Cultural Shock: Understanding the Stages and Alleviating Effects

Culture Shock is an experience that occurs when one moves to a new cultural or social environment and encounters unfamiliar verbal or non-verbal signs, rituals, values, or customs. It has five stages: Honeymoon Stage, Irritability and Hostility, Adjustment Gradually, Adaptation of Biculturalism, and Reentry Shock. The experience can be influenced by various factors such as regional accents, dialects, and pidgin, use of jargons and slang, word choice, literacy and linguistic ability, grammar and spelling, among others. Understanding the concept of culture and its impact on our daily lives is crucial for effective communication and adaptation in a globalized world.

Running head: Reflective journal 1
Cultural Reflection Journal
Student Name
Institution

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Introduction
I have learned about the various type of culture differenced in this intercultural
communication. I think, because of this lesson only, I’m able to understand and learn about those
differences. Taking a gander at this lesson, I trust that I can better comprehend the cultures that
exist and can value these distinctions better. Given these cultural differences, I hope I was able to
understand and acknowledge cultures exhibit to maintain a strategic distance from conflicts. I
think culture is owned and practised by a group of people or community, which is also a part of
their way of living and it is inherited among the future generation. There is an extremely
differing culture in Australia which separates a culture in another, for example, religion,
conservative law, language, traditions, lifestyle and so forth. A specific lifestyle in a particular
group of people is reflected by a word “culture”, in which honours, convictions, a way of their
communication and was acting.
Through characterization, people develop a commitment to ethnicity, beliefs of cultures
and philosophy. A process where people used to learn norms and rules of various cultures and
their belief is known as “Acculturation”. The basic culture of individuals affected by direct
contact with new and different cultures, through estimation. Obviously, the culture, have a wide
range of communication targets that the distinction can start things out, that language is,
obviously, extraordinary cultures show up in the language that talks and get it. Truth be told, one
of the most acclaimed theories in cultural communication, language relativity hypothesis,
contends that the language you talk influences your psyche and behaviour, and it is because of
the distinctions in language that they think and in the way of thinking it makes unique.
I this reflection, will be discussing the culture based on my weekly learning from week 2
to week 5.

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Week 2: Intercultural Communication
Week 2 includes the learning of culture which includes the definition of culture, effect of
Globalization, Enculturation. Ethnocentrism, norms and rules, communication barriers and much
more. We will start with the definition of Culture.
Culture: A culture is a structure through which communication is prepared and
interpreted. It is related to the way people live. When cultures interact, cultures should be
adaptable to communicate effectively. An identity group is accepted and expected, which
includes both verbally and abusive language, attitude, value, belief system and behaviour - a
pattern of perceptions related to the group. According to Freire, a culture can be defined as a
creation of human. (Freire & da Veiga Coutinho, 1970). It is part of an environment that belongs
to human being. (Wang, Brislin, Wang, Williams, & Chao, 2000). I have become self-aware of
the fact that culture is the non- biological parts of life. This is the way toward sharing and
making meaning inside a social framework. This social framework incorporates qualities,
standards and approaches to act and hence in the culture, we are engaged with cooperating with
each other, carrying on and speaking with each other. Culture is something that is found out from
guardians, schools, media and the more extensive group.
In case that our way of thinking and perception are a part of "what is there", at that point
then what is the connection between the change in the cultural condition and who are we?
Callister clarifies our environment gets its shape from people, and hence, one might say that the
human brain comes to its shape in the environment made by a human. The external world used to
shape our brain and change our perception of the external world. (Callister, 2003). Individuals
don't see the world through a similar lens; We each experience our general surroundings in an

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unexpected way, which makes the theme of culture and cultural communication, which is
dynamic and developing.
Intercultural Communication: Intercultural communication is defined as the
communication between individuals of different verbal and cultural roots. It is derived from the
following fundamental definitions: There is an active relationship between people, through
communication, language, and cultural means that this communication is among the people of
different cultures, where culture is the structured expression of human behavior in social life
within specific national and local background e.g. verbal, political, institutional, economic and
professional. Cultural communication is recognized as both a competence and a concept.
Competence of an intercultural is an active right by individuals of those qualities that add to
successful inter-cultural communication and can be defined as far as these three primary
characteristics: behaviour, skill and knowledge. With regards to this document, the achievement
of human qualities and skills, the possibility of enhancing inter-cultural communication, is
particularly observed as a segment of language programs, i.e. as a collaborator for the practical
acquisition of language. (Moon, 1996).
Melting point - A country, location, or position in which the result of cultural integration
first incorporates the heritage and traditions of specific ethnic groups.
Australia
 British and Irish settlement in the time of the culprit
 Most travel by the British after WWII, "Ten Pound Pom"
 Washington's sub-culture Anglo-dominated Perth first port
 Mediterranean migration of 1950 - Greek and Italian
 Asian migration from entire Asia in the 1970s

