Different cultures have different levels of emotional
expressivity in public. I saw this first-hand on my mission in Italy. I had
never attended a ward council meeting before my mission, so my first ward
council meeting was in Italy, and it was an astonishing process. The bishop
would bring up a topic, and then everyone would start shouting at once,
gesticulating wildly and yelling over each other to try and make their point.
After listening for a while, the bishop would finally cut everyone off (usually
by yelling loudest of all) and announce his decision emphatically. Then he’d
throw out a new topic and the process would start all over again. The level of
emotional expressivity in those meetings (and in every other situation) in
Italy was very high. After my mission, I had a calling that required me to
attend ward council in my home country (the U.S.), and the dramatic differences
between a ward council meeting in Italy and a ward council meeting in the U.S.
were astounding. In the U.S., there was no yelling, no gesticulating, no
talking over each other, no fighting. Everyone calmly and politely said what
they had to say, going out of their way to do so as respectfully as possible.
I think that if an Italian were in an American ward council
meeting, they would be likely to end up speaking over people at times, and I
think Americans would misinterpret that as rudeness. To them, the Italian would
seem uncivilized and impolite. At the same time, I expect the Italian would
probably be confused as well – he would see the Americans as cold and uncaring,
perhaps.
This type of cultural misunderstanding caused by different
levels of emotional expressivity is something I’ll need to watch out for in my
ESL classes. If my students are from different cultures, I’ll need to find ways
to moderate any misunderstandings that may arise from one student being more
expressive than another because of their native cultures. I also will need to
be aware of my own level of expressivity (which is definitely low), and keep
that in mind when deciphering the behavioral patterns of my more expressive
students.
I don't remember ever attending ward council meetings during my mission. I am pretty sure we didn't. I have been in callings where I have gone to ward council meetings but those are as you described them for the United States.
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting how you described ward council meetings in Italy.
I like how you brought the subject to ESL classes to end your blog. I get so focused on saying what I am going to say on my blog that I don't say anything else.
Rebecca, I laughed at your description about ward council in Italy because it reminded me so much of church in Mexico. And even now, I attend ward council in my ward and I am the one who is talking with my hands and sometimes crying and getting way more emotional than the rest. I know there are people who view it as a weakness. And sometimes I get upset with myself that I couldn't control it better in a room full of very composed people. It's okay. I love that I love hard am passionate about the things I truly care about in a more outward way. This way people never have to guess what Carol is thinking or feeling! Ha!
ReplyDeleteI think it's great! Americans could use a little more openness, in my opinion!
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