Thoughts and Ideas from a Multicultural Mutt - Essay Example

?M.A. LAnguage Electives Intercultural Encounters A Language Portfolio Table of Contents On Studying French Thoughts and Ideas from a Multi-Cultural Mutt A Question of Identity: 2 What it would mean for me to be a fluent speaker of French Going Beyond the Modules: 5 Developing my Skills in French in Everyday Setting A Closer Look at – 4 the Cultural Difficulties I am expected to Encounter Learning Style Questionnaire Results: 3 Reflections of a Studial Learner Management and the Foreign Language: 6 The Effects of Foreign Language in my International Management Skills Successful Communication in a Multicultural Environment: 7 What can I do to improve my communication skills in multicultural setting? On Studying French: Thoughts and Ideas from a Multi-Cultural Mutt There are two things to describe me: I am a multi-cultural mutt and at the same time, a global citizen. Living my life is like having the world map printed in your hands. It is always within my reach. My native country in Russia is where it all started. I became conscious of my existence in a place where the struggle for social steadiness is of great importance. It is the place where I became oriented with a cynical outlook in life while at the same time it enabled me to anticipate and understand any difficulties I encounter in life. Because of such view point, moving to Istanbul a few years ago became a welcoming experience for me. The shift in adjusting from Russian to Turkish culture became a needed challenge for me. Living in Turkey opened my doors to the convergence of cultures between the East and West. It allowed me to reflect on the hybrid between Western and Eastern influences. It opened my eyes to the cultural differences I have witnessed around me. Eventually, I decided to move into the United States only to immerse myself in a multi-cultural surrounding. While I experienced various intercultural encounters from my global travels, I sought to find a place where my love for culture and the arts will be satisfied. Because of this intense interest to retrace my European heritage and culture, I have looked up to the French language to equip me with better understanding of human creativity that I see in French cinema, literature, and arts. My various trips to France were always field with memorable moments that fueled my interest and love for humanities. As such, my motivation to learn French is deeply rooted from my appreciation of the country and its culture. As my future journey to live in France awaits me, I never cease to continuously the language. A Question of Identity: What it would mean for me to be a fluent speaker of French Learning French has always entailed a more personal than practical reasons to master the language. It cannot be denied that my motivation to learn French mainly comes from my appreciation of the culture in general. I learn French not only because it entails various opportunities in working for international organizations abroad, but also because it means that I am able to associate myself with French culture. Many might wonder why I exhibit such love for the language, but I can only tell them that I have been to many places around the world and while each country showcases a unique cultural heritage, I would say that in terms of music, architecture, movies, and literature, the French culture exhibits a more lively appreciation for the arts. Perhaps the word I should use in describing the French is sophistication. My various travels to France have always been memorable as I was able to appreciate the heritage and the undying affinity of the French people towards arts and literature. Personally, I want to live in this kind of setting where I could revel on the French countryside and associate with the like-mindedness I shared with French people. For these reasons, becoming a fluent speaker of French allows me to understand and penetrate in French society. A lot of friends whom I treasure deeply are French and to be able to gain more meaningful experiences with them, I am determined to hone my skills in the language and interact more deeply, as opposed to the surface conversation that I encounter during my travels. Lastly, my determination to master French will completely fulfill my dream of acquiring as many languages as I can during my lifetime. I have always been a citizen of the world and learning French allows me to potentially interact with 200 million speakers of the language. Intercultural learning will always be continuous process for me. Going Beyond the Modules: Developing my Skills in French in Everyday Setting Perhaps I would know that I have already mastered the French language when I start dreaming in French. Now that the possibility is still highly unlikely, I am committing myself to undertake self-guided improvements in honing my skills in the language. Aside from studying the intricacies of French grammar and pronunciation in an academic setting, I have also learned to go beyond what I have learned in reference books and dictionary. First, my love for the French language is rooted deeply in watching French movies and songs. There is an undeniable melody in the way my foreign ears would hear French being spoken and sung in different media channels. Because of this, it has become a routine for me to watch French movies every weekend and quite ambitiously set it without the subtitles. Also, I listen almost every day to the soothing rhythms of French music, especially to the songs Non Je ne Regrette Rien, La Vie En Rose and Hymne a L’Amour by Edith Piaf. To accompany this interest in French culture, I also participate in language immersion by traveling to the French-speaking population in Canada. Through my travels in the region, I am able to not only develop fluency in speaking the language but also nurture my appreciation in the influences of French in Canadian culture. Soon enough, I plan to take many more trips to France in order to further familiarize myself in the French environment. For now, I am utilizing the benefits of online learning to supplement what I have learned in this language elective degree. I constantly communicate with various friends worldwide who speak French. I treat them as my language exchange partner, in a way that both of us could learn from each other. I try to utilize the available technology through Skype in practicing French to my language partners around the world. A Closer Look at – The Cultural Difficulties I am expected to Encounter, given: I. The Cultural profile of my own society A cultural challenge in learning French is the distinguishable feature of Russians to be very demonstrative in displaying non-verbal communication, whereas the French, in my observation, are more implicit in their non-verbal approach. Most importantly, when it comes to learning the French language, I have adopted the typical Russian cynicism in approaching the in acquiring knowledge and experiences. II. My own cultural profile Considering that I have lived in