INTRODUCTION:Cul
turalSensi
ti
vi
ty
Iti
swel
lknownthatmanyschol
ars(
Adl
er,1975;Damen,1987;Furuta,Ishi
i
,Okabe,Hi
rai
& Kume,2001)categori
zedthecul
turaltransi
ti
onalexperi
encei
ntofi
vestages,suchasfrom
1)theonsetofencounteri
ng theothercul
tureaspl
easurethattravel
l
ersoften experi
ence
(
honeymoonperi
od)to2)theanxi
etyperi
odafterexperi
enci
ngnumeri
caldi
fferencesand3)
reachi
ngthestrongfrustrati
onandrej
ecti
onofthenew cul
ture,4)readj
usti
ngandsettl
i
ng
peri
od and 5)re-appreci
ati
on peri
od ofthetargetcul
ture.Therearedi
fferentformsof
di
vi
si
ons,butthetypi
calgraphsshow thatthepsychol
ogi
calcondi
ti
onstracemoreorl
ess
thesamepattern(
seebel
ow)
.
Abstract
Thisisanobservationalstudytoshow how femalecollegestudentsperceivedAmericanculture andtheirown cultureaftertheirstudy abroadprogram.Thestudy involved29students,19 whoparticipatedinthe18-monthcourseand10whoparticipatedinthe5-monthcourse.Their initialreaction to American culturewasratherhesitantasthey found thecommunication styleoften toodirect,butthey soon madetheadjustmentand enjoyed conversing with the localpeople.Amongstotherdiscoveries,thestudentsstartedassertingtheiridentityandsel f-assurednessinpublicandintheclassroom.Incontrast,onreturninghometheyfoundalack ofindividualcontactin publicaswellasin theclassroom.Theopportunity they had to experienceanothercultureandcontrastitwiththeirownprovedworthwhileonthewhole.At home,theyturnedacriticaleyeonthepublicforitshomogeneityandfreneticpace,soitis possiblethatspending twoyearsin collegein Japan isnecessary toshapetheirsocialskills beforeentering thework force.Lastly,theauthor suggestsfostering in Japan themore autonomouslearningstylethestudentsappeartohavestarteddevelopingduringtheirstayin Boston.
学苑英語コミュニケーション紀要 No.822 42～66（20094）
Cul
tureShockandAdj
ustment
ofJapaneseFemal
eCol
l
egeStudents
In& AfterStudyAbroadProgram
TomokoSugi
hashi
In my cross-cul
turalcommuni
cati
on cl
assi
n 2007spri
ng,Iaskedmy cl
asstodraw a
l
i
negraph to show thei
remoti
onalreacti
onsto thenew cul
turei
n Boston.Mostofthe
studentswerethi
rdyearstudentswhohadcompl
etedthei
rrequi
redstudyabroadprogram
for5monthsorextendedstudyabroadprogram for18monthsl
essthantwomonthsbefore
thecoursestarted.Surpri
si
ngl
y,many studentsshowedvari
ati
onsi
n thei
rexperi
ences,as
depi
ctedi
nthefol
l
owi
ngl
i
negraphs:
Thefi
rsttwo graphsi
ndi
catethestudentshad somei
ni
ti
alanxi
ety,butwerebasi
cal
l
y
happy oncethey gotused to l
i
fei
n Boston.Thethi
rd graph i
ndi
catesthestudentwas
exci
ted aboutgoi
ng to Boston even beforel
eavi
ng Japan and conti
nued to behappy for
mostofherstay.Thesteepdrop-offattheendi
ngraphsoneandthreeshowsthestudents
werenotl
ooki
ngforwardtoreturni
ngtoJapan.Accordi
ngtoRohrl
i
chandMarti
n・
sstudy
(
1991)
,exceptforl
anguagel
earni
ngandmoneyi
ssues,femal
euni
versi
tystudentsshow more
stress and probl
ems than mal
e subj
ects wi
th cul
turaladaptati
on duri
ng study abroad
programs.Thestudy concl
uded thatthi
swasbecause・women aresoci
al
i
zed to bemore
rel
ati
onal
l
y ori
ented・ and ・therefore experi
ence more stress i
n cross-cul
turalcontexts・
(
p.176)
.Further,theydescri
bedthat・womenweremoresati
sfi
edwi
threentryl
i
febecause
i
tposed fewer probl
ems・ (
pp.178 179)
.So whatdoesthi
sdi
screpancy tel
lusaboutmy
students?
INTRODUCTION:Cl
assroom ・shock・
In thefol
l
owi
ng spri
ng,i
n 2008,Iwel
comed anew group ofstudentsi
n
thesamecross-cul
turalcommuni
cati
oncl
ass.Eventhoughmostofthecl
assconsi
stedofstudentswhohad
j
ustreturnedfrom Boston,i
ncl
udi
ng17thi
rdyearstudentsand2fourthyearstudents,the
cl
ass was rel
ati
vel
y passi
ve.When Iposed a questi
on to the whol
e cl
ass,mostofthe
students appeared hesi
tant to answer unti
lcal
l
ed upon di
rectl
y.I al
tered the seati
ng
arrangement,gave l
ess homework and softened my faci
alexpressi
ons i
n an attemptto
enl
i
ven thecl
assandel
i
ci
tpromptresponses,buttonoavai
l
.I,aJapaneseEFL teacher,
conductedthecl
assi
nEngl
i
shandaskedthem whytheywerebei
ngsoreti
cent.Theygave
metworeasons:1)thecl
asssi
zewasl
arge(
19students)comparedwi
ththeonesi
nBoston,
wheretherewere10studentsorfeweri
n each cl
ass,and2)the・atmosphere・madethem
ratherqui
et.Thesecondreasonneedstobei
nvesti
gatedfurtherasthestudentsthemsel
ves
coul
dnotadequatel
yexpl
ai
nthei
rfeel
i
ngs.
Previ
ousStudi
es
Hal
l(
1990)defi
nescul
tureshock to be・si
mpl
y a removalordi
storti
on ofmany ofthe
fami
l
i
arcuesoneencountersathomeandthesubsti
tuti
onforthem ofothercueswhi
chare
strange・(
p.174)
.Theterm ・cul
tureshock・wasfi
rstusedbyBeal
esandHumphreyi
n1957
andbecamewi
despreadbyObergbetween1958and1960(
ci
tedfrom Kondo,1981,p.62)
.As
therewerefew Japanesetravel
l
ersandsoj
ournersatthi
sti
meortheywentabroadforonl
y
shortperi
ods,studi
es ofJapanese peopl
e sufferi
ng from cul
turalmal
adj
ustmentbecame
popul
armuch l
ater,afterthe1980s(
Oni
shi
,1992)
.Accordi
ng to theMi
ni
stry ofForei
gn
Affai
rs(
MOFA)
,morethan 70,
000 Japaneseschol
ars(
students,researchers,or teachers)
werel
i
vi
ngi
ntheUSforaperi
odofmorethanthreemonthsasofOctober1
st2007.Thi
s
numbershowsthepopul
ari
tyofstudyabroadprogramsi
nJapan,andstudi
esofJapanese
peopl
esufferi
ng from cul
tureshock havei
nevi
tabl
y fol
l
owed.Psycho-therapi
sts(
Hoshi
no,
1992;Kondo,1981;Oni
shi
,1992;and others)i
nvesti
gated thei
r Japanese pati
ents and
descri
bedthatstudentsandresearcherswhostudi
edoverseasmaystruggl
eorfeelstrongl
y
frustrated wi
th the Japanese educati
on styl
e when they return to thei
r home country.
