Preparing for Culture Shock: Summary/Essay Task

Learn how to prepare for cultural shock and ecoshock, and write a summary and essay on the topic. Get guidance on submission guidelines.

referral task
FYU 004-0 Academic English Skills
Assessment 1: summary/essay task
REFERRAL ACTIVITY
Read the following text and summarize it.
Then write a 300 words essay responding to the text, using your own experiences as examples in your essay.
Follow the submission guidelines in red below the text.
Preparing for Culture Shock:
There are various ways of preparing for cultural shock. It is helpful to learn as much of the language as
possible before going to the country, to learn about the new culture, in particular aspects such as time
differences, communication, conflict resolution, climate, standard of living, transportation, ethical
practices, holidays, superstitions, taboos and technology. However, something that is extremely difficult to
prepare for is what is known as ‘ecoshock’, the result of a person’s ‘physiological and psychological reaction
to a new, diverse, or changed ecology’, a typical example of this being travel dysrhythmia, or jet lag, when
people’s biological clocks have problems synchronizing with the local time. Physiological adjustment to the
temperature, humidity, and altitude are also features of ecoshock, though these are generally coped with
in the initial stage of cultural shock rather than being prolonged difficulties in the process of adjustment to
life in a new country. For those who take frequent short trips abroad, however, ecoshock may be the most
difficult part of dealing with cultural shock, since they do not experience its various longer term phases.
Download this sheet as a word document and write your summary and essay below these instructions.
Then submit the complete document, including this sheet and the source text above, as one ‘word’
document by uploading it to the Academic English skills assessment 1
MY NAME:
MY STUDENT NUMBER:
Section 1: My summary
Cultural shock is a occurrence a person experience when one is changing or moving into
other culture which is completely different from its own. Cultural shock is beneficial in learning the
various languages and cultures. There is another term called ecoshock which is hard to be prepared
for as this is the reaction of physiological and psychological behaviour with the change in new
environment. The person feel the anxiety, mental confusion, dejected when one is deteriorated from
its familiar culture environment. The person who travel short trip finds ecoshock difficult part to
deal with the cultural shock because they have no experience with the prolonged long term phases
of change.
Section 2: My essay
Cultural shock is a term that defines the unease, distress and dejected felling of the person
when one has leave the its own country and move to foreign country with complete different
cultural environment. To prepare for cultural shock the one is required to learn language before

moving to country and also the new culture in various aspects like weather conditions, climatic
conditions, way of living, societal rules, education, technologies, holidays, superstitions etc. but in
the process to prepare for cultural shock, ecoshock is very difficult factor to deal with cultural
shock. Ecoshock is the integration of person's physiological and psychological behaviour and
reactions with new diverse changes in ecology. In my experience of cultural shock I have faced the
adjustment and adapting issue during the initial stage when for studies I moved to new state with
complete different culture, environment, living style etc. In the initial stage due to change in
temperature and humidity it was difficult to cope with such weather condition which was different
from my old location. There was language barrier with local community. The adjustment with new
life style which is fast and full of crowd was a difficult part to deal with as this is a part of ecoshock
with is hard to be prepared in the process of cultural shock.