Intercultural Communication

Service Learning Paper

Submitted by:
Mariko Yamamoto

April 28th, 2017

Submitted to:
Tamra K. Phillips, M.S.
COMM 2150-003
Department of Communication
Salt Lake Community College

Service Organization
 For my service learning project, I decided to volunteer in an English as a Second

Language class at Salt Lake Community College. The class that I worked with was a

pronunciation class run by Gordon Dunne, and occasionally, Andy Shaw. The contact

information is as follows:

English as a Second Language Classes

Salt Lake Community College
Redwood Campus
Gordon Dunne, ESL Professor
TB 213
Gordon.dunne@slcc.edu
801-957-5147

Project

As stated on the SLCC.edu The mission of the English as a Second Language

(ESL) courses at Salt Lake Community College is to improve students' English language

skills which will help them successfully develop personally, professionally and

academically at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC.edu).

For my project, I attended the pronunciation class Monday through Thursday

from 1:00-1:50. I worked with the class as a whole and assisted Gordon and Andy, and

acted a tie breaker when the two of them couldnt agree on the pronunciation of certain

words. Though each day was different, as some students failed to attend each day, there

was a general handful who were fairly consistent with their attendance, all of which were

from different countries and cultures.

Cultural Groups
 John Pierre is an immigrant from many parts of Africa. He never said which

country, because he moved around so much throughout life, hes not really sure where

to list as his home. Yakaida is from the Dominican Republic, Blanca is from El

Salvador, and Maria is from Spain. Those three all spoke spanish and would often talk

with one another and help each other out. I think they found comfort in hearing their

native tongue, even though they all were from different countries, and even though the

pronunciations between each spanish speaker was slightly different. Mayada is an

immigrant from somewhere in the Middle East, though I dont know which country.

And lastly, Kevin is from South Korea. All of these students get along well with one

another, and have only been in the United States for several months.

Challenges

The most challenging aspect of this experience was trying to refrain from

overthinking my pronunciations of words. As a kid, my friends and I would pick a word

and repeat it until it no longer sounded like a word. In this pronunciation class, each

student had such a distinct accent, that when it came time for me to pronounce it the

american or in my case, the californian way, I nearly forgot how I would say things

in my natural voice. There were many times where I would be helping a student, and

when theyd ask a question about certain grammar rules that Id completely forgotten,

myself.

Theory
 The theory I found myself most intrigued by, is Stella Ting-Toomeys Face

Negotiation theory. As described in our text, Face Negotiation is the view that cultural

groups vary in preferences for conflict styles and face-saving strategies (Martin &

Nakayama, 2012, p.56). Our course packet defines face as the public image everyone

wants to claim for him/herself (Phillips, 2017, p.41). When our face is threatened, we

use either face-restoration, or face-saving tactics. When someone else loses face, we use

face-giving or face-assertion.

The other portion of this theory is the Conflict Management Strategies. The

course packet lists five different ways of handling conflict that vary between cultures

(Phillips, 2017, p.91).

1. Dominating: One party achieves his or her goal regardless of the other

party's needs (win/lose). This typically ends in a lose/lose situation.

2. Integrating: both people have an open and direct discussion in attempt to

reach a mutual agreement (win/win).

3. Compromising: both individuals give up something, and gain something,

in order to find a mutual agreement (lose/lose-win/win).

4. Obliging: minimizing differences while focusing primarily on similarities

and giving in to the wants and needs of the other person in order to appease the

situation (lose/win).
5. Avoiding: withdrawing from or ignoring a conflict as an attempt to settle

the conflict (lose/lose).

In countries like the United States, we focus more on ourselves, and the

individuals wants, needs, goals, etc. Because of this, we as a whole tend to be more

direct and confrontational as opposed to countries in Asia, who are more focused on the

community as a whole, and tend to avoid conflict or confrontation.

 Because of the individualistic nature of the American culture, Americans tend to

be more focused on saving their own face. Collectivist cultures like Asians, and Latinos

focus more on saving others face, in attempt to keep the harmony amongst the group.

Analysis

The reason I find myself most intrigued by this particular theory is because of the

way it shed so much light on my intercultural family. My Italian has adapted to more

American ways, as theyve been here generations longer than my Japanese family has.

With that said, the ways in which Americans and Asians handle conflict is drastically

different, as is their face-saving/face-giving tactics. Being able to analyze the differences

in my two families and use them as examples to better understand the theory itself,

helped me to apply it in my service learning project.

With this class being as diverse as it was, it was interesting to witness how certain

students reacted to situations, and correlate it back to their country of origin. For

example, Yakaida struggled with certain sounds like, b and v. When working on

these, she got singled out to repeat and correct her pronunciation. During this time, she

made jokes. Maria and Blanca joined in and tried helping her. Maria and Blanca were

practicing Face-assertion.

Meanwhile, when Kevin was asked to practice words that he struggled with -

typically words containing ls and rs, instead of making jokes, he chose to save his face

by practicing the word repeatedly to himself before he gets called on (face-saving) and

continuing to do so after his turn is over (face-restoration).

Reflection

Though this wasnt the service learning project I was originally planning on

doing, Im really glad that this is what I ended up with. Though its not what I planned, I

wish Id discovered it sooner, and that I had more time with each of these students. On

my first day, Gordon explained that I wouldnt really do much in this class. I was mostly

there to observe, and pronounce a word here or there as asked. Very quickly I became

more involved than anyone had expected. Because of this, Gordon relied on me more

and more to pronounce words, read paragraphs, perform dialogue with Andy and other

students, and assist students with their workbooks.

I didnt know what I was getting into when I first walked through those doors.

Ive always grown up around different cultures, and different accents (primarily spanish,

armenian, southern, and japanese), so I wasnt so afraid of the levels of diversity, or the

chance of not being able to understand someone, but rather the idea of walking into a

room of people I dont know. Luckily, all of my anxiety went away within moments of

beginning that first day in class.

By the end of my time with the class, I really felt like I made a difference. Seeing

how much repetition played a part in their learning, I realized how much my being an

extra voice to converse with helped aid their progress. Having everyday conversations

about relationships, vacations, school, family, etc. really helped put the exercises into

practice and I could tell that was really helping them.

I was sad to leave, and by the end, I really wished that I was able to spend more

time in the class. Honestly, if the semester was still going, I would return to that class

long after completing my required fifteen hours. Gordon mentioned as I was leaving on

my last day that I had gone above and beyond for this class and that really made me feel
validated. It felt like hed seen the heart that I had put into it and the mutual

appreciation we all felt toward one another's presence.

References

English as a Second Language (KESL). (2017). Retrieved April 28th, 2017 from

http://www.slcc.edu/sat/programs/basicskills/esl.aspx

Martin, J.N. & Nakayama, T. K. (2012). Intercultural Communication in Contexts (6th

ed.).

Boston: McGraw Hill.

Phillips, T.K. (2017). Intercultural Communication Course Packet.