Kondo anal
yzed that Japanese who experi
enced educati
on i
n western countri
es may be
parti
cul
arl
y affected,as the educati
on styl
es are contrasted (
p.233)
.Numerous Japanese
researchersal
soconductedsurveysandi
ntervi
ewswi
th thei
rsubj
ects.Forexampl
e,soci
o-psychol
ogi
stMi
noura (
1984,1998)vi
si
ted Japanesefami
l
i
esthatmoved abroad when the
fathersweresecondedtooverseasposi
ti
ons,aswel
lastheschool
sattendedbythechi
l
dren
of these fami
l
i
es,and showed how thei
r l
i
ves were affected,especi
al
l
y thei
r chi
l
dren・
s
personal
i
ti
esandeducati
on.EFL l
i
ngui
stsTanaka& Yashi
ma(
1999)
,Yamamoto(
1998)and
Yashi
ma(
2004a,2004b)studi
ed students・cul
turaladj
ustments.Yashi
ma・
sextended studi
es
on hi
gh schoolstudents tri
ed to fi
nd correl
ati
ons among soci
alski
l
l
s,cul
turalcontact,
personal
i
ti
es and EFL devel
opment. Among her fi
ndi
ngs, studi
es rel
ated to cul
tural
adaptabi
l
i
ty showed thatthehi
gherthesel
f-eval
uati
on ofEngl
i
sh usage,themoreacti
ve
studentstended to be,and thatextraverted Japanesestudentsshowed hi
ghersoci
aland
cul
turaladaptabi
l
i
tyi
ntheUS(
2004a)
.Thepurposeofthestudypresentedi
nthi
spaperi
s
nottoanal
yzestudents・i
ndi
vi
dualpersonaldi
fferencesbuttofi
ndoutwhattheypercei
ved
ascul
turaldi
fferencesandhow they percei
vedthosedi
fferenceswhi
l
ei
n Boston andafter
returni
ngtoJapan.
The Japanese anthropol
ogi
st Nakane (
1972) found that Japanese nati
onal
s are
parti
cul
arl
y suscepti
bl
eto cul
tureshock,asJapan・
si
nsul
ar soci
ety l
acksa mi
ngl
i
ng of
di
versesoci
alsystems,andthatmostsoj
ournersare20yearsorol
derwhentheyexperi
ence
soci
alandcul
turalvari
ati
ons.Shethi
nksthatby theageof20,themi
ndsetofJapanese
peopl
ehasal
ready been setandl
acksfl
exi
bi
l
i
ty when encounteri
ng othercul
tures.Sodi
d
thestudents,who arearound theageof20,al
so feelcul
tureshock asthey experi
enced
Ameri
can cul
ture?Thi
sstudy observesstudentscul
turaladj
ustmentsi
n theUS and back
homebasedonqual
i
tati
veanal
ysi
s.Li
ttl
ei
sknownfrom previ
ousstudi
es,asmostofthem
were wei
ghted toward i
nvesti
gati
ng the overal
lsuccess ofprograms usi
ng sel
f-anal
ysi
s
questi
onnai
reswi
thfourorfi
veLi
kertscal
erati
ngs.
THISSTUDY
ResearchQuesti
ons
Inordertoobservestudents・awareness,thefol
l
owi
ngresearchquesti
onswereposed.
1.Whatki
ndofcul
tureshockandreverse-cul
tureshockdi
dthestudentssuffer,i
fany?
2.How di
dthestudentspercei
vecl
assesi
nhomecountryafterastudy-abroadprogram?
Cl
assandData
Forthreespri
ngterms,ItaughttheIntercul
turalCommuni
cati
oncl
ass,anel
ecti
vecl
assfor
theDepartmentofEngl
i
sh Languageand Communi
cati
on.Iexami
neheresomeexampl
es
from cl
ass worksheets col
l
ected i
n 2007 and 2008.The cl
ass theme was ・Returnees and
Accul
turati
on・ and the students recei
ved two rel
evant Engl
i
sh arti
cl
es to read and a
worksheetwi
thseveralquesti
onsregardi
ngthearti
cl
esandthei
rexperi
encesi
nthestudy-abroadprogram.Thel
atterquesti
onswereasfol
l
ows:
1.How di
dyoufeelaboutAmeri
cancul
tureatthebegi
nni
ngofyourstayi
nBoston?
2.Di
dyoufeeldi
fferentl
ytowardAmeri
cancul
tureasyougotusedtol
i
fei
nBoston?
3.How di
dyoufeelaboutJapanesecul
turewhenyoureturnedfrom Boston?
4. Whatsortofi
nfl
uencesdo you thi
nk thecul
turehason educati
on,and how are
returneesaffectedbyhavi
ngl
i
vedi
ntwocul
turesandexperi
enci
ngdi
fferenteducati
on
systems?
5.How woul
dyoul
i
ketodealwi
ththetwocul
tures?
Theworksheetwasgi
venashomeworki
nthel
astcl
assi
nApri
landcol
l
ectedi
nthefi
rst
cl
ass i
n May.The worksheet questi
ons were ori
gi
nal
l
y compi
l
ed i
n order to l
ead the
studentsacti
vel
yi
nvol
vedi
nthecl
assandsostudentsanswersmi
ghthavebeenaffectedby
thi
snature.
Students
Mostofthestudentswerethi
rd yearstudentswho had compl
eted thei
r18-or5-month
study abroad program i
n Boston,Massachusetts,l
essthan twomonthsbeforethecourse
started.Therewereabout20studentsi
nthecl
asseachyear,butonl
yworksheetssubmi
tted
by thethi
rd yearstudentson theday ofthecl
asswereexami
ned forthi
sstudy;i
.e.
,a
totalof19BLIP (
Boston Long-term Intensi
veProgram,18-month course)studentsand10
Uni
versi
tyProgram (
5-monthcourse)students.
Resul
ts
Inordertoanswertheresearchquesti
ons,al
lthecommentswereexami
nedandcategori
zed
asfol
l
ows:
FriendlinessandAssertiveness
Politeness
Appearance
IdentityAwareness
Discrimination
Classroom
TwoEducationSystems
Al
l the students・comments that appear i
n the di
scussi
on were reproduced verbati
m.
Grammarandspel
l
i
ngmi
stakeswereretai
ned,astheori
gi
nalexpressi
onsconveystudents・
feel
i
ngsbetter.Theauthoraddedthefol
l
owi
ngforcl
ari
fi
cati
on:
1)
. Al
lthewordsi
nbracketswereadded,asthemi
stakesmi
ghtbemi
sl
eadi
ngordonot
conveythemeani
ngverycl
earl
y.
2)
.*(
an asteri
sk)i
ndi
catesthatthecommenti
sfrom Uni
versi
ty Program studentswho
stayed for5months.Commentswi
thoutan asteri
sk arefrom BLIP studentswho
parti
ci
patedi
nthe18-monthstudyabroadcoursei
nBoston.
Al
lthestudents・comments,i
ncl
udi
ngthosethatappeari
nthedi
scussi
on,arel
i
stedi
nthe
Appendi
x.
FriendlinessandAssertiveness
ManystudentsfoundAmeri
cansveryfri
endl
yanddi
rect.Someshystudentswerei
ni
ti
al
l
y
surpri
sedandevenfel
tuncomfortabl
ewhentheyobservedhow di
rectpeopl
ewere,especi
al
l
y
thei
ryesandnoresponses.Oneofthestudentswrote,
F-1:(
Ameri
canswere)Unfri
endl
y.Peopl
esai
d ・yes・or・no・very cl
earl
y,so IthoughtI
coul
dn・
tsurvi
vei
nthi
scountry.
Thi
sstudent・
ssecondi
mpressi
onofthel
ocal
swas・fri
endl
y・,assheadaptedhersel
ftothe
l
i
fe.Thi
scompl
eteabout-facei
n herfeel
i
ngssuggestsa struggl
ewi
th thedi
rectnessof
Ameri
cans.Anotherstudentwroteaboutherexperi
enceatashopasfol
l
ows:
F-2:Ameri
canssay・no・wi
thouthesi
tati
on.When Iwenttoshoppi
ng wi
th an Ameri
can
fri
end,thecl
erkcametousandrecommendedsomecosmeti
cs.Ij
usttri
edi
t,butshe
gaveaready(
thel
ady)answertoher・No・becauseshedon・
twanti
t.Itseemedi
cyfor
meatfi
rst.
