People who are in a different culture from their own often encounter and deal with various difficulties of culture shock in its broad sense. This ethnographic study of Japanese expatriates in the Midwestern U.S. delineates their culture change, concentrating on culture shock and its results. The problems in interpersonal relationships among the Japanese housewives whose husbands work for the same company in the community were found to be the source of their most serious culture shock. It made each housewife conscious of her previous cultural assumptions and those of the others regarding interpersonal relationships such as friendship, privacy, and the roles of housewives. These cultural assumptions were integrated into their new cultural order to support their solutions to the problem, i.e., changing the association with those belonging to the same company, or constructing new associations with those belonging to different Japanese companies. / Department of Anthropology

This qualitative case study adopts a phenomenological approach to describe the socialization and learning experiences of three Turkish graduate students of International Relations. It employs ethnographic tools of inquiry such as interviews, observations, and document analysis. To contribute to the understanding of context, the study includes interviews with three professors of International Relations and an extensive analysis of leading disciplinary journals. The study draws on the works of critical theorists such as Foucault, Bourdieu and Gee to discuss the complex interplay of factors that affect the learning experiences of developing world students in International Relations. Lave and Wenger's (1993) refinement of the cognitive apprenticeship model on situated learning, Legitimate Peripheral Participation, provides a theoretical framework of analysis for the themes of social identity construction and power relations which emerge from the research. Implications for the teaching of discipline-specific materials in English for Academic Purposes are suggested.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This study examined the language socialization of international students in the graduate school context of a western Canadian university. Focusing on one pervasive speech event, academic presentations (APs), this study explored the role this socioculturally organized activity played in facilitating students' linguistic and sociocultural development, and how it aided them in negotiating their entry into the academic world. The participants in this study included 55 graduate students and nine course instructors. Thirty seven students were native speakers (NSs) of English, while the remaining 18- -the focal participants of this study—were non-native speakers of English (NNSs). The sites were seven graduate courses in six different departments in three different faculties (Faculty of Medicine, Faculty o f Arts, and Faculty o f Applied Science). A qualitative approach was employed, and thus multiple kinds of data were gathered over a four-month period. Data collection methods included: (a) open-ended interviews with participants; (b) tape-recorded observations of APs; (c) researcher's fieldnotes of APs; and (d) collection of written documents (e.g., course outlines). Data were analyzed following Bogdan and Biklen (1992) by identifying major and minor themes while iteratively going over the data. A comparison of APs across disciplines is included, examining aspects such as A P content, sequence, length, and format. As well, an analysis of the qualities promoted in each field and of the multiple purposes APs fulfil is provided and related to the complex socialization (i.e., both linguistic and sociocultural) of international graduate students. Findings of the study suggested that APs are a complex task whose meaning is not fixed, but rather is determined by the interplay of the broad context of the academic world, the micro-context of each community of practice, and ultimately by each individual. With regard to the language socialization 6f NNSs, APs challenged students in both linguistic and sociocultural ways. However, by observing, participating in, and reflecting on APs, students gained increased membership and competence within their academic communities.

This study examined the language socialization of international students in the graduate school context of a western Canadian university. Focusing on one pervasive speech event, academic presentations (APs), this study explored the role this socioculturally organized activity played in facilitating students' linguistic and sociocultural development, and how it aided them in negotiating their entry into the academic world. The participants in this study included 55 graduate students and nine course instructors. Thirty seven students were native speakers (NSs) of English, while the remaining 18- -the focal participants of this study—were non-native speakers of English (NNSs). The sites were seven graduate courses in six different departments in three different faculties (Faculty of Medicine, Faculty o f Arts, and Faculty o f Applied Science). A qualitative approach was employed, and thus multiple kinds of data were gathered over a four-month period. Data collection methods included: (a) open-ended interviews with participants; (b) tape-recorded observations of APs; (c) researcher's fieldnotes of APs; and (d) collection of written documents (e.g., course outlines). Data were analyzed following Bogdan and Biklen (1992) by identifying major and minor themes while iteratively going over the data. A comparison of APs across disciplines is included, examining aspects such as A P content, sequence, length, and format. As well, an analysis of the qualities promoted in each field and of the multiple purposes APs fulfil is provided and related to the complex socialization (i.e., both linguistic and sociocultural) of international graduate students. Findings of the study suggested that APs are a complex task whose meaning is not fixed, but rather is determined by the interplay of the broad context of the academic world, the micro-context of each community of practice, and ultimately by each individual. With regard to the language socialization 6f NNSs, APs challenged students in both linguistic and sociocultural ways. However, by observing, participating in, and reflecting on APs, students gained increased membership and competence within their academic communities. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate