| íà ãëàâíóþ ñòðàíèöó ÐÊÀ |

Î ÊÎÍÔÅÐÅÍÖÈÈ ÈÍÔÎ ÎÐÃÀÍÈÇÀÒÎÐÛ ÓÑËÎÂÈß Ó×ÀÑÒÈß ÄÎÏÎËÍÈÒÅËÜÍÎ

ÏÐÎÃÐÀÌÌÀ
__________
ÑÅÊÖÈÈ
__________
ÊÐÓÃËÛÅ
ÑÒÎËÛ
È ÌÀÑÒÅÐ-
ÊËÀÑÑÛ

__________
ÒÅÇÈÑÛ ÏËÅÍÀÐÍÛÕ
ÄÎÊËÀÄÎÂ

__________
Ó×ÀÑÒÍÈÊÈ
__________
ÏÎÐßÄÎÊ
ÏÐÈÅÌÀ
ÌÀÒÅÐÈÀËÎÂ

__________





__________
ÊÀËÅÍÄÀÐÜ
__________
ÄÐÓÃÈÅ
ÌÅÐÎÏÐÈßÒÈß
ÐÊÀ

__________
 

INTERCULTURAL LISTENING: A WORKSHOP

Cooper Pamela (University of South Carolina, USA),
Beall Melissa (University of Northern Iowa, USA),
Hoel Rick (Hilton Head Island, USA)

INTRODUCTION

As most of us know, listening is not as easy as one might suppose. Certainly hearing is not a problem for most of us. But listening is another story. Hearing and listening are not the same. Hearing is only the first step in the listening process. Several researchers have suggested that listening is a particular problem in intercultural communication (cf., Lewis ). Based on our traveling, living, and working abroad, we will conduct this workshop to help others understand their own intercultural listening barriers and how they might overcome them. This paper sets the background for our approach and then outlines the workshop format.

THE APPROACH

Importance of Stories

We are the stories we tell. As Walter Fisher (1989) suggests, we humans are storytellers. We make sense of others and ourselves through story. Anyone who has communicated with someone from another culture understands this. Reading a guide book or a list of "Do's and Don'ts" does no prepare one to communicate interculturally. Only the "lived experience" can do that. And in this "lived experience" of story, listening plays a vital role.

As storytellers, our values, emotions and aesthetic considerations ground our beliefs and behaviors. Thus, in his narrative paradigm, Fisher stipulates five postulates:

1. Humans are storytellers

2. Decision making and communication are based on "good reasons."

3. Good reasons are determined by matters of history, biography, culture, and character.

4. Rationality is based in people's awareness of how internally consistent and truthful to lived experience stories appear.

5. The world is experienced by people as a set of stories from which to choose among. AS we choose among these stories, we live life in a process of continual re-creation.

A key concept in the narrative approach is the concept of narrative itself. Often we think of narrative as simply a story. This is a mistake, for as Fisher indicates, "When I use the term 'narration,' I do not mean a fictive composition whose propositions may be true or false and have no necessary relationship to the message of that composition. By 'narration,' I mean symbolic actions - words and/or deeds - that have sequence and meaning for those who live, create, or interpret them" (1987, 58). Or put another way, "there is no genre, including technical communication, that is not an episode in the story of life" (1985, 347). Thus, for Fisher, all communication is narrative. Narrative is not a specific genre (for example, stories as opposed to poems), but rather, a mode of influence. Thus, listening to a class lecture, talking with your friends, listening to a political speech or the evening news, reading a book - all consist of your hearing and shaping narratives. In Fisher's thinking, story is imbued in all human communication endeavors, even those involving logic. All arguments include "ideas that cannot be verified or proved in any absolute way. Such ideas arise in metaphor, values, gestures, and so on" (1987, p.19). In short, Fisher attempts to bridge the divide we often have between logos (rational argument) and mythos (story, or narration).