Onestudentconsi
deredthedi
fferencefrom aposi
ti
veperspecti
ve:
F-3:TheAmeri
canpeopl
esaywhattheythi
nkandwhattheywantdi
rectl
y,butIfel
tthe
way how they doi
sreal
l
y natural
.Ifpeopl
eonl
y i
nsi
ston thei
ropi
ni
ons,i
tmi
ght
causeprobl
emsi
n communi
cati
on.Someti
mesIfel
tAmeri
cansaresostrong,however,
mostl
yAmeri
cansi
nsi
stthei
ropi
ni
onsstrongl
ybutal
socompromi
sewi
thother(
s)sowel
l
.
Ithoughtthi
si
sbecausetheyval
uesel
f-rel
i
antandadmi
t・i
ndi
vi
dual
・wel
leachother.
Oncethestudentsadapted themsel
vesto theasserti
venessofAmeri
cans,many ofthem
seemedconfusedwhentheyreturnedtoJapan.Onestudent・
scommentwasasfol
l
ows:
F-4:BeforeIwenttoBoston,i
twasnaturalformetoseepeopl
ebowi
ngmanyti
mes,or
peopl
e don・
t tel
lthei
r feel
i
ngs strai
ght forwardl
y.However,when I came back,I
real
i
zedJapanesepeopl
eweretoopol
i
teor(
I)fel
tIdi
dn・
tunderstandhow theyfel
t.
In cl
ass,many studentswerei
ni
ti
al
l
y uncomfortabl
ebei
ng asked many questi
onsby the
teachers.Onetypi
calopi
ni
onofthei
rfi
rsti
mpressi
onwasdescri
bedasfol
l
ows:
F-5:InBoston,teachersoftenaskedquesti
oned(
questi
ons)tousandmadeusspeaki
nthe
cl
ass.However,i
n Japan,most of the ti
mes students are passi
ve and don・
t ask
questi
onssomuchduri
ngthecl
ass.Si
nceIam Japaneseandusedtobepassi
ve,Ifel
t
al
i
ttl
ebi
tuncomfortabl
ei
ntheAmeri
canstyl
edcl
assesatfi
rst.
Thi
sconfusi
on studentsfel
ti
sdi
scussed l
ateri
n thepaper.Even practi
ci
ng eyecontact
embarrassedsomestudents,butoncetheyl
earnedtomakeeyecontactwhi
l
egi
vi
ngasmi
l
e,
theystartedenj
oyi
ngtheexchangeofsi
mpl
egreeti
ngssuchas・How areyou?・and・Bl
ess
you!・wi
th schoolstaffersandeven passer-bys.Havi
ng comeback toJapan,twostudents
answered thatthey mi
ssed huggi
ng,and many moreofthem fel
tthatJapanesesoci
ety
l
acks・personal
・touch.
Politeness
Many studentsweredi
sappoi
nted wi
th Bostoni
ans・work ethi
cand fel
tthey wererather
rude.Theyencounteredsomewai
tressesandshopcl
erkschewi
nggum orhavi
ngapri
vate
tel
ephoneconversati
onwhi
l
eatwork.Thei
rl
ackadai
si
calatti
tudetowardworkandseemi
ng
i
ndi
fferencetotheneedsofwai
ti
ng customersturnedthestudentsoff.In Japan,treati
ng
customerspromptl
yandpol
i
tel
yi
sthenorm i
ntheservi
cesi
ndustry.Interesti
ngl
yenough,
when thestudentsreturned to Japan,even Japanesecl
erksdi
d notsati
sfy al
lofthei
r
expectati
ons.Whi
l
e many of them found peopl
e i
n servi
ce busi
nesses very pol
i
te and
pl
easant,atthesameti
mequi
teafew fel
tthatpeopl
ewere・notfri
endl
y.
・Oncetheyhad
become fami
l
i
ar wi
th the Ameri
can busi
ness styl
e,students percei
ved the standardi
zed
Japaneseservi
ceasl
acki
nganyi
ndi
vi
dualrecogni
ti
onandasbei
nguni
form.Al
thoughthe
Japanesel
anguagehasmanysi
tuati
onal
-setphrases,thestudentsfel
tthegreeti
ngsusedby
shopcl
erksaremonotonous,repeti
ti
veandsuperfi
ci
al
.Theexperi
encei
nAmeri
camadethe
studentsreal
i
zeal
loveragai
n how pol
i
tethei
rmothertonguei
s,and they thoughti
ts
compl
ex honori
fi
cl
anguagemi
ghtmakerel
ati
onshi
pssmoother.Butthey found
thenon-verball
anguageofbowi
ngthati
sverycommoni
nJapantoberatherstrangeandusedtoo
often.Thei
rdi
sappoi
ntmenti
n thehomecountry conti
nued outsi
detheshop,too.Many
studentsexpressedopi
ni
onsl
i
kethefol
l
owi
ng:
P-1:Ihadbel
i
evedthatJapanesepeopl
ewerethepol
i
testnati
oni
ntheworl
d,butIfound
outthatwedi
dn・
tcareaboutotherpeopl
easmuchasAmeri
canpeopl
edobecausewe
don・
tsay・Excuseme・or・I・
m sorry・everyti
mewehi
tsomeonei
nthepubl
i
cpl
aces.
Mostofthestudentsturnedacri
ti
caleyeonotheraspectsofJapanesepeopl
etoo.
Appearance
Morethanhal
fofthestudentsdescri
bedJapaneseasbei
ngverybusy,restl
ess,andwal
ki
ng
toandfroveryqui
ckl
y,andasbei
ng・ski
nny.
・Onestudentwrotethatshewas・shocked・
tofi
ndhow ski
nnyyoungpeopl
eare.Moreover,whi
l
etheythoughtAmeri
cansdonotcare
muchaboutcl
othesandappearance,theyfel
tJapanesepayexcessi
veattenti
ontoappearance
andtendtol
ookthesameandratheruni
nteresti
ng.Onestudentwrote:
A-1:Iseeal
otofpeopl
eweari
ngsamecl
othes,samebagsandhavi
ngsamehai
rstyl
e.Whi
l
e
i
n Boston,Isaw a vari
etyofpeopl
eand i
twasratherhard formetofi
nd someone
weari
ngsamethi
ngs.Icanseethei
deaofharmonyfrom theseaspects.Personal
l
y,i
t
i
snoti
nteresti
ng to seepeopl
ehavi
ng samebrands.Ithi
nk peopl
eshoul
d bemore
i
ndependent.
Thestudentsal
so fel
tthatJapanesearecol
d and unfri
endl
y,becausetherei
snotmuch
i
nteracti
on between peopl
ei
n publ
i
cpl
acesand few peopl
eofferhel
p oreven a smi
l
eto
strangers.
IdentityAwareness
Sofar,wehaveseencontrasti
vebehavi
oursbetweenAmeri
cansandJapanese.Nakane(
1972)
,
who coi
ned the term タテ社会 (
verti
calhi
erarchi
calsoci
ety)to expl
ai
n Japanese human
rel
ati
onshi
ps,and Nakayama (
1989,ci
ted from Furuta etal
.
,2001)descri
bed Japaneseas
havi
ng threecategori
esofrel
ati
onshi
pswi
th peopl
e―ウチ (
fami
l
y membersandvery cl
ose
persons)
,ソト (
peopl
ewi
th whom they havesomesoci
alcontact,such asnei
ghboursand
col
l
eagues)and ヨソ (
strangers)―and thatpeopl
ei
n thethi
rd group aretreated
asnon-exi
stentandareessenti
al
l
yi
gnored.Mostforei
gnersi
nJapanbel
ongtothethi
rdgroup,as
they donotbri
ng any ・returns・ordonothavesoci
alobl
i
gati
ons（義理）.Basedon these
categori
esofrel
ati
onshi
ps,Japanesedonotneedtoberecogni
zedasi
ndi
vi
dual
swi
thi
nthe
fi
rstgroup,whosemembersaremutual
l
ydependent（甘え）.Incontrast,astudybysoci
o-psychol
ogi
stHofstede(
1991)wi
thIBM empl
oyeesi
n50countri
esand3regi
onsshowedthat
i
ndi
vi
dual
i
sm wasthestrongesti
ntheUS.(
Japanranked22/23,pp.4954.
