Case 1: She Has Three Hands
In the following scenario, a Chinese doctor, a patient and a physiotherapist interact.
A female neurologist from Beijing was working on a research
project in a Toronto hospital. She shared a small office with a young
Canadian male from a large family, who loved peanut butter. He was so
fond of peanut butter that he kept a jar in the office. One day he came into
the office and exclaimed, “Who took my peanut butter?” But the Chinese
woman immediately felt accused. After all, there were only two of them in the office.
She was deeply distressed, but true to her learned cultural behavior
of never showing anger in public, she said nothing. Later that day she was
working in a room where the physiotherapist was treating a patient who
suffered paralysis of his legs and arms from a motorcycle accident. The
physiotherapist moved one of the patient’s legs in a way that caused him pain.
“Ouch!” he cried.
“Oh, I didn’t do that,” said the physiotherapist. “It was that doctor over there,” and he pointed to the Chinese woman.
“How could she have done it since she’s on the other side of the room?” the patient pointed out.
“Ah, she has three hands.” the physiotherapist replied.
At these words the Chinese doctor became even more upset. She was
so disturbed that she behaved in a way uncharacteristic of her culture. She
waited until the patient had gone, and then said to the physiotherapist,
“I’m very upset by what you said.” The physiotherapist was taken aback.
“What had I said?” “You said I had three hands,” the Chinese doctor finally choked. “You think I took the peanut butter.”
Answer the following questions:
1. How do you understand the phrase “to have three hands”? (3 分)
2. What caused their communication conflicts?（7 分）
Case 1:
This case can reflect the different communication styles between
Chinese and Canadians. In western cultures, communication is the means
of transmitting ideas. Western people usually communicate directly with
each other. That is why the Canadian in this case says what is in his mind
directly in front of the Chinese woman without hiding anything. While
Chinese culture stresses harmony and emphasizes the relationships
between the communicators. Chinese people view communication as a
process where all parties are searching to develop and maintain a social
relationship. So the Chinese woman in this case tries not to argue with the
Canadian face to face to keep the“harmonious relationship”between them.
Case 2: Left in the Cold
Katherine came to Beijing in 1998 and found a job as an English
teacher in a foreign language institute. Soon after her classes began she
found that her students showed no interest in her teaching style. Quite a
few of them avoided attending her class. She was feeling quite upset and
discouraged so she decided to ask the Director, Prof. Wang for help. Prof.
Wang reviewed his timetable and suggested they meet at ten o’clock on
Thursday morning. When Thursday came, Katherine arrived at Prof.
Wang’s office at the exactly ten o’clock finding him talking with another
teacher in Chinese. Seeing that she had come, Prof. Wang smiled and
gestured her to sit down. Katherine sat down and the professor excused
himself and continued to talk with the other teacher. After five minutes,
he finished his conversation, and apologized to Katherine, and began to
focus his attention on her situation. Prof. Wang showed great concern and
asked her what the problem was. Just as she was discussing her problem,
another Chinese teacher interrupted, with a form that required the
Director’s signature. The Director smiled, apologized to Katherine again,
and turned to talk with the Chinese teacher in Chinese. Katherine became
impatient, and wondered why their discussion should be interrupted since
she had made an appointment. Also, she was upset and frustrated that
they continued to speak Chinese in front of her. Although their talk continued, she was apparently unhappy about what had happened.
Answer the following questions:
1. How would you explain the Director’s behavior toward Kathrine?
（5 分）
2. How would you make the Director understand why Katherine felt frustrated and angry? （5 分）
Case 2:
Comment
This is a typical cultural clash between Chinese and Westerners.
There is a great difference in the concept of appointment and its behavior
pattern in different cultures. To Americans, an appointment is a
confirmation to meet at a precise time. If an appointment is scheduled,
both parties should respect the appointment time. For example, if a
professor makes an appointment with a student at a certain time, it should
not be interrupted by other things or people. In addition, Westerners are
good timekeepers; they adhere strictly to schedules. However, Chinese
view appointments in a more flexible manner. They are more casual
about commitments. This difference in attitudes toward appointment was the root of Katherine’s unhappiness. Since the Director made an ten
a’clock appointment, he should have tried to avoid any interruption.
However, when Katherine arrived on time, the Director was still talking
with another teacher. When their meeting finally began, it was interrupted again. There is no wonder Katherine became frustrated and angry.
Case 3: Personal Space
Mark had recently moved from Denmark to Sydney to work as a
salesperson for a large Australian company. After three weeks, he was
invited to join a local club. During the first few weeks at the club, Mark
would either stand in the corner talking with someone or sit on a sofa
listening to other people talk and chat. As time went by, he came to know
most of the club members and seemed to enjoy talking with them. One
day, at an evening party one of the female members approached him.
Mark immediately showed his interest by talking about the atmosphere of
the party. At first, the conversation between them seemed to go quite
smoothly, but as it progressed the lady seemed to step further and further
away from Mark as he had been gradually moving closer to her. The lady
obviously seemed uncomfortable. As Mark was about to ask her
questions regarding Australian social customs, another man standing
nearby directed a glance toward the lady. She excused herself and went to
talk with that man, leaving Mark standing alone and wondering why their conversation had come to such a sudden stop.
Answer the following question
1. Why did that woman suddenly stop talking with Mark and turned to another man? （10 分）
Case 3:
跨文化交际案例分析
