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Cross-Cultural Interaction1 Make up invitations, using one of the given forms, and one phrase from each of the columns below. The invitations may be addressed to any person (your friend, fellow-student, co-worker, relative, etc..) who either accepts or declines the invitation: go to the cinema tonight come to my birthday party sometime have lunch with me after work go for a walk tomorrow afternoon come and see my videoclips on Sunday go on a boat trip next Saturday go and see “Swan Lake” at the weekend go skiing to the montains with me on Friday spend the weekend with us one day next week 2 Decline the following invitations tactfully, giving a reason: 1 Would you like to come to tea on Sunday? 2 Do you feel like going on a camping trip? 3 I wonder whether you’d like to go to the exhibition of modern art? 4 How about going to the beach this afternoon? 5 Would you like to go to a football match with me on Saturday? 6 I’ve got two tickets for a Beethoven concert tomorrow. Would you like to go with me? 7 I wonder whether you’d like to spend Christmas with us. 8 My sister is giving a piano recital on Friday. Perhaps you’d like to go with me? 9 What about going to the Internet café? 10 Would you like to go to a discotheque with us on Saturday? 3 a) Read each of the short conversations below and say if they are definite or indefinite. For example: Jon: “It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten together. Let’s get together soon.” Noga: “I’d like that, but February is impossible and March is pretty busy too.” Jon: “Well, let’s decide in April.” (Definite / Indefinite) 1Michael: “Hi, Mel. Did I tell you that we’re having a party Friday night? Do you think you can come?” Mel: “I’ll check with Belle and let you know.” 2Judi: “I hope we can get together before I go to Texas next month. Give me a call and we’ll try to figure out a date.” Sarah: “Okay. You’ll be hearing from me.” 3 Benji: “Are you free to come over to our house for dinner next Tuesday night? I want you to see our new house.” Ilana: “Sure. What time would you like us to come?’ 4Kenzo: “Let’s have lunch sometime soon.” Jim: “You choose a day.” Kenzo: “Okay. I’ll let you know.” 4 Work in pairs. Make up dialogues, using the questions to introduce an invitation. For example: Are you doing anything tonight? (go and see a movie) Student A: Are you doing anything tonight? Student B: No, nothing special. Why? (or: No. I don’t think so / No, nothing in particular) Student A: I wondered if you’d like to go and see a movie with me? Student B: Thank you. That would be very nice (B’s response to the invitation may also be varied). 1 Are you doing anything special on Sunday? (go for a drive in the country) 2 Have you got anything on tomorrow night? (go out to dinner) 3 What are you doing at the weekend? (go windsurfing) 4 Have you got any plans for Christmas? (come and spend it with us) 5 Are you doing anything on Saturday afternoon? (go to the Matisse exhibition) 5 Study the following conversation between two businessmen and note how the invitation becomes definite. Act it out in pairs. Jim: “Let’s get together soon.” Taka: “I’d like that.” Jim: “Good. I’ll give you a call and we’ll find a day that’s good for both of us.” Taka: “I’ve got my date book with me. How about if we set a date now?” Jim: “Uh, sure. I’m free any day next week at noon.” Taka: “I’ve got meetings every day but Wednesday. Let’s make it next Wednesday.” Jim: “Sounds fine. Next Wednesday at noon.” Taka: “See you then.” 6 Study the following conversation and complete the chart with expressions for inviting, accepting and refusing from the conversation, then act it out. Kathy: “Hello?” Ron: “Kathy? Uh, this is Ron, you know, from your history class?” Kathy: “Oh, hi.” Ron: “Listen, I was wondering…um, were you planning to go to Ali’s party Saturday?” Kathy: “Hmm. I haven’t really thought about it yet.” Ron: “Well, would you like to go?” Kathy: “You mean, with you?” Ron: “Yeah.” Kathy: “Well, sure, Ron, I’d love to go. / Well thanks, Ron, but I just remembered that I’m busy that night.”