)Sothestudents
werenatural
l
yi
mpressedwi
ththepati
enceofAmeri
canstol
i
stentothei
ri
ncorrectEngl
i
sh
and wi
th Ameri
cans・treatmentofthestudentsasi
ndi
vi
dual
sand adul
ts.Thefol
l
owi
ng
commentsareexampl
esofthei
ri
mpressi
ons:
I-1: Therearemanydi
versi
ti
es,sotheyseri
ousl
yl
i
stentomyroughEngl
i
sh,andtheydon・
t
l
ookdown(
on)us.
I-2: Iwasconfused aboutAmeri
canstreatmenttowardsme.Thereason i
sbecausethey
regardedmeasanadul
tnotasastudent.Therefore,IunderstoodthatAmeri
canstreat
peopl
ewi
thanequalpoi
ntofvi
ew.
I-3: Indi
vi
dual
i
sm mademecomfortabl
egradual
l
y.Theycommuni
catedmenotasaperson
ofa group,butasan i
ndi
vi
dual
.Becauseofthi
sItrusted on l
otsofpeopl
e,and
changedmymi
ndaboutAmeri
cans.
Bei
ngtreatedasani
ndi
vi
dualandanadul
tseemstohavemademanyofthestudentsmore
awareof・sel
f,
・asexpressedi
nthefol
l
owi
ngcomments:
I-4: Si
ncetheAmeri
can cul
tureval
uesi
ndi
vi
dual
i
sm and sel
f-rel
i
ant,Istarted to open
mysel
fandtel
lwhatIfeelorwanttotoothers.
I-5: *Japanesepeopl
ehavel
esschancetoexpressthei
ropi
ni
onwhentheyreturntoJapan.
I-6: *Japanesepeopl
etendtobei
nagroup.
I-7: Ibecameusedtospeaki
ngi
npubl
i
c.Icoul
dn・
tgi
vemyopi
ni
onsi
nmycl
assbecauseI
fel
t(
wasworri
ed)how theotherstudentsfeelmyopi
ni
ons.Iwasal
soshysoIcoul
dn・
t
speaki
nthecl
ass.ButAmeri
canweremoreposi
ti
veandacti
ve,soIwasi
nfl
uencedby
them tospeakmythoughtsacti
vel
y.
Manyofthestudentswereal
soi
nfl
uencedbythei
rnew-foundi
denti
tyasastudent.They
hadopportuni
ti
estomeetl
ocaluni
versi
tystudentsandfami
l
i
esandl
earnaboutAmeri
can
studentl
i
fethroughprogramssponsoredbytheBostoncampus.Someofthei
rcommentson
thedi
fferencestheypercei
vedwereasfol
l
ows:
I-8: When Il
earned Ameri
can val
ues,myi
dea had total
l
ychanged.Oneoftheval
uesi
s
・i
ndependent・,sochi
l
dren areexpected tobei
ndependent.Col
l
egestudentspay thei
r
schoolfeesbythemsel
ves.Theygotothecol
l
egesbecausetheyreal
l
ywanttostudy.So
theyaresobusytostudyandwork.Iunderstoodthattheydi
dn・
thaveti
meandmoney
tobedressedup.Theydon・
tneedtodoi
ttogotocol
l
eges.
topaytui
ti
onbythemsel
vesandtheyshoul
dl
eaveparents・houseatl
eastbytheage
ofthei
r21.
I-10:*Compared wi
th Japanese,Ameri
can (
shows)respect each other,even i
f they are
chi
l
dren.Parentsoftenhavethei
rchi
l
drenmakedeci
si
on,butthere(
theytake)al
ways
responsi
bi
l
i
ti
es for i
t. In teams (
terms) of that, there are more freedom, but
responsi
bi
l
i
ti
estoo.
Hal
l& Hal
l(
1990)referto Japanesehomesashavi
ng a ・cl
ose,dependentrel
ati
onshi
p・
(
p.50)
,wi
ththemotherseei
ng・herchi
l
dasanextensi
onofhersel
fandthussetsthestage
forl
i
fel
ong dependency rel
ati
onshi
ps・(
p.47)
.Ameri
can parents,on theotherhand,donot
see・aneedfori
mprovementi
n・thei
rchi
l
dren・
seducati
onbecausetheyare・unawareofthe
hi
gh performanceofchi
l
dren i
n othercountri
es・(
p.50)
.Thestudentscri
ti
cal
l
y percei
ved
Japanesestudentsasratherl
azy andspoi
l
edby thei
rparents,becausenotmany ofthem
are fi
nanci
al
l
y i
ndependent. In fact, they seemed to show some admi
rati
on towards
Ameri
canstudents・i
ndependence.Iti
spossi
bl
ethat,asadol
escents,theyareatthatpoi
nt
i
n thei
rl
i
veswhen ・sel
f・i
sestabl
i
shed,butthei
nterdependency ofthei
rfami
l
y si
tuati
on
doesnotal
l
ow them to behavel
i
keAmeri
can students.Asi
scl
earfrom thestudents・
comments heretofore,there was much cri
ti
ci
sm and many observati
ons aboutpeopl
e i
n
publ
i
c,butnotasi
ngl
ecommentaboutthestudents・ownrel
ati
onshi
pwi
ththei
rparentsor
how thei
rrel
ati
onshi
pwasi
nfl
uencedbythei
rti
meabroad.Thi
smi
ghtshow thattheyare
sti
l
ltryi
ng to rel
atethei
rnew awarenesswi
th thei
rfami
l
y,aswel
lasthedi
ffi
cul
ty of
i
ndependentrel
ati
onshi
psi
nJapanesehomes.
Discrimination
Ini
ti
al
l
y the students enj
oyed somewhat the raci
aldi
versi
ty,but l
ater percei
ved raci
al
di
scri
mi
nati
on to beaprobl
em.Someofthem wereeven cursed atby young passer-bys,
whi
chshockedthem assuchi
nci
dencesarerarei
nJapan.Oneofthestudentsi
nthe2007
cl
asssai
dshewascal
l
eda・gei
sha・atacafeteri
al
ocatedi
namarket.Shewassoshocked
thatshestartedcryi
ngwhensheretol
dthei
nci
denti
ncl
ass.Later,shechose・Gei
shaand
Mai
ko・asa group presentati
on themeand found through studyi
ng thesubj
ectthatthe
feel
i
ng ofdi
scri
mi
nati
on sheexperi
enced camemorefrom wi
thi
n hersel
fthan from the
passer-by.Thefol
l
owi
ngcommentsshow thei
rpreconcei
vednoti
ons.
D-1:In a cafeteri
a atBoston Col
l
ege,peopl
ewereeati
ng atthetabl
ebuttheyj
ustmade
groupswi
thsameethni
cstudents.Chi
nesetabl
e,Afri
canAmeri
cantabl
e,Iri
shtabl
e,so
and so.SoIfi
nal
l
ygotthatAmeri
can had di
verseand prej
udi
ceand di
scri
mi
nati
on
werethere.
resul
tofdi
scri
mi
nati
on by Ameri
cans.Theauthorhasal
soexperi
encedpersonal
l
y si
mi
l
ar
si
tuati
onsatBri
ti
sh uni
versi
ti
es,especi
al
l
y wi
th undergraduates.Thestudentsarei
sol
ated
ontheShowaBostoncampusanddonothavemanyopportuni
ti
estomi
ngl
ewi
thstudents
ofotherethni
cbackgrounds.They arenotvery fami
l
i
arwi
th raci
aldi
versi
ty and can be
easi
l
ymi
sl
edorgetthewrongi
mpressi
on.
Classroom
Mostofthestudentswereconfusedi
nthebegi
nni
ng,asthewayteachersconductedcl
asses
i
nBostonwasverydi
fferent.Theyseemedtoadaptthemsel
vesfai
rl
yqui
ckl
y,though,and
started enj
oyi
ng themsel
ves.On returni
ng to Japan,however,they seem to havetaken
l
ongerto readj
ustto theJapanesetradi
ti
onalstyl
e.They ・consci
enti
ousl
y・keep qui
eti
n
cl
ass,asteacherstakethei
rpassi
veatti
tudeforgranted.Thefol
l
owi
ng commentsarea
sampl
i
ngofwhatthestudentsfel
t:
C-1:In Boston al
loftheteacherssai
d Hel
l
o,Hi
,orByewhen wemeti
n a schooleven
thoughtheyweren・
tmyteachers.Buti
nJapansometeachersj
ustbow asagreeti
ng.