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 Recently from around the world
Proliferation - a cultural pattern by the spread of the culture, culture, or central point.
In Group activity we learned that there are 3 major barriers to communication: difference in
culture, language and gender. For example, in corporate life, we can find language, culture and
gender gaps issues as a common.
I think that Globalization is also a major cause that is affecting cultures.
Culture Globalization: Globalization of culture means that the transmission of values,
meanings and idea around the world to increase and strengthen social relations in such a way.
This procedure is spread from the general utilization of the Internet, popular culture media, and
international travel. Globalization of culture integrates scholars from many disciplines, for
example, anthropology, humanism, communication, cultural investigations, geography, political
science, and international relations. This area is quite wide because there are many ideas which
can be viewed as cultural or internationally. (Denning, 2001)
Week 3: Cultural Values
In week three, I learned Cultural Values and its impact, it discusses the factors that are
impacting the cultural values.
Cultural Values: Cultural value is the main ideal and principle, on which a whole
community is available. It is made up of several parts: Values, which includes beliefs, customs,
which used to be rituals and traditions and cultures, which used to guide a group. When we
compare values amongst the Americans, Arabs and Japanese, we find that culture of American
consists: Freedom, Self-Reliance, Equality, Independence and Individualism. The culture of
Arabian's includes Group harmony, Belonging, Collectivism, Group consensus and
Age/Seniority and in the last, the culture of Japanese consists of Age, Family security, Parental

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guidance, Authority and Authority. (Chan, 2008). Let’s discuss how the impact of cultural values
in International Business while comparing Chinese and Sub-Saharan African culture.
Chinese culture is influenced by Buddhism, Confucianism and Shintoism, while Sub-
Saharan African culture is influenced by the west and ancestral culture. Chinese culture has a
traditional identity with communist ideology and impact of the west, whereas sub-Saharan
African culture has its identity associated with the ethnic group, linguistic group, region,
nationality, ancestral origin – simultaneously. Identity relates to the lineage and the community
you belong to. Collectivism approach to Chinese culture is group orientation, interdependence,
saving face/giving face (respect), respect for authority, whereas African culture has an approach
towards working together as a community. (Fan, 2000)
Attitude Toward Women
I learned about the attitude towards women and got to know that attitudes toward females
are influenced by cultural roots. In a few cultures, the attitude is that ladies must have equal
rights to men. In other cultures, ladies are viewed lesser to men. The sexual orientation gap has
been highlighted in the Australian workplace, and the general agreement is that the
administration is accepting ladies at more higher levels in many corporations.
The Australian population has only half (50.2%) of women and girls, whereas in
Australia there are approximately 46% of all employees in Australia, they take home on average
$ 283.20 (based on FTE) compared to men each week. National gender "salary difference" is
18.2% - and is stuck between 15-18% for 20 years. When we compare this on a global basis we
will find that, in the whole world, almost half of the world's women are in labour power,
compared to almost 80% of men - basically no unchanged figure in 20 years. I learned that on an
average, females used to earn 23% less than men and 5 % of the women leads fortune 500

