Thank you again for your comment posts. I think that your insight along with the excellent exhibition presentations this week, many people had a chance to learn new things about culture and communication, and maybe had fun doing it too. I am very pleased with your work, and the visiting teachers and guests also had very positive things to say. Well done.For this blog entry, I would appreciate your thoughts and reflections on the CCC exhibition:
Did you enjoy doing the exhibition? What kind of challenging questions did you need to answer? What did you learn from it?
The blog will take a short break until we come back from the holiday. But for CCC students, I hope that you see the heavy reading coming up when you return. The next half of the semester will be expanding out to think more about international trends that are affecting cross cultural communication. Authors, Mok and Kim, talk about "internationalization" and how to blend different cultural traditions in an unavoidably globalized world. Authors, Tan and McKay, talk about English as an "International Language," and about the difficulties for culture to translate through a universal medium.
I hope students will find time over their holiday break to flip through these pages. See you next year. Aj. M
"For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice." T. S. Eliot
Hi ajarn M.
ReplyDeleteThe exhibision was very wonderful. I love to do that again if I have an opportunity ^^.
Merry Christmas and Happy new year
Huge Hug
Or-ae
Hi teacher...
ReplyDeleteI appreciate with our exhibition a lot, honestly a lotttttt~~~!! :-)
This is one of the most awesome exhibitions in my life that I had done. I learnt much with all of the guests that came to listen our exhibition. We exchanged opinions, cultures, knowledges, and also questions. This is great.
My group did about traditional Thai dace and the interesting question is Why did u choose this topic? It seems not so difficult but it is very important to know why!! We need to know why we are doing things and when we know that mean we have our stand point and it can make us well done. The first day was very excited me but in the second day I became more natural to talk and felt free to express everything...
So, thank you for this great work and see you again next year.
**Merry x'mas and happy new year teacher...wishing you peace, love, and fun in the new year ;-)**
Dear Ajarn Matthew ^^
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the exhibition. This was good oppurtunity for me to communicate with people from different cultures. From this exibition, I learned more about why we have to pay much respect to the elder. I agree that it may because Thai society is vertical cuture.
(My topic is how high power distance affects non-verbal communication in Thai family)
There was 1 difficult question that I need to answer and I have no idea to answer. It's not about my topic but I think it's related. One Chinese teacher said that she feel uncomfortable when students kneel down to her. For Thai it's common things and I don't know why we have to do that. .. . . . . . . . . .
I have one story to share to you. I can remember it until now.At my school, when I was 10 years old, there was a new friend coming from Bankok (We was in Kamphaengphet that time). One day she wanted to go to the teacher's table, and she walked there by use kneels about 3 meters before reaching the table!! When the teacher saw her doing that, she admired my new freind and very pleased to her. Then the teacher said to everybody in the class that "T h i s i s g o o d t h i n g t o d o f o r T h a i s t u d e n t, and you should look at her as the example" At that time I felt . . . . . wonder why?, and we had tought all time to pay v e r y very great respect to the teachers.
Until now I feel quite uncomfortable to stand up in front of teacher's table (if it's long time to meet, or talk) while he/she is sitting. I usually bend my body automatically, or sit, or simetimes kneel down (especially with Thai teachers).
Sometimes I want to know how techers who have different cultures from me would feel? You used to talk about this in class. It seems like it can make some confuses.
Very long comment ^^
(I think I like this course). HA HA!!
Merry x'mas & Happy new year!!
have a nice time . . . . . .
Hope you enjoy vacation ^^
Ploy+
Hello,Aj. Matthew,
ReplyDeleteOur exhibition was great, I think.
We have learned a lot of things from the exhibition.
In our group, we presented about Thai hand gesture which the "wai" was included. We have learned new things about wai that we'd never known before we learned from him.
He said "There's three kinds of wai. The hands on the chest means you wai people by heart. The hands on the nose to wai parents mean like we breathe because of them. For the last, the hands on forehead to wai monks means believe and wisdom."
Actually, we have learned a lot of things doing the exhibition. We had a chance to found other things to share and prepared for the second time.
I really enjoyed that.
Hope you guys have a good time during the New Year weekend.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Aj. Matthew and my friends.
Wish you guys be happy all the next year and forever...
See you next year.
Good comments so far. Ploy, thank you for your story. I enjoyed reading it. I also have a similar story in the opposite way:
ReplyDeleteMy first "Teacher's Day" (wai kru). And I was on the stage with other Thai teachers sitting in chairs. I was given a jar of clay, but I didn't know what to do with it. And then students, one by one, came on to the stage and walked on their knees to me, and waiied at my feet! I was so embarrassed. I looked at the other Thai teachers, and they put three dots on the student's forehead (some kind of Buddhist blessing). I didn't know how to do it. And the first student that came to me, I think I made a terrible mess on her face. I felt so ashamed. Before that day, I knew how to be a teacher, but I had no idea how to be an ajarn.
Ploy, I was happy to know that some students are as uncomfortable with that level of giving respect as I am to receive it like that.
Hopefully your cross cultural learnings will be more private and easy to manage, and not on a stage under bright lights.
Dear students, I would like to share parts of an e-mail that a Chinese teacher that came to our exhibition sent to me:
ReplyDelete"You lead students to think about the topics, communicate with people from different cultures and enlighten them to learn the culture and life in another way. And finally and practically they got opportunity to show them ability not only in speaking English but learn in cooperation with others. That is really very good...