SoIgotconfusedweather(
whether)ateachergreetedornot.
C-2:Ameri
can studentscan l
earn how goodtosaythei
ropi
ni
onsandi
tmakesthem have
thei
ri
denti
ty.Icoul
dsaymyopi
ni
onsal
ltheti
mei
ncl
assi
nBoston,buti
ti
sdi
ffi
cul
t
formetosayi
ti
ncl
assi
nJapan.Ameri
canteachersal
waysgaveusthi
nki
ngti
meor
di
scussi
on ti
me,butJapaneseteachersj
ustgaveusthei
rl
ecture,soIthi
nkJapanese
waydoesnotgi
vestudentsreal
l
ythi
nkaboutornottohavethei
ropi
ni
ons(
doesnot
hel
pstudentstothi
nkbythemsel
vesortohavethei
rownopi
ni
ons)
.
C-3:Peopl
eoftenmakesurethatal
lofthem i
si
nterestedi
nacommuni
cati
oni
nAmeri
can
cul
ture.Exchangi
ng i
deasshowshow each person takesparti
n thecommuni
cati
on.
Thatcul
turei
nfl
uencesAmeri
can educati
on.Studentsand a teacheroften exchange
opi
ni
ons.Thatcl
assstyl
ei
sl
i
kea conversati
on.Buti
n Japan,peopl
eoften havea
communi
cati
on wi
thoutwords.Qui
etnessshowsrespectstoa speaker.Thereforei
n a
cl
assonl
yteacherspeaks.Studentsaren・
twi
l
l
i
ngtospeaki
nthecl
ass.
C-4:Ithi
nk both oftheJapaneseway and theAmeri
can way ofeducati
on havea good
poi
nt.Japan:studentsarequi
et,sl
eepi
ng,Ameri
ca:studentsareacti
ve,eagertol
earn.
Thesecommentsmay i
ndi
catethatthestudentsprefertostudy acti
vel
y.TheC-4student
referred to sl
eepi
ng i
n cl
ass,whi
ch may beconsi
dered normaland notsomethi
ng to feel
gui
l
ty about.The students wrote these opi
ni
ons l
ess than a month after thei
r course
resumed i
n Japan,soi
ti
spossi
bl
etheteachersand cl
assesi
n Boston weresti
l
lfresh i
n
thei
rmemory.Ontheotherhand,thesecommentsmayi
ndi
catethatteachersi
nJapanneed
to reconsi
der the tradi
ti
onal teachi
ng styl
e of l
ecturi
ng. Lecturi
ng students wi
thout
i
nvol
vi
nganyi
nteracti
onmayfai
ltosti
mul
atethem.Gi
vi
ngthem questi
onstothi
nkabout
orti
metohaveadi
scussi
onarepossi
bl
ewaystoacti
vel
yi
nvol
vethem i
nthecl
ass.Si
l
ence
i
ncl
assmaynotnecessari
l
yshow ・respect・anymore,soteachersshoul
dal
l
ow studentsto
i
nterruptand ask questi
ons.Thehugegap i
n cl
asssi
zesbetween theTokyo and Boston
campusesi
sanotheri
ssue.Smal
lcl
assesmakei
teasi
erforteacherstohearstudentsand
gi
vethem i
ndi
vi
dualattenti
on.
TwoEducationSystems
Thi
s category concerns students・percepti
ons of thei
r study abroad experi
ence.As the
fol
l
owi
ng commentsshow,mostofthem tactful
l
y di
sti
ngui
shed between thetwo cul
tures
andposi
ti
vel
yconsi
derthei
rexperi
ence.
T-1:For me,i
t・
snotso hard to dealwi
th both Ameri
can and Japanesecul
ture.Wi
th
Japaneseperson,IobeyJapanesestyl
eandwi
thAmeri
canIuseAmeri
canstyl
e.Iknow
bothcul
tureandthedi
fferences.Bothcul
turehasposi
ti
veandnegati
vepoi
nts.Iknow
bothbackgroundsoIcanchangemystyl
edependonthesi
tuati
on.Ofcoursesometi
mes
I・
m underthestressbecauseofthecul
turedi
fferencesbuti
t・
snotsobi
gprobl
em for
me.
T-2:Iwoul
dtrytorai
s(
rai
se)mychi
l
dfol
l
owi
ngthegoodcul
turalfactsfrom Ameri
caand
Japan.Thereturneesknow thegoodandbadpoi
nti
neachcul
tureandtheycantake
an advantagethatandusethem tobui
l
dnew characteri
sti
csforthemsel
vesandal
so
i
nthefuturewhentheyhavethechi
l
d.
T-3:For Ameri
can cul
ture,I shoul
d be fl
exi
bl
e and pati
ent.Because transportati
on i
s
del
ayed everyday,and peopl
e have own pace.For Japanese cul
ture,I shoul
d be
cooperati
ve.Becausei
nJapan,i
ti
si
mportanttobeabl
etocooperatewi
thothers.
T-4:Eachcul
turei
sdi
fferentfrom othersandsomepeopl
el
i
kesomepartsofacul
turebut
somepeopl
edon・
t.Therefore,I・
dl
i
ketounderstandthetwocul
turesverywel
landtake
goodpartsthatIthi
nkfrom bothcul
tures.And,IhopeI・
m apersonwhoi
stol
erant
forthedi
fferencesorconfl
i
ctsbetweenthetwocul
tures.
T-5:When i
n Rome,do as the Romans do.Si
nce I went to Boston,I real
i
zed many
wonderfulJapanesecul
turesbutIal
sowanttoacceptnew cul
ture.Throw (
through)
knowi
ngandexperi
enci
ngAmeri
can cul
ture,Ican broaden myhori
zons.Idon・
twant
toobeyeveryJapanesecul
tureandAmeri
cancul
tureIwanttoobeysome(
from)both
cul
turesthatIthi
nktheyaregood.
T-6:Ithi
nk l
i
vi
ng wi
th twocul
turei
sgreat.Al
though someconfl
i
ctsmai
ght(
mi
ght)be
happened,butIbel
i
evepeopl
ecanhaveawi
devi
ew i
ntheend.Soreturneesdon・
tneed
tobeafrai
dofaccepti
ngtwocul
turesatsameti
me.
Thestudentsmadeno negati
vecommentsaboutthei
rexperi
enceand they seem to have
absorbedthetwodi
sti
ncti
vecul
tures.TheT-2studenthasal
ready madepl
anstopasson
the experi
ence to her chi
l
dren,whi
l
e the T-5 student has l
earned to appreci
ate anew
Japanesecul
ture.Nostudentseemstobestruggl
i
ngwi
threversecul
tureshock,andthese
commentssuggesttheyareabl
etoadj
usttothetwocul
tures.
DISCUSSION
Tanaka & El
l
i
s (
2003)studi
ed students・l
anguage devel
opment when thi
s study abroad
program of the col
l
ege was 15-week-l
ong. They cal
l
ed the setti
ng ・Japanese Col
l
ege
Overseas・and i
nferred thestudents・modesti
mprovementwasduetol
i
mi
ted exposureto
thel
ocalNSs.Lengtheni
ng thecourseto 5monthsmi
ghtnotshow si
gni
fi
cantl
i
ngui
sti
c
devel
opment,butthestudentsremarksi
n thi
spaper demonstratethei
r posi
ti
vecul
tural
adj
ustment to the US.They showed negati
ve reacti
ons to the verbaland non-verbal
l
i
ngui
sti
ccustomsi
nthehomecountry,asJapaneseusesmoresi
tuati
onal
-setl
anguage.Hal
l
(
1990)defi
nesJapanesesoci
etyashi
ghcontextandcontai
ni
ngmanyhi
ddenmessagesi
nthe
vocal
i
zedl
anguage.WhereasAmeri
can soci
ety i
sdefi
nedasl
ow context,wi
th apreference
forexpl
i
ci
tmessages.When thestudentstravelfrom al
ow contextAmeri
can soci
ety toa
hi
gh contextJapanesesoci
ety,i
ti
sonl
y naturalthatthey percei
vetheJapanesepubl
i
c
sendi
ng superfi
ci
alandambi
guousmessages,asi
sevi
denti
n thei
rcomments.Onestudent
wrotethatbowi
ngi
s・conveni
ent・asi
tcarri
es・manymeani
ngswi
thoutanywords・,such
as・thankyou・,or・excuseme.