7 In pairs, have conversations in which you make small talk and extend invitations. For each situation, one student will extend an indefinite invitation. The second student will change it to a definite one. - Two friends in the cafeteria at work. - A man and a woman at a party. - An English teacher and one of his or her students. - Your choice. 8 In pairs, have conversations in which you invite / are invited and accept the invitation, or refuse the invitation and offer an excuse. - A groupmate A invites another groupmate to a foreign-language film. The film is very popular, but it is in a language that neither understands. - Your friend invites you to dinner at an expensive restaurant to celebrate his /her birthday. - Your co-worker invites you to a holiday part at his parents’ house. You have never met the parents. 9 Culture puzzles: a) Read the situation and choose the appropriate explanation or explanations. There may be more than one possible answer. Situation: An American, Diane, invited her Japanese friend, Michiko, to come to her house one afternoon. Michiko couldn’t come and said. “No, I can’t come. Please invite me again to your house.” Diane was surprised by what Michiko said. Why do you think Diane was surprised? a) Diane thought that Michiko didn’t want to come to her house because of the way she said, “No, I can’t come.” She couldn’t understand why Michiko added, “invite me again” when it seemed she didn’t want to visit her. b) When Michiko said that she couldn’t come, Diane thought Michiko would invite her to her house. She was waiting for Michiko to say, “Why don’t you come to my house in a couple of days?” c) Diane thought Michiko was rude not to explain why she couldn’t come and to invite herself so directly for another visit. b) This culture puzzle describes a situation involving Jim, from the U.S., and Magid, from an Arab country. Discuss the situations and answers, give your own reactions and compare cross-cultural similarities and differences. Read the situation and choose the appropriate explanation or explanations. There may be more than one possible answer. Situation: After a busy week, Jim was looking forward to spending Saturday reading and relaxing by himself. He had been very busy at work during the week and had worked overtime hours. Saturday came and Jim had just sat down in his most comfortable chair. Just as he started to read, the doorbell rang. He answered the door and to his surprise, his former co-worker, Magid, was standing at the door. They had been good friends at work, but had lost contact after Magid left. It had been several months since they saw each other. How do you think Jim felt? a) Jim probably had mixed feelings (two emotions at the same time) when he saw Magid. He was happy to see him, but disappointed that he couldn’t spend the time alone. b) Jim was a little bit upset at Magid for dropping by. c) Jim was so happy to see Magid that he forgot about wanting to spend the day by himself. Now read the situation from Magid’s point of view. Situation: One Saturday morning, Magid was at home and didn’t have much to do. He had been thinking about his friend, Jim, who he used to work with. It had been a long time since they had seen each other and Magid felt bad about this. He had told Jim that he would come and visit him, but several months had passed and he just hadn’t found the time. He remembered that Jim had told him, “Come and visit when you get the chance. I want to stay in touch with you.” So this Saturday morning seemed like a good time to visit. He went to Jim’s house and rang the doorbell. When Jim first answered the door, he didn’t look completely happy to see Magid. Then, after a few seconds, he smiled and said, “Hi, Magid. Come on in.” How do you think Magid felt? a) Magid was probably offended. b) Magid understood that Jim wanted to be by himself that day. c) Magid understood that Jim was a little bit upset that he had just dropped by without calling him. Now continue reading about what happened during the visit. Situation: Jim asked Magid to come into his home. The two of them drank coffee and talked about what they had been doing since Magid left the company. Magid stayed about three hours and then said, “I’d better go home now.” Jim got up and walked Magid to the door. They said goodbye to each other and Jim thanked Magid for coming. As they left each other, they both felt a little uncomfortable. Why do you think Magid was a little uncomfortable? a) Magid thought that Jim should have asked him to stay longer. b) Magid thought that he didn’t stay long enough. c) Magid couldn’t understand why Jim thanked him for coming. Why do you think Jim was uncomfortable? a) Jim thought that Magid should have stayed longer. Three hours was too short a visit. b) Jim thought that Magid should have apologized for visiting without calling first. c) Jim thought that Magid had stayed too long and that he should have said something like, “Let me know if you’re busy or if I’m interrupting your plans.” 10 Culture puzzle. Read the story and choose the appropriate explanation. The Missing Person I Freddy Xenos, a Xenrovian student, sounded very upset on the phone. “Why don’t you come by the office?” Elliot said. “You can tell me about your problem, and we can could discuss it.” Freddy didn’t hesitate before he said, “Yes, that’s a good idea. May I come over today?” “Just a second,” Elliot said. “Let me check my appointment book.” A few seconds later he said, “Yes, today is good. Why don’t we meet at 2:30? Is it Okay with you, or do you have any classes?” “No, I don’t have classes,” Freddy said. “We started vacation last week; 2:30 is fine. I’ll see you then.” Freddy arrived at the Holmes Detective Agency at 2:35. He apologized for his lateness. In Elliot’s office, Freddy began to explain his problem. “I want you to find a missing person,” he said. “I’ve been worried about this guy for days.” “All right,” Elliot said. “Why don’t you tell me something about him? How long has he been missing? Is this person a relative? And of course I’ll need a photograph of him.” “Well, first of all, his name is Michael North, and he’s been missing for about a week.” Freddy thought for a second. “Yes, that’s right. I haven’t seen him for seven or eight days. He’s not a relative. He’s a friend; we take a computer class together two days a week. He doesn’t have any family members here; they all live in Arizona. Hmmm, let’s see. What else did you ask me?” “For a photograph.” “Oh! I don’t have one.” “Well, we’ll have to do without it, I guess. Why don’t you give me a description?” “Yes, of course. He’s tall, thin, wears glasses, and has brown hair. He’s a little bald, too.” Elliot took note as Freddy spoke. “Why are you worried about him?” he asked. “Well, he’s been very depressed for months – unhappy about school and his job. Although his family is very rich, he works part-time as a bartender while he goes to school and studies computers. I’m worried because he lives alone and is often lonely.” Freddy looked a little uncomfortable. “To be honest,” he said, “I was afraid that maybe Michael killed himself because of his depression.” a) Did you understand the story? Answer these questions about it: 1 Why was Freddy able to meet with Elliot at 2:30 that day? 2 Why did Freddy apologize to Elliot? 3 Why was Freddy worried about his friend Michael North? 4 When was the last time that Freddy saw Michael? 5 What was Michael North depressed about? 6 What was Freddy afraid of?
