As a result of globalization and development of technology especially in communication, we have chances to work with people from different countries and different cultures. Communicating effectively with them is a big challenge that we have to deal with.
If you want to communicate with people from different country, you have to learn about their culture: greeting, having meal, nonverbal action, etc. It does not mean you have to act like them, but you need to understand what is appreciated and what should not do. For example, it is considered to be impolite making noise when you have dinner in a western family but it is the way Chinese people express the deliciousness. Another example is that when you should not make beef steak for the Indian or pork stew for the Muslim. Learning a new culture could be difficult but it is very important to have make a good impression on other people.
Studying in Singapore - a multicultural country - offer me chances to be friend with many people especially Indian, Chinese and Malay but it also a big challenge. The difficulty not only come from languages - we are not speaking our mother tongue but English - but also from the diversity of culture. Luckily, everyone in Singapore respect other cultures that make me feel more comfortable. My team, C04C is a combination of three people from three different culture: Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian. To work harmoniously with them, I have to learn about their culture especially their way of thinking, gesture or the use of time. By understanding each other, we can be good friends and achieve in this semester.
"To the world you might be one person, but to one person, you might be the world.
Kindness is the golden chain by which our world is bound together."
Johanne von Goethe
Hi Khoa Tran,
ReplyDeleteI believe the groupings of our project are steered towards mixing people of different cultures together. Almost, or all of our groups have people of different races. We should take this opportunity to practise what we have learnt.
Some suggestions: The size of the font could be larger and the colour could be more distinct for easier reading.
Regards,
Kevin Lin :)
Your blog entry is enlightening because it comes from a viewpoint of a non-Singaporean. Singaporeans, to put in bluntly, are spoilt. Our government has a hand in almost all aspect of our lives, think race quota in HDB flats, ERP etc. Yes, Singapore is a peaceful, multi-racial society. However, I believe not all Singaporeans are welcomed to the idea of more "foreign talents" in the country. We should aim towards having a more integrated society, where the locals are receptive to working with people from other cultures.
ReplyDeleteJust a point to note, the grammar in your entry could be improved. But as the saying goes, Rome was not built in a day. Mastering a language does not happen overnight too!
Hi Khoa,
ReplyDeleteI like how the transitions your made between paragraphs. :) This has made your points coherent and understandable to the audience. :)
However, there is a slight factual error within your post; it is the Japanese who slurps to express their appreciation. :) You have to be especially careful about presenting incorrect data as it could make your entire argument implausible to the reader/audience.
Despite this flaw, I must commend you on a job well-done! Keep it up! :) And, I look forward to a great semester working with you and Nitika. :) Catch you later. :)
Yours sincerely,
Juncheng Chen
Hi Khoa,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are having fun learning aand adapting to the different cultures in Singapore.
I agree that it is important to understand and appreciate the different cultures around us. However, it is just as difficult to constantly remind oneself to avoid a particular action that might be rude to another person.
In such a scenario, I believe sincerity plays a more significant role. Even when someone blunders and makes a wrong gesture, if the other party appreciates the sincerity, I am sure he/she will be more than willing to forgive and correct the mistake instead.
After all, intercultural interaction is about embracing different cultures while realizing the differences between them.
~JH
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ReplyDeleteYour posts never fail to interest me. It always shows me a different perspective to the topic. This is of course attributed to our different cultures. As a local, I am not even aware of any current gap or any need of a bridge between the various cultures. We practically grew past those differences since young. Only now do I realize that this is not the case for foreigners. Their first instinctive reaction to the reception of a multicultural society is to think about the daunting task of bridging the gap. Your post has given me more insight into the way I perceive a multicultural society and the way the outside world perceives it.
ReplyDeleteA very good point mentioned is that learning another culture is not about imitating it, but rather, about understanding and appreciating it.
Others have commented about the grammatical mistakes. I make a lot too. Maybe I can share with you how I minimized mine. I typed my entire post (and comments) on Microsoft Word, and let it tell me where my mistakes are, and then go on to correct it. Although this only minimizes some mistakes, it is still effective. I tried the same with your post and immediately saw some underlined phrases on Microsoft Word.
Thanks for commenting my blog. I will take note every mistake in my post that you have pointed out. I hope that my next post will be better :D
ReplyDeleteKhoa,
ReplyDeleteIt is visible that you have attempted minimising your mistakes and rectifying them, which is a very good sign. In order to deal with grammatical errors, I suggest you read a good number of books and converse in English whenever possible. As for your posts, you could probably get them checked for possible mistakes before you post them and learn from the corrections made.
You have aptly described what a foreigner goes through in a country that is new to him. Multicultural countries are more of a boon than a bane. A bane in the sense that you might have not just one culture to learn to adjust to. A boon because you get to learn from the coexistence and harmony of different cultures and thereby identify with them.
Regards,
-Lakshmi
Hi Khoa,
ReplyDeleteYour blog post is nicely written, with appropriate examples. However, the examples are rather commonly used, and thus I would suggest that you write about your personal experiences outside school to differentiate yourself from the rest. Also, I could not see the link between your quote and your writings. Maybe you could add a sentence or two to link them.
I agree with you that by understanding each other's culture, we would be able to communicate better. As your group mate, I hope to understand more about your culture through you, and maybe, we might turn out to be good friends at the end of the semester. :)
Jing Mei
Nice post!!! Communication skill does refer to your skill to connect with and express meaning to other people.
ReplyDeleteThanks for give me information on this topic. Private tutor Far Hills you have sharing very nice post.
ReplyDelete