・Thesefi
ndi
ngsareoftenseenfrom thevi
ewpoi
ntofforei
gn
travel
l
erswhohavej
ustarri
vedi
nJapan.Thi
sparti
cul
arcommentmayi
l
l
ustratethatthey
wereturni
ng on and offthei
r ・Japaneseswi
tch・ i
n an attemptto understand thetwo
cul
turesduri
ng thetransi
ti
on peri
od.Asseen i
n thecommentsheretofore,thestudents
understoodwhatwasexpectedofthem i
ntheJapanesecl
assroom andwere・wel
lbehaved・
as a group.Thi
s mi
ghtexpl
ai
n why the students i
n my i
ntercul
turalcourse found i
t
di
ffi
cul
tto takea moreacti
verol
e.Havi
ng a Japaneseteacher conducti
ng thecl
assi
n
Engl
i
shmi
ghthaveconfusedthem.
Wemayal
soneedtoconsi
derourteachi
ngstyl
e,asthestudentsfeeltherei
sal
ackof
thi
nki
ng,di
scussi
ngandexpressi
onofthoughti
ncl
ass.Studentsarevul
nerabl
ewhenthey
returntotheTokyocampusandareexposedagai
ntoJapanesecul
ture,andprovi
di
ngthem
wi
th a cl
assroom atmospherethatbri
dgesthetwo cul
turesand al
l
owsthem to readj
ust
gradual
l
ymi
ghtbehel
pful
.TheconceptofWorl
dEngl
i
sheshasyettotakehol
di
nJapan,
andi
tmay beworth consi
deri
ng theuseofteachersthatarenon-nati
veEngl
i
sh speakers
andteachersofdi
fferentethni
cbackgroundsforthei
rcl
asses.Oneofthestudentswrotethe
fol
l
owi
ngcommenti
nherdi
aryaweekafterherarri
vali
nBoston:
Today,Iwassurroundedmanyforei
gnerforthefi
rstti
mei
nmyl
i
fewhenIhadl
unch.
Iwassonurvouse(
nervous)
.Idi
dn・
trememberwhatIate.Atfi
rstIcoul
dn・
ttel
lher
whatIwanttosay.Butshetri
edunderstandwhatIwanttosay.
Thi
scommentsuggestshow thestudentsareaffected by thevi
sualmessage.Offeri
ng a
vari
etyofteachi
ngstyl
esmaythereforebeeffecti
ve.
Weshoul
dal
sofosterani
ndependentl
earni
ngstyl
ei
nJapan.Teachersreadi
l
ygi
vethe
answers to questi
ons or ask questi
ons thatonl
y requi
re yes/no responses to mi
ni
mi
ze
teachi
ngti
me,buti
tmi
ghtbebettertoputmoreoftheonusonstudentstothi
nkabout
and respond to the questi
ons.Nowadays young peopl
e are often cri
ti
ci
zed for bei
ng
i
nfl
exi
bl
ewhen communi
cati
ng wi
th thepubl
i
c,for・goi
ng by thebook.
・Many students
workpartti
meandthi
smaybethecasewheretheywork.Ironi
cal
l
y,themorei
ndependent
l
eani
ng styl
eand i
ndi
vi
dualcommuni
cati
on modesstudentspi
cked up i
n Boston may be
whati
sneededtomakeyoungpeopl
emorefl
exi
bl
e,andi
twoul
dbeashamei
ftheseski
l
l
s
werel
ost.
Fi
nal
l
y,from thevi
ewpoi
ntofstudents・soci
alcommuni
cati
vedevel
opment,spendi
ngthe
fi
naltwoyearsofthei
rprogram i
nJapanmaybeworthwhi
l
e.Asevi
denti
nthecomments
heretofore,on returni
ng to Japan,many students showed compl
ex feel
i
ngs about the
atti
tudesofshop cl
erks.Somestudentswerepuzzl
ed by thei
rbowi
ng and si
tuati
onal
-set
l
anguage.OnestudentwrotethatJapanesehonori
fi
cl
anguagei
srathertroubl
esome（面倒）
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Reference
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Appendi
x
Worksheetresults
Allthe students・comments listed below were reproduced nearly verbatim.Grammar and spelling mistakeswereretained,astheoriginalexpressionsconveystudents・feelingsbetter.Theauthoradded thefollowingforclarification.
1.Alltheitalicized wordsin bracketswereadded,asthemistakesmightbemisleading ordo not conveythemeaningveryclearly.
2.(multiple)indicatestherewereatleastthreecommentsthatexpressedessentiallythesameview. 3.*(anasterisk)indicatesthatthecommentisfrom aUniversityProgram studentwhoparticipatedin
the 5-month study abroad program in Boston.Comments withoutan asterisk are from BLIP studentswho participated in the18-month study abroad program in Boston.Allthestudents・ commentsfrom thespring 2007andspring 2008classarelistedhere,withoutregardtoorderor theyearinwhichitwassubmitted.
4.Allthecommentsforquestions1,2and3werecategorizedinthefollowingtwoways:
・Positive,negativeorneutral.Neutralcommentsincludetheonesthatcouldbeviewedaseither positiveornegative,orshow students・objectiveobservationsabouttheculture.
・a)American/Japanesesociety,b)people・sbehaviourand customs,c)classesand schools,d)the languageande)others.
Thecommentsforquestions4and5werecategorizedonlyaspositive,negativeorneutraltotheir situation.
Q1:How didyoufeelaboutAmericancultureatthebeginningofyourstayinBoston? Positive:
a)Americansociety
1Pa-1.Great:beautifulbuilding,lotsofmuseums,havingleisure. 1Pa-2.*Freeculture
1Pa-3.AcceptableDiversity:Thereweremanydifferentpeople. b)People・sbehaviourandcustoms
1Pb-1.Americanpeoplewereveryfriendly.(multiple) 1Pb-2.PersonalspaceissmallerthanJapanese.
1Pb-3.Therearemanydiversities,sotheyseriouslylistentomyroughEnglish,andtheydon・tlook down(on)us.
1Pb-4.Aggressive(positive),Energetic. 1Pb-5.Peoplewanttoknow other・sopinion.
1Pb-6.PeopleinAmericabehavenaturallyandfreely.
1Pb-7.TheAmerican Cultureisvery interesting becauseithasassimilated many otherculturesin music,food,etc.
1Pb-8.IwasconfusedaboutAmericanstreatmenttowardsme.Thereasonisbecausetheyregardedme asanadultnotasastudent.Therefore,IunderstoodthatAmericanstreatpeoplewithanequal pointofview.
1Pb-9.Peoplesaytheiropinionsclearlyandvoluntarily.
1Pb-10.AmericancultureismoreeasytoexpresstheirfeelingoropinionsIthought.Soitwaseasy totellothersmy honestfeeling andopinion.Japaneseprefertoshow theirfeeling andopinion
unclear,butbetweenJapanese,it・snormalthingandwecanunderstandeachother. 1Pb-11.Americanscherishsomethingold,forexample,housesorfurniture.
1Pb-12.Individualism.TheAmericanpeoplesaywhattheythinkandwhattheywantdirectly,butI feltthewayhow theydoisreallynatural.Ifpeopleonlyinsistontheiropinions,itmightcause problemsincommunication.SometimesIfeltAmericansaresostrong,however,mostlyAmericans insisttheiropinionsstronglybutalsocompromisewithother(s)sowell.Ithoughtthisisbecause theyvalueself-reliantandadmit・individual・welleachother.
1Pb-13.Ithoughtit・sgoodthateachpersonhasownfashionstyleandlifestyle. 1Pb-14.IenjoyedAmericanreactionwhenIwenttoseeNBA andmovies.