We communicated and opened doors to think about cultures. To think about our lives. Teachers like me learned from this in the same way. This is not the challenge of culture in Thailand but same thing happened in other countries. I was really impressed on group 3 and 5, which are traditional Thai culture and Online community. I saw those were such a good topic to make comparisons. On one hand, people have to abide by culture customs in real life. On the other hand, people are eager to express them in a secret way like online comments where they would be safe because nobody knew about that. What a amazing contrast we get. What's the deep reasons for that? Why people do that? What's the future for that? How Thai young people will do as a new generation for Thailand as case of changing the world...
I also got a chance to talk with Thai students what they really think about their country, themselves, their culture, their responsibilities for their country. You gave me such a platform. I appreciate it."
Well done everyone. I think we can be proud of our project. Aj. M
Hello, everyone
ReplyDeleteI would like you to be happy.
Merry Christmas also Happy new year
see you after long holiday.
Marry Christmas ^_^
ReplyDeleteOur exhibition was very fantastic!
Although some groups were not very good in the begining, they did the great explanation at the end!
My friends' group screamed loundly when we finished. I asked them later about that, they said the first 3 teachers gave bad comment on that group. However, the next 3 teachers were appricate with that presentation!
^_^
I've got the great experience from your project, Ajarn Matthew. I enjoy and love it a lot!
the exhibition was awesome!! I loved it ;]
ReplyDeleteApart from telling others what and why we are, I knew more about why we are.
my topic was 'how high power distance affects non-verbal communication in Thai family'. That was very fun to share it with teachers from other cultures.
there was an interesting question raised by aj. dane (i'm not sure about spelling ;p) 'how and why does high power distance appear in the culture?' until today, i still cannot answer this question. if you know the answer, pls tell me. I really want to know. T^T
i had a chance to share the idea about high power distance between teacher and student with Chinese teacher. i told her that with Thai teachers, i feel uncomfortable to stand and talk while they're sitting. so i sit or kneel down. But with foreign teachers, because they kept telling me not to kneel down, i feel comfortable to stand and talk to them, and i never kneel down.
she said that she feels like she is discriminated. Thai students pay respect only to Thai teachers.
so i want to ask you have you ever thought about that?
ps. Happy new year, ajarn M. wish you great fortune and great health!
Nu.th... Your comments and questions are great.
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to answer why high power distance appears... It depends on how much power individuals feel that they have in their culture. So, most inidividualistic cultures feel a higher amount of individual power. Collectivistic cultures usually feel less individual power, and more power in a group. But then, what exactly makes people individualistic or collectivistic is a more difficult question to answer. Maybe you have some ideas about that.
And then about respect: I think we were very lucky to have the Chinese teachers' feedback. It gives us more cultural knowledge. And it would be an interesting question to ask many foreign teachers: What level of respect do they feel in the university?
Personally, I feel like I get more respect than I deserve from students. But I also know that students must show respect in their culture... so I hope to teach well and make the respect real, and not just a custom.
We will see about that! Thank you for your comments.
Hi Ajarn M.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the exhibision even though I didn't done a great job in presentation.
There are more commentation from the guest about my strong and weak point of my group that I know it's true. I understand what the guest want from our group and we cannot reach it,but I appreciate my group members. I think they done a great job in presentation, everyone can answer the guest question and discuss about the problem happens in group and finally they accept all of the comment without the anger.
I know that it's hard to do the exhibision because we didn't have an experience before but we try to do best.
Great job at the first time,I think.
Hi Ajarn Matthew,
ReplyDeleteIt was fun about exhibition which it made me more participate with my group than other jobs because evryone must present!! ha ha
Thank you for my score na, I think it should less than this becuse I didn't it well. But, however, thank you so much na ajarn ^_^
Today, I was study about internationalization. I still confused that what is international????...I agree with you that here is not international, but I think the image make here be international. The out side person might think that, but if they coming here they will know as us!!! ha ha >-<
"International" this word maybe easy to understand, but it's so hard to understand when we study it more!!!
**Happy New Year 2009 na ajarn**
Wish you happy all year and lucky in your life.
See you in our class
Happy New Year naka Aj.Matthew
ReplyDelete^______________^
The exhbition was very wonderful and nice. I was very excited about the exhibition. My group did about the non verbal of Thai Gays.
Firstly, I was worry about our presentation may not well, but it was great!!! :P
There are some teachers that made us afraid when they came to listen and comments our exhibition, but they are kind and nice.
Anyway, I'm really appreciate with our exhibition. I am very happy and enjoy with this project.
I would like to say "Thank you" for you that making the good activity for me and my friends.
THANK YOU SO MUCH....
I wish you happy and good luck through this year and forever.
^_________________^
Hello, Aj,Matthew
ReplyDeleteXmas and hoppy new years everyone.
This song is classic song.
Blue Christmas(Evis Presley)
I'll have a blue Christmas without you
I'll be so blue thinking about you
Decorations of red
On a green Christmas tree
Won't be the same
If you're not here with me
And when those blue snow flakes start falling
And when those blue memories start falling
You'll be doing all right with your Christmas of white
But I'll have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas
Ooh
Ooh
Ooh
Ooh
Decorations of red
On a green Christmas tree
Oh, won't be the same
If you're not here with me
I'll have a blue Christmas, that's certain
And when that blue heartache starts hurting
You'll be doing all right
With your Christmas of white
But I'll have a blue, blue Christmas
Mmmm
If you want to see video of this song, you can go this "http://xmasfun.com/Lyrics.asp?ID=74"
Patcharawan Chuenchai(Melon)
ID:4931006267
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