This concept that humans are essentially storytellers is not unique to the field of communication. It is also found in other disciplines including anthropology, history, philosophy, psychology, theology, sociology, and biology. There is "the growing belief that narrative represents a universal medium of human consciousness" (Lucaites and Condit, 1985, 347).

Listening In Another Culture

In terms of intercultural listening, we like the Chinese character for listening. It is an excellent definition for our narrative approach. The character combines the character for eyes, ear, and heart. Certainly all three must be present to listen effectively, whether in our own cultures or in other cultures. We must look with my eyes - be mindful - look deeper than the surface. We need to continually ask ourselves, "What am I seeing here? How might my perception of what I am seeing be influenced by my own culture? How might this influence 'taint' the accuracy of my perception?" We need to focus on the nonverbal aspect of listening as well as the verbal. In other words, what is the narrative we are seeing?

Listening with our ears in another culture requires the same kind of mindfulness suggested above. Often we struggle with the language barrier we encounter. Again, the question is "What is the narrative that I am listening to? Does it meet the criteria set forth by Fisher for a good narrative?"

Finally, listening with the heart aids in our interpretation of what we see with our eyes and hear with our ears. It is the part of us that speaks to questions such as "Who are these people? How does their narrative fit with mine? How are our narratives different? How much difference do these differences really make? How do I feel about what I see and hear? How do I value what I see and hear? How do I want to react to what I see and feel?"

WORKSHOP FORMAT

Using our concept of story and our definition of listening, we will structure the format into three major areas: the heart, the eyes, and the ears. Based on the activities, we will compile a list of the qualities of a good listener in intercultural communication settings.

The Heart

I Am From: Each person will write 10 lines beginning with "I am from…."

Participants will tell the story behind one of their sentences These will be discussed as to their similarities and differences among cultures and what these similarities and differences tell us about listening barriers in intercultural communication. Discussion will also focus on what techniques we can use to aid our listening in intercultural communication.

The Eyes

What Do You See and What Does It Mean?: Using the book, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (Chris Van Allsburg), participants will work in small groups to view a picture from and the book and create a story about the picture. Each group will have the same pictureand the stories will be shared and compared. Discussion will focus on the concept of the picture is the same, but the perception is different. What does this tell us about listening with our eyes in other cultures?

The Ears

The Rumor: This is an old activity, but no matter how often it is used, it always makes the point that we listen ineffectively and pass on often erroneous information.

Five participants will leave the room. One person will be told a short piece of information (such as directions to a restaurant). The participant comes into the room and is told a short piece of information. The second person returns to the room and the first person passes on the information. A third participant enters the room and the second participant tells the information to the third participant. This process continues until all five participants have returned to the room. In this first step of the exercise, no questions can be asked. The process is repeated, with different participants and different information. This time, questions can be asked.

Discussion then focuses on the importance of active listening and the techniques of it.

Wrap Up

Based on these activities, participants will generate a list of the qualities of good listeners in intercultural settings.

CONCLUSION

We are the stories we tell. We become who we are because of the stories we listen to with our eyes, ears, and heart. Obviously this is true whenever we find ourselves in our own culture or one quite different from our own. The point is that living and listening interculturally requires us to work harder at hearing and seeing and interpreting that data "accurately." This interpretation is most useful to us when it is done from a narrative prospective.

REFERENCES

    Fisher, W. (1989). Human communication as narration: Toward a philosophy of reason, value and action. Columbia, SC: University of South Caroline Press.
    Lewis,
    Lucaites, C.L. and Condit, C. (1985). Reconstructing a narrative theory: A functional perspective. Journal of Communication, 35, 110-108.


 
Copyright © 2002-2021, Ðîññèéñêàÿ êîììóíèêàòèâíàÿ àññîöèàöèÿ. All rights reserved.
Ïðè èñïîëüçîâàíèè èíôîðìàöèè ãèïåðññûëêà íà www.russcomm.ru îáÿçàòåëüíà. Webeditor
::Yamato web-design group::