University of Rome III, School of Humanities -- Degree Course in Languages and International Communication
Year 2006-07 -Third Year English Module: “English for intercultural communication” - Convener: Patrick Boylan

 
Task 1 - Ethnographic Interview: November 20, 2006 - Instructions

Your name:__________________________ Your group: ___ Partner's name:____________________________ Partner's group: ___

You will conduct it as a simple experiment to test Trompenaars' cultural dimensions. Do the Trinity College students confirm or disprove the position that Trompenaars assigns to "typical" U.S. businessmen? Do you confirm or disprove the positions that he assigns to Italians (see the handout from our May 26th lesson)?

We can compare Trinity College students to the businessmen that Trompenaars describes because many of the students will probably become businessmen. And, in any case, they share a similar linguistic-cultural background. See: F. Trompenaars, Riding the waves of culture, New York, 1988.

What do these terms mean? See the slides on "cultural dimensions" on the Recap for Lesson 26 May.

Each dimension will be studied by the students in each of two groups assigned to it. (Example: the members of groups A and B will study the dimension Universalism/Particularism.) Students will form couples: in our example, a group can be composed of two students from Group A or one A student and one B student -- it makes no difference. If, after forming couples, there is an extra student, that student will form a trio with one of the couples. Only ONE trio is possible for both groups together (ex. A, B).

Before going to Trinity College, you must indicate above the two values of the dimension assigned to your group and, in your opinion, the position on that line of: the teacher (use his initials: "PB" ), you (use an "X"), your family/community (use a circle: ""), Italy in general (use a triangle: "∆"), and, finally, where you think Trinity College students should be positioned (use the initials "TC"). This is your experimental hypothesis. Then prepare DESCRIPTIVE, STRUCTURAL and CONTRAST questions as well as ANECDOTES, to test your hypotheses this evening at Trinity College. (See details on the back.)

ATTENTION: Do not position yourself, your family and Italy along the ENTIRE dimension. This is improbable. The differences between you and your family may be great from your viewpoint, but not in comparison with Koreans or Saudis. You may be relatively very different, but still you are most proabably in the same general area on the Cultural Dimension Lines above.

At Trinity, you will take turns with your partner in speaking to your American informants. You will engage them in conversation and attempt to discover how they position themselves on the dimension line being studied. Your partner will observe the interaction and make mental notes to discuss after the conversation. The notes should clarify what the informants really mean by describing the overall dynamic of the conversation, plus the non-verbal cues: body language, speech rhythm and pauses -- the things that you (in charge of conducting the conversation) may not have noticed since you were concentrating on the words.

After each conversation, you will go to a quiet corner with your partner for a moment to hear her/his notes and decide if you have interpreted the conversation the same way. If not, you must go back, find the same American student, and have another conversation to discover if you were right (or wrong).

Then you will change roles: from "conversationalist" you will become "observer" and notice the dynamics of your partner's conversations. If the American students try to talk to you while you are the "observer", answer them briefly and "relay" the question to your partner: "Good question! What do you think, Caia?".

The next day, you will write a report. You will explain your cultural dimension and give the DESCRIPTIVE, STRUCTURAL and CONTRAST questions as well as ANECDOTES that you prepared. You will say why you hypothesized that those questions/anecdotes could determine a Trinity student's position on your cultural dimension line. Then you will describe your informants, say whether your prediction held true and how effective your eliciting strategies were. .

QUESTIONS TO PREPARE BEFORE THIS EVENING, TO TEST YOUR HYPOTHESES ABOUT
THE POSITION OF TRINITY STUDENTS ON YOUR CULTURAL DIMENSION LINE

(adapted from James Spradley, The Ethnographic Interview, New York: Holt Rinehart & Wnston, 1979)

1. DESCRIPTIVE QUESTIONS
   
   Grand Tour questions: Let your informant talk freely about a subject that is NOT the Dimension you are interested in, but leads to it. Example: If you are interested in the Meritocratic-Cooptation dimension, talk about getting a job in Italy: what you must do, etc. and only then by what criteria it is decided. In other words, take a Grand Tour before arriving at the specific question that interests you.
   
   Language questions, Example/Anecdote questions: If your informant says a word that is not clear to you, get her/him to explain it. IF s/he says something general, ask for an example. For instance, if s/he says: "Yeah, I applied to a lot of computer companies for a summer job, but the usual people got in", ask her/him what s/he means by "usual people" and then ask her/him to give an example, so you can check your understanding. Or tell an anecdote and see the reaction: "I saw a story on TV (in reality, you've invented it): Jeb Bush in Florida gives out summer jobs to students who campaign for him!"

2. STRUCTURAL QUESTIONS
   
   Cover term and Included term questions: If you want your informant to express a position, ask a naive question about the general ("cover") meaning of a term or about whether the term belongs in a certain category. Example: If you want to see if you and your informant both mean the same thing by "letter of recommendation", you can ask: "So in the general category of 'acceptable ways to get a job', you would include letters of recommendation, right?" ("Yes!") "But I'm not sure what you call a 'letter of recommendation'. For example, in Italy a Prelate or a politician can write a letter asking a state agency to hire you. And it often works, because the agency wants to keep good relations with the Vatican and with Parliament. Is this what you mean by a 'letter of recommendation?'" If your American informant says "No, in America that's a crime!", you can then go back to (1.) and ask an example question: "Well, what would be an example of an acceptable letter recommending you?" Your informant will probably say: "It will just say I've worked for X and that X is satisfied with my work."

3. CONTRAST QUESTIONS

Contrast verification questions: When you think you have understood your informant, make a summary of what you think he has said and ask him if you have understood correctly. But alter 20% of the questions to test if is really verifying what you are saying. For example, you could say: "So, in conclusion, you are in favor of 'letters of recommendation' to help people get a job, but only certain kinds, right?" ("Yeah, that's right!") "So let me recap... Tell me if you are in favor of: letters attesting work done, letters certifying studies, letters of character reference, letters putting political pressure on the employer, letters invoking mutual friendship between sender and employer." Your informant will probably answer: "Yes - yes - yes - no – perhaps."