various, diverse places around the world, I am fortunate hone my intercultural communication skills whenever I encounter people from different background. One of the ways I deal with a non-native English speaker is to code-switch or mix different languages just so I could get my ideas across the receiver of my message. However, the idea that French people are sometimes very particular in the pure and correct use of the language puts this technique at a disadvantage. For this reason, I aim to motivate myself in consciously learning correct and standard French. III. The cultural profile of the target society As previously mentioned, French can sometimes be a complex and tricky language. As a native Russian speaker, one of the main linguistic challenges in learning the French language is honing my listening skills to understand and articulate the tricky pronunciation of the language. Also, French society is also particular in how one utilizes the language and thus it is challenging Learning Style Questionnaire Results: Reflections of a Studial Learner Given the results of the learning style questionnaire, I could not contest the result which pointed directly at my being a studial learner of a foreign language. Having acquired English and Turkish as secondary languages, it occurred to me that while I see the importance of directly interacting with native speakers, it is more significant to learn languages in a systematic way. It is more efficient to approach a foreign language with a strategy – that means consulting reference materials and paying attention to the linguistic features of the foreign language I am trying to learn. First and foremost, my awareness of being a studial learner of a language is what encouraged me to take a formal study in French. I know that one of my strengths is to develop a logical approach in language acquisition and be able to note important corrections in utilizing the language. By learning French in a formal institution, I am able to focus my attention to detail and thus become more accurate in effectively using the language. It is my personal view that when dealing with people from other cultural background, the correct usage of the other person’s language entails a different appreciation of the language. However, being a studial learner does not necessarily mean that I focus solely on what is written in learning materials. It also helped that, out of these resources, I am able to formulate my own approach in determining patterns and language groups to aid my knowledge and capabilities in the language. Once these techniques are developed, I could practice what I have learned in the external setting. By then, I will be more confident to immerse myself in a French language environment. Management and the Foreign Language: The Effects of Foreign Language in my International Management Skills In a globalized world where multinational companies operate in many countries, the acquisition of a foreign language poses various advantages to those who aspire to become business managers like myself. Having learned three languages – Russian, Turkish, and English – and currently adding French to my language list, I am more confident to deal with customers, competitors, employers, employees, and colleagues in business whose trust and confidence I can likely win because I speak their language. In management practice, it is an added to interact, negotiate, and address the customers and employees with the language familiar to them. In my view, there are three important roles that foreign language plays in the international management practice, particularly in internal and external business setting as well as in customer services. First, obtaining a foreign language aids in fostering internal communication within the organization. Maintaining good relationship with people within the group requires understanding and intercultural competitiveness to manage and lead the success of the organization. On the other hand, learning a foreign language adds benefit in enhancing the external communication with other stakeholders in the business and the wider community in which the business operates. Most importantly, the new language will be an additional tool to develop messages for the customer and understand them better. As an international manager, it is my duty to ensure that customer satisfaction is gained by after a successful interaction with clients and consumer. A foreign language aids in making the customer feel comfortable in buying the products and services when the communication requirements are successfully met. For international managers, a foreign language is an indispensible tool that can ultimately lead to business success. Successful Communication in a Multicultural Environment: What can I do to improve my communication skills in multicultural setting? Being a non-native English speaker living in a multicultural society such as the United States equipped me with the necessary skills to improve my communication with people belonging to different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The diversity that I find in my surrounding enabled me to interact, connect, and share ideas and information to the people around me. Although communication across culture presents complexities and challenges, I was able to learn, through my personal dealings with different people, various ways in attaining effective communication. First, it is important to be aware and recognize the differences in communication style between myself and the other person I talk to. In this way, I will be able to anticipate the communicational challenges and be able to find ways to ease future misunderstandings. Another way to deal with miscommunication is to improve my awareness and recognition with both verbal and non-verbal messages. I figured especially that non-verbal communication is critical in putting emphasis to my language. The last area for communication improvement would be my ability to inquire and clarify my understanding of the messages from others. Miscommunications can be prevented if both parties were able to process the understanding of messages to each other. I believe that the ways to attain successful communication consists of having the basic virtues of patience, honesty, sensitivity, and self-awareness to succeed in a multicultural environment. All these virtues in communication I aim to practice as I venture to make every communication instances in my newly acquired language successful and rewarding. Selected Readings Guirdham, M. (2005) Communicating Across Cultures at Work, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. Bourdieu P., (1993) Language and Symbolic Power, Blackwell Publishing Cambridge Coulmas F., (1992) Language and Economy, Blackwell, Oxford Holmes K. and Mautner G., (2009), Language and the Market, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke and New York Massey, D., (2004), "Space, place and Gender" In Miles M., Hall T., and Borden I. (eds) The City Cultures Readers, Collins, London and New York Read More