II Elliot was curious. “Killed himself? You said that you were afraid of this – not that you are afraid of it.” “That’s right,” Freddy said. “I thought that he committed suicide, but now I think that he probably didn’t. I went to check his apartment yesterday; the manager let me go in. Michael wasn’t there, and everything was in order. Now I’m worried about something else.” “What’s that?” “I suspect that someone kidnapped him. I see it often on American TV. Criminals ‘steal’ a person from a wealthy family. Then they send a note that says, “We’ll give you back your son only if you give us $ 1,000,000.” “You mean ransom money,” Elliot said. “Yes. That’s right. Ransom.” “Well,” Elliot said, “possibly someone kidnapped him. Has anyone received a ransom note?” “I don’t know,” Freddy said miserably. “His family in Arizona doesn’t seem to be answering the phone. Where is he? I don’t understand.” “Have you checked his work place?” “Yes. I went to the restaurant. He quit his job a week ago.” “Hmmm,” Elliot said. “Why don’t you tell me about your last conversation with him?” “It was a short one,” Freddy said. “I saw him at school for a few minutes one day. I said, “Why don’t we get together for lunch some day next week?” And he said, ‘Yes, that sounds like a good idea; I’ll call you.’ However, he never called me, and I haven’t seen him since then. When I studied at the International Language School last semester, I learned that yes means ‘yes’ to Americans, so I became worried when he didn’t call.” Elliot smiled, “Why don’t we go downstairs and have some tea? I think you need to relax.” Freddy shook his head. “How can I relax while my friend is missing?” “Come on downstairs,” Elliot said more firmly. Over a good, hot cup of tea, I’ll tell you where your friend is.” b) Can you figure it out? Answer these questions about the second half of the story. 1 At first, Freddy was afraid that his friend killed himself. Why did he think that this was possible? 2 Why did Freddy change his mind about this? 3 Where did Freddy get his idea about kidnapping? 4 When Freddy and Michael spoke with each other at school, what did Freddy say? What was Michael’s answer? 5 Why did Freddy become worried? c) Find sentences that begin with Why don’t you…? or Why don’t we…?Tell whether each is an invitation, a suggestion, or a polite command. d) Can you solve the mystery? Look at these sentences from the story and answer the questions: 1 In the story, Elliot said to Freddy, “Why don’t you come by the office?” Freddy replied, “Yes, that’s a good idea. May I come over today?” When Freddy said yes to Elliot’s suggestion, do you think he really meant yes, no, or maybe? Why do you think this? 2 Freddy said to Michael, “Why don’t we get together for lunch some day next week?” Michael answered, “Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I’ll call you.” When Michael said yes to Freddy’s suggestion, do you think he really meant yes, no, or maybe? Why do you think this? e) Use the cultural information to answer these questions: 1 Why didn’t Freddy and Michael have classes on the day Freddy went to Elliot’s office? 2 Elliot smiled and suggested some tea at the end of the story. He didn’t seem very worried. Why not? 3 What probably happened to Freddy? 4 Do people in your culture sometimes say yes when they don’t mean it because they want to be polite and friendly? If so, is the custom similar to the American custom or different from it? 5 How do people in your country politely say no to a suggestion or invitation? 6 Have you ever had a conversation with an American that was similar to Freddy’s conversation with Michael? If so, did it seem unusual to you? Unit 2 Nonverbal Communication: Speaking Without Words Date: 2016-04-22; view: 1017
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