherhand,
theUcurvecanbemaybetoosimplisticforothertypesofmigrants(Thomasand

Martin341)likeformyfather.Irecommendthistacticofcommunicatingwithothersto
makeitmoreclearinunderstandingothersexperiencesandperceptionofreality.

Chapter9
PopularCultureandInterculturalCommunications

Tactic9
Openlyaddressingmyweaknesses,targetingmypoorhabits,constantlythinking
beforeacting,isatacticItriedtoemployinordertokeepmeaccountableofmy
thoughtsandactions.Thetacticwasusedtopreventbiasesagainstagroupofpeople
asstereotypesareconnectedtosocialvaluesandsocialjudgmentsaboutothergroups
ofpeople(MartinandThomas373).BydoingthisIcanpreventthenegativeorpositive
stereotypeswhenIamconsumingpopularmediaasawhole.

TacticImplementation
Forthischapter,wheneverIwasexposedtopopularmediaorpopculture
everyday,ItriedtobemuchmorecriticalinthewayIvieweditandabsorbedthe
information.Ithoughtthiswouldbeveryhelpfulbecauseonadailyoccurrence,many
peoplejustlookatorconsumethethingstheyarefedviasocialmediaormass
advertising.Ifaadvertisingshowedup,Iwouldalwaysattempttothinkcriticallyand
understanditssignificance,symbolandmessage.Furthermore,Iwouldaskdeeper
questionstomyselfsuchasWhatisthepurposeofthemedia?,Whatisitssignificance
andHowisittryingtoconveythatmessage?Doingthisseemedbeneficialaspopular
mediacanverywellshowstereotypesandasthesesstereotypesarepowerfulbecause
theyfunctiontotellushowwevalueandjudgeothergroups.(MartinandThomas
373).

TacticRecommendation
Irecommendthistactictowhoeverdecidestouseitbecauseitmakesthe
individualbecomemoreawareofyourthoughtprocessinsteadofbeingspoonfed
information.Asanindividual,itisimportanttothinkindividuallyandwiththeriseofthe
internet,itiseveneasiertogettheanswerstothequestionswemayask.Notonlythat,
Ourknowledgeaboutotherplaces,evenplaceswehavebeen,islargelyinfluencedby
popularculture(MartinandThomas373),thereforeitisimportanttochallengethe
popularmediaattimestomakesurewearenotbeingnegativelyswayedbythemedia
whereitmakesitmoredifficulttocommunicatewithpeoplethatareculturallydifferent
fromus.

Chapter10
Culture,Communication,andInterculturalRelationships


Tactic10:
Thetacticusedforthischapterwastotalktomyinternationalfriendsaboutthe
differencebetweentheircultureversustheculturetheylive.Bydoingthis,Iwas
relationallearingwhichislearningthatcomesfromaparticularrelationshipbut
generalizestootherconext(MartinandThomas392).Ithoughtthiswouldbeagood
experienceformetounderstandtheirperspectiveandtheirexperienceswith
interculturalrelationships.

TacticImplementation
Ingeneral,Ijustaskedmyinternationalfriendsabouttheassimilationprocess,
andhowitisaffectingthemthroughoutthesemester.Whenwediscussedabouttheir
difficultieswithrace,friendship,andidentity,Icouldunderstandmanyoftheirlife
experiencesandtheperspectivetheygaveme.FormeIbecamemoreawaremy
experiences,andithelpedmelearnwhyIgetalongwithinternationalstudentsbetter.It
wasbecauseIwasoncethatway,andalthoughIlearnedmanythingsfromthe
challengesofbeinganimmigrant,Icouldrelatetomanyofthethingsthatmyfriends
wouldexpressortellmeinconcern.Thisunderstandingallowedmetofindsome
similaritiesinsteadofthedifferencesamongthemascommonalityisestablishedand
therelationshipdevelopsbeyondtheinitialstages,theseculturaldifferencemayhave
lessofanimpactbecauseallrelationshipsbecomemoreidiosyncraticastheymoveto
moreintimatestages.(ThomasandMartin393)

TacticRecommendations
Thistacticwasverygoodandithelpedmebecomeabettercommunicatorand
listener.Also,thedialogueexchangebetweenmyfriendshasreallyhelpedmegaina
betterunderstandoftheirrealityandhowtheyperceivetheirlifeexperiences.Ithelped
megainabetterinsightonmyownexperiences,inadditionitmademebecomemore
sympatheticandempathetictotheimmigrantsandinternationalstudentsthatcometo
studyabroad.Havinganinterculturalrelationshipisverymeaningfulandcanhelp
peoplelearnthatallpeople,regardlessofcolor,deservetobetreatedwithdignityand
respect(ThomasandMartin394).

