Documentation:Cultural Issues in Teaching Online/Observation Two: Culture Gaps Make Way for Miscommunication

Observation Two: Culture Gaps Make Way for Miscommunication

The greater the cultural gap between online participants, the greater the possibility for miscommunication Understanding that there exists a real and enforced Internet culture, and that this culture embodies communicative values drawn from North American, English-speaking and academic cultures, one might expect that participants from certain (formally educated, Western, English-speaking) cultures will have the least difficulty in communicating successfully in greatest affinity with the online course environment, whereas individuals from cultures with very different communicative values and strategies might be less successful communicators, according to cyberculture standards. Reeder and colleagues note that this prediction is supported by their analysis of participation patterns. In their study group, non-aboriginal Canadians (individuals born and educated in Canada, within the predominantly English-speaking Euro-Canadian culture) posted a significantly higher number of messages than, for example, aboriginal Canadian participants. It appears, then, that one important cultural ‘gap’, which may function as a predictor of online communicative success, is the gap between the communicative culture of an individual, and the communication culture of the Internet itself.

Cultural gaps can also exist between individual communicators from different backgrounds, and the authors find evidence of these cultural gaps in the communications of their online course participants. For example, they observe in participants’ “self-introduction” postings some large differences in their approaches to online self-revelation, and, indeed, in their notions of how identity is established. Why might such divergent perceptions of personal culture, role and identity contribute to communicative challenges in an online setting? The authors suggest that Gudykunst’s Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory (1995) may be useful here. Gudykunst suggests that all communicators (including online communicators) encounter each other as strangers – and the wider the cultural gap that exists between them, the greater the degree of uncertainty and anxiety. As anxiety increases, the potential for miscommunication increases. Anxiety must be ‘managed’ in order for successful communication to take place.

Individuals from different cultural backgrounds will employ different anxiety management strategies, with varying degrees of success. For example, in the ‘self-introduction’ exchanges above, individuals are giving information about themselves in ways that reflect their experience, the influences of their educational and group cultural “programming”. The likelihood is, however, that neither is providing the other with the kind of culturally-expected and familiar personal information that would serve to reduce anxiety and promote better communications. The door is opened to hasty assumptions on both sides about the others’ cultures.

Reflection

Think about the way you introduced yourself at the beginning of this course.

What kind of information did you offer? Why?
What kind of personal information helps you form a ‘better picture’ of your fellow learners?
As a facilitator, how can you help learners create online ‘identities’ that augment peer communications?