1Pb-15.*Compared with Japanese,American (shows)respecteach other,even ifthey arechildren. Parentsoften havetheirchildren makedecision,butthere(theytake)alwaysresponsibilitiesfor it.Inteams(terms)ofthat,therearemorefreedom,butresponsibilitiestoo.
1Pb-16.*Americanpeoplevenerated(worshiped)theirreligions.
1Pb.17.*American treasuretheirfamily orrelatives.Regularly they celebrated theirbirthday every year.
1Pb-18.*American(are)kindtoothers.Forexample,theyopenadoorforothers. Negative:
a)Americansociety
1Na-1.(Thereare)discriminationandlotsofraces. 1Na-2.Dangerous!!
1Na-3.IwasafraidofAmericanbecauseinJapanalotofbadnewswerebroadcasted.
1Na-4.Ifeltitwasalittlestrangebecauseitwasreallydifferentfrom Japaneseculture.Forexample, therewasnoschedule(timetables)fortrain.
b)People・sbehaviourandcustoms 1Nb-1.Americanserviceisnotgood.
1Nb-2.Clarksandwaitlesswererudeandblunt,notsmiling.(multiple) 1Nb-3.Theydon・tliketotakeabath.
1Nb-4.RestaurantclarkswerenotpolitelikeJapanesestyle.
1Nb-5.IwasirritatedwhenIsaw clerks・attitude.Theydidn・tcareaboutcustomersbuttheyworked attheirownpace.
1Nb-6.TheyworkmorereluctantlythanJapanesepeople.
1Nb-7.IthoughtAmericansayrealthoughtsanytimebecauseoffreedom sotheydon・tsaybadthings behindsomeone.Butit・snottrue.Iheardsomeonesaybadthingstosomeoneindirectly.Itisnot once.Iwasshocked.
1Nb-8.WhenAmericansspoketheiropinionsandthoughts,theywereverypowerfulandaggressive. 1Nb-9.Unfriendly.Peoplesaid ・yes・or・no・very clearly,so IthoughtIcouldn・tsurvivein this
country.
1Nb-10.Ithoughtpeoplewerefreebutirresponsible.
1Nb-11.*Iwasconfuse(d)at(as)mostofAmerican werefriendly.I・m shy sowhen someAmerican talkedtome,Iwasalwaysconfused.
1Nb-12.*Ifeltmany American peoplemakeslipshodwork andthey don・tcareaboutwhatthey do verycarefully.(Author・scomment:Shelaterreversedthisopinion:see2Pb-18)
1Nb-13.*Theydon・tcleantheirroomsmanytimesandJapanesepeoplemuchcareaboutcleaningour clothesorrooms.
theclerkcametousandrecommendedsomecosmetics.Ijusttriedit,butshegaveaready(the lady)answertoher・No・becauseshedon・twantit.Itseemedicyformeatfirst.
1Nb-15.*Notpunctual.ManyofAmericanisaloosecharacter. c)Classesandschools
1Nc-1.In Boston,teachersoften askedquestioned(questions)tousandmadeusspeak in theclass. However,inJapan,mostofthetimesstudentsarepassiveanddon・taskquestionssomuchduring theclass.SinceIam Japaneseand used to bepassive,Ifelta littlebituncomfortablein the Americanstyledclassesatfirst.(multiple)
1Nc-2.Iam ashy person,soitwassohard formetosay my opinion in frontofmany people/ students.
Neutral:
1Ta-1.Everythingissobig.(multiple) 1Tb-1.Fashionisreallycasual.(multiple) 1Tb-2.Theyliketotalkandeatalot. 1Tc-1.Lotsofhomework.
Q2:DidyoufeeldifferentlytowardAmericancultureasyougotusedtolifeinBoston? Positive:
2Pb-1.WhenImadeeyecontactwithAmericanstheysmiledatme.Itisveryniceculture.
2Pb-2.Iwasn・tgoodatexpressingmyself.ThereforeatfirstIdidn・tsay・Hello・or・How areyou?・ tothepeopleespeciallytostrangers.ButinAmerica,peoplegreetorhaveashortconversations eventhoughtheydon・tknow eachotherwell.GraduallyItrytohaveashortconversationwith any peoplesuch asmaintenanceor facility staffin a hallway.And thoseconversationswere comfortableforme.
2Pb-3.Independent:IrealizedIhavetofigureouteverythingwhichIwanttoandneedtoknow by myself,causeAmericanshavetotaketheirownresponsibility.
2Pb-4.Individualism mademecomfortablegradually.They communicated menotasa person ofa group,butasan individual.BecauseofthisItrustedon lotsofpeople,andchangedmy mind aboutAmericans.
2Pb-5.Ifirsthesitatedtomakeeyecontactwiththem becauseImightbetalkedbyAmericanpeople. But(a)few month(s)later,Ichangedmy mindandItriedtocommunicatewith alotofthem (withnohesitationofmakinganeyecontact).
2Pb-6.TheysometimesmorepositivethanJapanese.
2Pb-7.WhenIlearnedAmericanvalues,myideahadtotallychanged.Oneofthevaluesis・i ndepen-dent・,so children are expected to be independent.College students pay their schoolfees by themselves.They gotothecollegesbecausethey really wanttostudy.Sothey aresobusy to studyandwork.Iunderstoodthattheydidn・thavetimeandmoneytobedressedup.Theydon・t needtodoittogotocolleges.
2Pb-8.AtfirstIthoughtthatAmerican peopleexpresstheirthoughtswithoutthinking theother person・sthoughts.ButIrealizedthatthisexpressionisnotbecauseoftheirrudenessbutbecause ofbeinghonest.
2Pb-9.Itbecamenaturalformetohugwithmyfriendandtalkwithstrangers.
2Pb-10.Whensomebodysaidtome・Ni-hao・or・Annyohaseyo・,IbecametobeabletosaythatIwas Japanese!!Iusednottosayanythingbutnow Icansaymyopinionclearly.
2Pb-11.Veryfriendly.SometimespeoplespoketomeinatrainorbuswheneverIgotlost,somebody spoketomeandhelpedme.
2Pb-12.Igotusedtohangingwithsomeone,soIcametoevensadwhenpeopledidn・thagme. 2Pb-13.SincetheAmericanculturevaluesindividualism andself-reliant,Istartedtoopenmyselfand
tellwhatIfeelorwanttotoothers.
2Pb-14.Icouldbe(wasabletobe)moreactiveandtalkativeandIfeltmorerelaxedwhen Iwasin Boston.Ithink itwasbecauseIdidn・tneed to careabouttrain scheduleorwalk in crowded streets.
2Pb-15.*Americancollegestudentsweremuchmoreindependent.Theyconsiderthattheyhavetopay tuition by themselves and they should leave parents・house atleastby the age oftheir 21. (multiple)
2Pb-16.*Americanpeoplevenerated(respected)elderlypeopleand(the)unfortunate. 2Pb-17.*Americanhaveastrongego.Theyhavetheiropinioneverytime.
2Pb-18.*Ithoughtthey makeslipshodwork becausethey don・tliketheirwork.Butitwasn・ttrue. Theyhaveownidea,Ifound.
Negative:
2Na-1.Someareasaredangerous.Iwassurprisedthatanareawhichhavethemostcriminalhaslots ofblackpeople.
2Na-2.In acafeteriaatBoston College,peoplewereeating atthetablebutthey justmadegroups with sameethnicstudents.Chinesetable,African American table,Irish table,so and so.So I finallygotthatAmericanhaddiverseandprejudiceanddiscriminationwerethere.
2Na-3.IthoughtAmericansupportpoorpeopleequally.ButwhileIwasinBoston,Ifoundthatthere weremanypeoplewhodon・tgetenoughsupport.Theywerestillmanypoorpeople.
2Na-4.Therearestillmanydiscriminationtoblack,AsiaorHispanicpeople. 2Na-5.*Bostonmustmaketimetableforthebusandsubway.
2Nb-1.Americansdon・twaitotherswhentheyeatmealstogether.Icouldn・tgetusedtotheculture inBoston.
2Nb-2.*Many American like junk food,but they value their nationalholidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.They also maketraditionalfoodsand eatthem (attheseholiday celebration).
