CCU (Cross Cultural Understanding) is a discipline which teach the student about a culture in other countries such as America or England. The importance of this class are:
1. To improve our teaching skill.
Because of we are in Teacher
Training and Education Faculty, so it is more than 50% sure that we would be a teacher. A teacher should be an open minded person to accept all of the new thing that he/she will encounter during his/her work. In addition we are going to be an English teacher. If we don’t know the culture then it would be difficult for us to teach the language. Because as my lecturer said that, language is related with culture, while culture is related with people and all of their behavior (politeness, habitual, custom, ceremony, etc).
let’s say, we teach about conditional conversation, we as a teacher should consider what kind of conversation and in what way the native speaks. One of many things that I learned from this class is, American native does not very like to make a friend especially with a person that he/she does not know at all. And they have different way in speaking while facing an older man, a younger one or in the same age. Then I can make a conversation between two friend who accidentally meet in a train station. The way of speak is just like the way they speak with others that in the same age as them.
As a teacher we also do not want to lose our face in front of our student, as a teenager they always come up with a vast curiosity. They will sure ask us about how is the condition in another country. What is people habit, what they usually do in special occasion such Christmas, Halloween, thanks giving, etc. then it would be our duty to explain about it to them. That’s why I can say that this class is help us very much. At that rate we can explain it as we know from this class. If we can not explain it as detail as possible, then the students will keep asking us about it, so we must be very patient to explain it to them. DO NOT hurt them just because of they keep asking you, it is our duty anyway.
2. Pick the good things and leave the bad things.
This class also teach me to filter the input to my mind. It is true that everything has two different sides in contrast, just like a coin which has face and the nail in opposite side. Culture is the one that we must be aware. Most Indonesian people think that west culture is superior than our culture so they change their way of life all of in sudden into western culture as if they proud to be a western. But I here not to give judge upon what they did, I just want to share what I got from this class that “there is no a culture which superior that others.” Every culture can be right based on the place they occurred. For example smoking culture: in our country smoking is a normal thing, very normal, people may even smoke in a public place such as hospital. But we can not bring such habit to other country such as America, if you were caught while smoking in a public area, the police can put you into a jail, or at least people will interrupt you and ask you to turn off your smoke even a kid can do that to you.
Everything has a good side and a bad side. If in the example you think that our culture is bad, means that you are WRONG. You even can not call yourself have passed from this class. The point is just make an evaluation to ourselves, if you think that you have hurt people by smoking in a public place then stop doing it. If you think that you need to interrupt someone while he is smoking, try to find a delight time, in order not to offense him.
Any culture of course teach us about something good, there is no culture that teach us about something bad. If an Indonesian go to America than he become a bad person, it does not mean that the culture has teach him, but it because he willingly want to be a bad person. If he can filter the value then it is okay for you wherever you go.
3. The most important part of this class is to avoid culture shock.
Who knows that may be some how we get a chance to study abroad, such as in America. So it is better to prepare ourselves about what kind of culture that we will face. Every place has its own culture, not only in different country, Indonesia itself has many and various kinds of culture, Java culture, Sumatera culture, Sunda culture, etc. we should know all of the culture and all of the history why it made. If we arrived in America for example, then go directly to the city, then we will encounter many differences condition, at this rate we will feel confuse, unsecure to around of us because everything seemed different. If this happened to us then we can not enjoy the time there, it should be nice if we had been familiar to the condition. One of the way in by learning the culture from this class. There are still many other ways to avoid this condition, you can ask a tourist that come near to your town, or ask another people who have already gone to that country. Technology has already covered all of the aspect in our life, so you can search the information from internet.
Actually there are many things that I learned from this class but I can not explain it one by one, unless this will become a long story. So to make it simple, I just write three-most-important things that I had already known, felt, and understood. But over all, I realize that the ultimate goal of this class is to make a change and improvement to ourselves into a better man.
0 comments:
Posting Komentar