ANTH 112 & ANTH 326: Getting the most out of this course
This course will be unlike any that you take while at Vancouver Island University. It is a two-in-one course; as such, it offers challenges to all who take it (as well as for the instructor!).
The Challenges:
There are two main challenges faced by students
1) language: For the most part, English is a second language for international students. This means that communication may be awkward for both native and non-native speakers of English. There will likely be some adjustment to different accents. Language is a skill so students need to show understanding for others. Imagine yourself doing fieldwork in a completely different culture. You are an intelligent person, but how do you communicate with others who have better language skills than yourself. Repeat and try rephrasing your comments and questions. If you do not understand a word, ASK! There may be confusion over word usage. Remember that colloquial language or slang can be very specific to the culture, even amongst English-language speakers! Do the 2-second pause while the listener digests what you have said; some individuals need a moment to reply.
2) cultural expectations: Depending on your culture, you may be more direct in your approach; not everyone responds in this fashion. One aspect of cultural expectation is about hierarchy: status might be assumed by those viewed as older or with more education. Remember that everyone in this class is an equal. Some may be more knowledgeable about different aspects of life, but everyone’s voice is valid. Youth or language skills are not an indication of one’s ability as a student. When working on your group project, come to a consensus about the research topic. For Canadian students, take off your cultural blinders! The international students may be more aware of the differences in Canadian culture than Canadians.
Comments:
What Canadian students have said of this course:
This group project was very illuminating both personally and intellectually. It brought up several interesting issues dealing with interpersonal skills, anthropological procedure, cultural traits, and much more. It gave us much more information than if we had had to do this alone or in a solely Canadian class. As well, we could never have learned this exclusively from lectures and textbooks. The hands-on nature was essential for comprehension. While this was definitely not real fieldwork, it taught us some positive things about the reality and allowed us a taste of the problems, as well.
We also greatly benefited from working with the international students. They brought so many components into the project that we would never have fathomed because of our cultural blinders. As well, for us, perhaps the greatest success was that we came away from this project with wonderful new friends from amazing places around the world.
I felt the international students added more to the classes and presentations than most of the upper level students […] International students within our class definitely enriched my knowledge and perception of different ethnic cultures.
What international students have said of this course:
Our project itself might not have an important influence on society or be for any use but it was interesting and fun and I think what is most important is that I learned something. […] I think the most important thing I learned from this class in this semester is the awareness of different cultures which has made me value my own culture more and also be more aware of it. So I am actually now more proud of my own culture than I was before my time here in Canada and this class because I have become more aware of differences between cultures and have learned to value that.
I realized that while we working together, we started to open up to each other and became good friends without knowing it. Although this project required us to meet many times and was challenging, we eventually successfully achieved it.
I think it is good for students to have a chance to work together and discuss different points of view. It is good for international students to meet and work with Canadian students and get to know them a little bit better. I think that by interacting with others and sharing different perspectives, we all learn much more.
Although the main goals of the project were important to me, I have gained significant experience merely by working with senior and other international students.
By sharing my own culture, I realized that I had not known about it very well. So I looked back at my life in my country, and researched as well. I would not have it if there had not been any opportunity. […] Knowing other cultures help people to look back at their own culture and know about it more.
Created 2004-01-02; last updated 2013-01-06