Journal 2

Learning Techniques

My classmates had lots of really insightful things to say about learning techniques and methods, many of which I'd feel very comfortable using in the classroom or when working with other students. For example, Mika brought up the importance and benefits of non-verbal communication; Mika cites the work of Jandt in explaining how non-verbal communication, when used correctly, can be an enabler of communication. One needs to simply familiarize oneself with these standards as they vary from culture to culture in order to make communication more fluid. For example, as Mika points out, most people in the United States are aware of the use of a handshake and strong eye contact as a facilitator of greeting and thus a beginning of the point of contact. However, Mika points out that, "In Arab countries, gender plays a large role in greetings. Males embrace and kiss each other on both cheeks after a light and lingering handshake. Women may also kiss each other, but men and women do not kiss." These are important differences to be aware of when communicating multiculturally.

Elliot also makes an important point about learning methods, when he highlights the general use of symbols. Elliot aptly points out, "A popular symbol that is used and recognized very well in the U.S. And Africa is the red ribbon that recognizes the fight against AIDS. The red ribbon, created by Jeremy Irons, and telecast in the 1992 Tony Awards allowed the world see that AIDS was not just a disease only specific to the gay community (a common belief at the beginning of this crisis) but that affects the whole world, with particular emphasis on people in Africa." People can harness such symbols to show solidarity and communicate without words. Taking advantage of such powerful symbols can establish a sense of camaraderie and rapport almost instantly if used wisely.

Perhaps most interestingly enough, Barbara mentions how one's shoes can inform acquaintances about one's personality, and how people often use cues such as the way a person is dressed as a means of gathering information. For example, it's Barbara who mentions the work of the scholar Gillath who asserts, "In making inferences based on shoe characteristics, three interesting patterns emerged: Some real personal characteristics were accurately perceived by others, e.g., owners who wear masculine or high top shoes tend to be less agreeable. Some of the accurate information that shoes carry & #8230; were not perceived by others & #8230; e.g., people high in attachment anxiety were more likely to have dull shoes, but our participants didn't recognize this cue. Finally, some personal characteristics that were not true to the shoe owners were stereotypically identified by others, e.g., participants assumed that people who wear more attractive and well-kept shoes tend to be more conscientious, but attractiveness and repair of shoes were not related to observer ratings of Conscientiousness after controlling for perceived gender, age, and income. By examining the three patterns, we concluded that attractiveness and comfort of shoes are a particularly interpretable reflection of the owner's personal characteristics." Thus, being aware of how both teachers and students dress can aptly inform one about the personality of who one is dealing with, essentially transcending boundaries or age, class and language.

2. Methods for Multicultural Communication