2Nb-3.*Ihadproblem aboutfood,atfirstitwasfreshforme,butIlikericeverymuch.SoIwanted toeatriceonbreakfast.
Neutral:
2Tb-1.Peoplearemuchmoreopenaboutshowingtheiraffectiontowardthepartners. 2Tb-2.Therelationshipbetweenboysandgirls(weredifferentfrom whatIexpected).
2Tb-3.Americanslikediscussion.Theyaregoodatsayopinionsandexchangethinking.Japaneseare notlikethat.Theyaregoodatguess.
2Tb-4.*Americanculturewassameasmyimage. 2Tb-5.*ThereweremanyvegetariansinBoston.
2Tb-6.*Americandon・tcaremuchabouttheirclothesandappearance.
2Tb-7.*Americansgavemeacalloremailthedaybefore,orontheverydaytomeetup.Japanese tendtodecidethegatheringtimeinadvance.
2Td-1.When ItaughtJapanesetoAmerican,Irealized Japanesecultureofmodesty.Weoften say ・Taishitamonojanai(it・snotagoodstuff,translatedbytheauthor)・whenwegivesomething.It
seemedrudeforAmericansifthepresentisreallynotgood.
Q3:How didyoufeelaboutJapaneseculturewhenyoureturnedfrom Boston? Positive:
3Pa-1.Japanisveryconvenientandclean.(multiple) 3Pa-2.Japanesewelfarepolicyisgood!!
3Pa-3.EverythinginJapanisneat.
3Pa-4.*Iwassurprisedtofindthatmanystuffswere(well)managed,smallandcompact.
3Pb-1.Iliketakingabathforalongtime,sleepingonthefuton,andtakingoffshoes(athomeand soIfeltverycomfortabletobebackhome).(multiple)
3Pb-2.Peoplearemodest. 3Pb-3.Polite
3Pb-4.Japanesefoodisdeliciousandhealthy!!(multiple)
3Pb-5.Atstores, bathroomsareveryclean,andtheclerksarepolite.IrealizedthatJapaneseculture hadperfection.
3Pb-6.*It・simportanttorespectseniorpeople.
3Pb-7.*Afterall,IloveJapan.IlikeJapanesepoliteness.When Icameback toJapan,Icouldadapt toJapansoon.
3Pb-8.*IthoughtJapaneseculturewaswonderful!!Theclarks(clerks) areverykindtocustomer. 3Pb-9.*Japanesepeopleareconsiderate.
3Pd-1.Japanese culture is very convenient.For example itis a ・bow・.By using a bow,people recognizedmyfeeling,・Thankyou・,・Sorry・,・Seeyou・etc.evenwithoutwords.
3Pd-2.*JapaneseCulturehasahonorificword.Thismakesforgoodhumanrelations. 3Pe-1.Artisbeautifulandsensitive.
Negative:
3Na-1.Ibecamesick,whenIusedacrowdedtrainandsaw somanypeopleinTokyo. 3Na-2.Trainissocrowded.(multiple)
3Na-3.Japanisnoisy!!
3Na-4.Tokyodoesnothavenaturesomuch!!
3Na-5.Everythinglookedsosmall,closeandfar.Peopleliveinthissuchasmallislandliketheyare pushingtheshoulderseachother.PeopleinTokyodon・tknow eachotherandtheytrynottostop intotheotherpeoplelife.Butin Boston,peoplelivein pretty gooddistance,they dosomefun activitiestogether.
3Na-6.Notsopeace(safe)thanIexpected.Inmyimage,Japanwassosafebutmyumbrella・sstolen. 3Nb-1.Imadeeyecontactwith peoplein Japan,andJapanesepeopleaboided(avoided)me.When I sneezed,American said ・Bless you!・ After Icame back to Japan,nobody say it,so Ifeel somethingempty.
3Nb-2.IwasshockedthatJapaneseyoungwomenareskinny.(multiple)
3Nb-3.IhadbelievedthatJapanesepeoplewerethepolitestnationintheworld,butIfoundoutthat wedidn・tcareaboutotherpeopleasmuchasAmericanpeopledobecausewedon・tsay・Excuse me・or・I・m sorry・everytimewehitsomeoneinthepublicplaces.(multiple)
3Nb-4.Ifelthow busyJapanesepeoplewere.(multiple) 3Nb-5.Peoplewalkveryfast.(multiple)
3Nb-6.They・rerestless.(multiple)
3Nb-7.Japaneseseem likethesame,inotherwords,theydon・thaveanindividual.
3Nb-8.Iseea lotofpeoplewearing sameclothes,samebagsand having samehairstyle.Whilein Boston,Isaw avarietyofpeopleanditwasratherhardformetofindsomeonewearingsame things.Icanseetheideaofharmonyfrom theseaspects.Personally,itisnotinterestingtosee peoplehavingsamebrands.Ithinkpeopleshouldbemoreindependent.
3Nb-9.JapanesecultureseemsmorepoliterthanAmericanculture.However,Ithoughtit・sinconvenient, becausewehavetousehonorificwordtoolderpeople.Forme,it・sjust面倒 (troublesome)cared formal.(Surface.)Ithinkit・snotsoimportant.
3Nb-10.Notkind.
3Nb-11.SomeoftheJapanesegotocollegebecausetheydon・twanttoworkyet.Theyjustwantto havefreetime,sotheyoftenskipclasses.Icannotbelievethattheirparentspayforthem.They takeitforgranted thatparentspay forthem,so they don・tthank fortheirparents.Ithink Japanesestudentsaremuchlazier.
3Nb-12.JapanesearelessfriendlythanAmericans. 3Nb-13.Peopledonotsmile!!
3Nb-14.Youngpeople・slookingisstrange!!
3Nb-15.Too polite.Clerksaretoo polite.They say ・Thank you very much.・many timesand bow manytimes.
3Nb-16.BeforeIwenttoBoston,itwasnaturalformetoseepeoplebowingmanytimes,orpeople don・ttelltheirfeelingsstraightforwardly.However,whenIcameback,IrealizedJapanesepeople weretoopoliteor(I)feltIdidn・tunderstandhow theyfelt.
3Nb-17.IfeelthatJapaneseculture(indailylife)iskindofboring.Ex)whenIgoshopping,mostof allclerksarenotinpolite(impolite)butalsonotsofriendly.Theysaysamewords.Thoughthere isonlymeinthestore,theclerksaysrepeatingsamephrases,andit・skindofstrangetome. 3Nb-18.IfeltstrangeaboutJapaneseculture.Forexampleclearks(clerks)who treatcustomersin
samewayalldaylong.Itseemstobereallyweirdbecausetheydon・treallysay・Thankyou.・or ・MayIhelpyou?・totheircustomersfrom theirbottom ofheart.
3Nb-19.*Japaneseparentstendtospoiltheirchildren.Someparentspay cell-phonechargefortheir children.
3Nb-20.*Ifeltsolitary.
3Nb-21.*IthoughtJapaneseculturewasalittlerigid.Japanesethinkstronglyaboutlivingcomfortably. 3Nb-22.Itseemseveryonecaresaboutfashionsomuch.
3Nb-23.(People)don・tthinkabouttheworldsomuch,(itisbecauseJapanis)toopeaceful.
3Nb-24.Ididn・tfeeldiscomfortin Japaneseculturestrongly.ButIwondered my aunt・sbehaviour. Even ifsheisreally busy,sheacceptsthechairresident・sassociation unwillingly.Now,shehas notimetorelax.Ithoughtsheshouldhadrefusedthisofferclearly.
3Nb-25.*Japanesepeopletendtobeinagroup.
3Nb-26.*Japanesepeoplethinkaboutmanythingsindetail.
3Nb-27.*Everythingissocomplicated.Peoplelookseriousandunfriendly.Actually,IthinkJapanese peopleareunfriendly.Ormerelytheyareindifferentaboutothers.
3Nc-1.InBostonalloftheteacherssaidHello,Hi,orByewhenwemetinaschooleventhoughthey weren・tmy teachers.Butin Japan someteachersjustbow asa greeting.So Igotconfused weather(whether)ateachergreetedornot.