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company. When we compare gender equality amongst the top companies we will find that there
are more male in comparison to females.
Week 3: Culture Shock
This week I have learned about the culture shock, what are the stages of cultural shock,
alleviating Cultural Shock, different aspects of cultural shock, relationships and family
consideration and public and private self and now I’m going to explain two on them according to
my learning and knowledge.
Culture Shock: Culture Shock has been represented as an experience after leaving the
culture of the house, to familiarize themselves with cultural trauma in another cultural or social
condition. Indeed, even the most liberal and travelling people are not resistant to culture shock.
The shock of culture is an issue of communication, where you are not able to understand verbal
or non-verbal signs, rituals, values, or within the host country (Winkelman, 1994). There is a
total of 5 stages of cultural shock, these are:
1. Honeymoon Stage - You are extremely positive, eager, and seek after exciting new
experiences. You also consider having culture as ideal.
2. Irritability and hostility - you start to realize that what is bad is the host culture that
is misleading, or the system is depressing, it is a small step to say that they are saying
in a different way that they work stupidly. Instead of the adaptation process, you can
blame your frustration on new culture (and its shortcomings).
3. Adjustment gradually - you feel more relaxed and build up a more balanced, target
approach to your experience.
4. Adaptation of Biculturalism - You feel another meaning of related culture and
sensitivity.

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5. Reentry Shock - You go home and it's not what you anticipated.
Symptoms of Culture Shock
People are quite different in that degree, due to which the shock of culture affects them,
but almost everyone affects it in one or the other way. Symptoms are different, but may include:
the sadness, withdrawals (for example, reading excessive amounts of time; avoiding contact with
host citizens), unnecessary criticism of local customs or ways to do things, feeling different or
helpless, suffering from body aches and pains, very sleepy or easily tired, irritation on delay and
other small frustrations, longing to come back home, and many more. (Xia, 2009)
Aspects of Culture Shock
Following are the aspects of cultural shocks that I have learned:
1. Culture stress - dealing with packing, walking, new life/lifestyle, new food
2. Social isolation - feeling different, loneliness, difficult to make new friends
3. Extreme limitations of social class and poverty/wealth - By moving to a new country,
you can be transferred to a social class, where you can be unfamiliar or
uncomfortable. This change can also happen with unwritten rules or norms, with
whom you can or with whom, when and where.
Week 5: Language & Written Communication Patterns
Because language is a part of the culture and is influenced by it, it is likely that the
written documentation is culture-bound, therefore, the language is different for neglecting the
culture-specific characteristics, although the utilization of current innovation is nearer to cultures
and their part in etymology is decreasing. This week I learned about languages, how they used to
influence our culture.

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Language: A language is the method of verbal or written communication with the help of
words in conventional and structured manner. A language used to hold us together and used to
differentiate each other. A language used to control how we think, judge and shape concepts.
There are different types of language throughout the world, and each word is spoken or written in
a different way according to their regional or national language. (Brandone, Salkind, Golinkoff,
& Hirsh-Pasek, 2006)For example, Mother (U.K) is spoken as mutter in German, similarly,
father is spoken as Vater in German. There is two type of language according to the culture:
1. High-Context Cultures: This language is used in Arab, Latin America, Japanese,
Koreans and Chinese. They mostly rely on non-verbal and cultural aspects and use
silence to communicate. Their message is very less explicit.
2. Low-Context Cultures: This language is used in Germany, Swiss side and by
Scandinavians. Here the language is delivered in more than one way, and they are
direct to what is required. Their message is very explicit.
Language Barriers in Communication: Language is an essential part of any form of
communication whether it's verbal or written. But it becomes very difficult to communicate in a
situation where people don’t understand each other’s language. Language barrier for
communication is basically an inability to communicate using languages.
I have learned what are the main reasons for language barriers in communication, these
are:
1. The difference in Language: One of the major barriers to communication is because
two people who speak two different languages cannot communicate with each other.

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2. Regional Accents, Dialects and Pidgin: The pronunciation and dialect of people
related to different places (utilization of words) are different, regardless of whether
their language is the same.
3. No Clear Speech: People who speak soft or small voice cannot understand each other.
4. Use of Jargons and Slang: Jargon is the technical term utilized as a part of
communication. It can vary according to the different occupations, characteristics and
technical areas of a man
5. Word Choice: The decision of the word utilized as a part of describing anything ought
to be considered before communicating. The words utilized by a particular individual
to demonstrate their compromise on something can be sarcastically, which is negative
in nature.
3. Literacy and Linguistic Ability: A few people have less vocabulary in a language
whereas some are high. Similarly, the linguistic ability is the capability of a man in a
language.
4. Grammar and Spelling: Grammar and spelling turn into an obstacle in communication
because people from different parts of the world can utilize it in a different word
differently.

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Bibliography
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Wang, M., Brislin, R. W., Wang, W. Z., Williams, D., & Chao, J. (2000). Turning bricks into
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