Chapter11
Culture,CommunicationandConflict

Tactic11
Forthetacticinchapter11,Iwantedtousemoreproductivemethodstoclear
conflictsandsomeoftheambiguitythatmayoccurwhencommunicatingwithothers.

Onewaywouldbekeepingapositiveattitudeandactuallyfocusingontheissuerather
thandeviatingtoadifferentideaorattackingtheotherpersonwhenIamemotionally
charged.

TacticImplementation
Iimplementedthisduringmyartclasswhensomeoneexpressedadissenting
opinion.Initially,Ithoughttheotherpersonscommentwaswrongandinappropriate,
howeverIusedthesevenstepsexplainedinthebooktoremaincalmandtoresolvethe
conflictinapositivefashion.Inallhonesty,Ireallyenjoyedthesevenstepsfordealing
withconflictwhichwas,Staycenteredanddonotpolarize,maintaincontact,recognize
theexistenceofdifferentstyle,identifyyourpreferredstyle,becreativeandexpandyour
stylerepertoire,recognizetheimportanceofconflictcontext,andbewillingtoforgive
theperson.(ThomasandMartin456).Allthesetipsandimplementingthisintotheway
Ihandlethesituationhelpedmecreateapositiveconflictthatcanbealearning
experienceforbothpartieswhencommunicatingaboutourdifferences.Tomy
realization,followingthestepsreallyhelpedcleartheambiguityandtheuncomfortable
situations.

TacticRecommendations
Rememberingthesevenstepsthatwasexplainedinthebookwasincredibly
positiveandIwouldrecommendtheimplementationsofthesesimpletipsamong
everyoneslives.Whenutilizingtheadvice,suchasrecognizingtheexistenceof
differentstyles,itcanreducetensionasconflictisoftenexacerbatedbecauseofthe
unwillingnessofpartnerstorecognizemanagementstyledifferences(Thomasand
Martin457).Ibelieveifeveryoneunderstoodtheseclearandsimpleguidelinesduring
heatedconflictsandarguments,manypeoplewouldbemuchmorepositivelysatisfied
whentheconflictresolves.

Reflection
Thisassignmentwasaverypositiveexperiencebecauseitallowedmeto
becomeabettercommunicatorandunderstandtheimpactsofmyactions.Althoughit
wasuncomfortableinthebeginningandsomeexperiencesweredifficulttofollow
through,thejournalsillustrateboththepositiveandthenegativeexperiencesIhadto
triumphandovercometomakeapersonallygrowthroughoutthesemester.
Thisassignmenthashelpedmebecomemoreawareofmyactions,anditsimpactupon
other.Bygainingthisknowledgeandexperienceoverthecourseofthesemester,I
hopetousetheselfawarenessskillacrossmanyareasanddiverseenvironments.
Whetheritbeatwork,schoolorhome,IcanusethethingsIhavelearnedtocreate
moreproductiveconflictsandbeabletoexpressmyfeelingswithoutbeingsoimpulsive

orreactivetomyemotions.Throughoutallsettings,itwillhelpmebecomethebest
persontohelpmereachmygoalsinthefuture.Allinall,thisjourneywasavaluablelife
lesson,andIbelieveitwillcontinuetoimpactmeoverthecourseofmanydays,months
andyears.

WorkCited

Martin,JudithN.Thomask.Nakayama.InterculturalCommunicationinContext6thEd.
Boston,MA:McGrawHill,2013.

McKayShirene.InterculturalCommunicationLearningPacket.SaltLakeCity,UT:Salt
LakeCommunityCollege,2014

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/robertsamuelsonthehappinesscurve/2014/
12/07/3b7b359a7ca311e4b821503cc7efed9e_story.html