1. © 2010 by Nigel Caplan and the Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Culture Shock
Nigel Caplan
ESL Specialist
Writing Center
Hallo, I’m Nigel Caplan, ESL Specialist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This online video presentation is about culture shock and is designed for international students at American universities.
You will be able to read the powerpoint slides more easily if you click the ZOOM button in the top right corner of your screen. You can pause the presentation using the control bar under the video.
© 2010 by Nigel Caplan and the Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill.
© 2010 Nigel Caplan & The Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill. Some rights reserved. May be distributed unchanged for non-commercial use only. Contact

2. Have you had these feelings in the U.S.?
1. People seem to behave differently here from your country.
2. Americans don’t share the same values as you.
3. You feel disoriented, anxious, depressed, or hostile (angry).
4. You are not satisfied with American culture.
5. Social skills that work in your country don’t work here.
6. You think that these feelings will never end.
Before we go any further, I have some questions for you. If you’ve been living in the US for a while, have you had any of these feelings?
1. People seem to behave differently here from your country.
2. Americans don’t share the same values as you.
3. You feel disoriented, anxious, depressed, or hostile (angry).
4. You are not satisfied with American culture.
5. Social skills that work in your country don’t work here.
6. You think that these feelings will never end.
Take a minute to think about these questions. You can pause the presentation using the control bar under the video of me, and click play to continue when you’re ready.
If you’ve had any of the feelings, then you are experiencing culture shock. If you haven’t had any of these reactions, there’s a good chance you’re going to. And it’s not a bad thing.
Adapted from Hofstede, Pedersen, & Hofstede, Exploring Culture. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, Page 22

3. What is Culture Shock?
“Culture shock is about being out of place in a certain place and time” (Irwin, 2007).
It comes from “the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse” (Oberg, 1960).
Almost everyone who lives in another culture experiences culture shock, and almost everyone survives it!
So, what exactly is culture shock? Psychologists and sociologists have come up with different definitions, but here are two that I think fit most people.
Culture shock is about being out of place in a certain place and time.”
It comes from “the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse.”
Almost everyone who lives in another culture experiences culture shock, and almost everyone survives it!
Let me stress that you don’t have to live in a different country to experience culture shock. Moving from one part of the country to another, or even from high school to college are often causes of culture shock.
Irwin, R “Culture shock: negotiating feelings in the field.” Anthropology Matters, 9(1). Oberg, K 'Culture shock: adjustment to new cultural environments.' Practical Anthropology 7,

4. The 4 Stages of Culture Shock (Oberg, 1960)
Honeymoon 
Hostility / Rejection 
Adjustment 
Integration
Most experts say that culture shock happens in stages. This is Oberg’s original model of culture shock – and it certainly agrees with my own experience coming to the US from Britain. I’m going to introduce the four stages briefly and then talk about them in more detail.
The first stage is called the honeymoon. A honeymoon is the vacation that a newly married couple takes right after the wedding, and it’s supposed to be a time when everything’s perfect. And that’s most people’s first experience in a new culture.
However, problems happen – this is in culture shock, not marriage, by the way – and many visitors feel anger, or hostility and may reject the new culture.
If you get through the second stage, you begin to adjust to the culture – you don’t feel 100% comfortable, but are less hostile and more open.
The final stage is integration, when you feel at home in the new culture.
Obviously, people go through these stages at different speeds, and you may not experience them in exactly this order. But it’s good to know that for most people, although things get worse in the second stage, they nearly always get better after that.
Oberg, K 'Culture shock: adjustment to new cultural environments.' Practical Anthropology 7,

5. Stage 1: Honeymoon The new culture is fascinating, exciting …
Usually lasts a few days to a few months
The tourist experience
So, the first stage is the honeymoon. You find the culture fascinating, exciting, and new. You see that there are 100 types of cereal in the supermarket, that strangers might say hallo to you on campus, that the bus routes have letters not numbers. This does not usually last a long time, and you can think of it as the tourist experience: when you go on vacation, you don’t usually stay long enough to go beyond stage 1. However, if you’re going to live in the US for a while, it’s hard to avoid the next stage.

6. Stage 2: Hostility / Rejection
You feel disoriented and have trouble adjusting.
You blame the new culture for confusing you.
You may become angry, frustrated, or aggressive toward the new culture.
You criticize or stereotype the new country.
You look for people from your country.
This is the “crisis” – you either stay or leave.
I don’t want to scare you by describing stage 2 if you’re not already in it -- remember that most people go through all the stages without any major difficulty. But I’ve found that it helps to know what will probably happen so that you can better understand your emotions when they hit you.
In the second stage, you feel disoriented, and you realize that you’re have trouble adjusting. You’re no longer a tourist, and you find that living here is not as easy as you thought. You might blame the culture for confusing you, and you may become angry or frustrated, or aggressive toward the culture. It is common stereotype people from your host country: for example, if you find yourself saying “All Americans are …”, then you’re probably in stage 2. As a result, you might prefer to be with people from your own country.
Experts say this is the crisis moment – either you will get through this stage and stay, or you’ll choose to go home. We’ve found that doesn’t happen so much, but if you are having difficulties at this stage, do seek help: from a friend or a professional counselor at your university.
My crisis was realizing that I didn’t know where to go to buy something – I don’t even remember what it was.

7. Stage 3: Adjustment You begin to function well in the new culture
You recognize good and bad parts of it
You still think your culture is better
You don’t criticize as much
Instead you make jokes about the culture and your own difficulties
But here’s the good news: it gets worse, but then it gets better! After a while, most people discover that they are functioning well in the new culture. In stage 2, you probably only saw the bad bits of the culture, but now you recognize both good and bad aspects. However, you still may think that your culture is better, and although you don’t criticize as much, you make jokes about your new home and your experiences here. That’s an important stage in adjusting to the culture, but you still feel like an outsider.
My response to this was to write columns for the student newspaper, which I thought were funny, but might actually have been quite annoying to American readers.

8. Stage 4: Integration
You accept and even enjoy the new culture “as just another way of living.”
There are still occasionally difficulties, but you do not feel anxious.
You generally feel comfortable in the new culture.
You may even reach “biculturality.” (Hofstede, Pedersen, & Hofstede, 2002).
If you stay long enough, you will hopefully reach the fourth stage of integration. Now, you accept and even enjoy the new culture as another way of living: no better or worse than your previous life. You will probably always have occasional difficulties, but they don’t bother you as much because you generally feel comfortable in the new culture.
Some people – but probably not everyone – reach the point where they are bicultural: equally at home in both their native culture and the US.

9. Summary Culture shock is not a bad thing.
Your feelings are probably normal, and you aren’t alone.
It gets worse before it gets better.
Being aware of the stages can help you understand your experiences.
To summarize then, remember that culture shock is not a bad thing, and it is not unusual. Your feelings are probably normal, and there are almost certainly other people going through the same difficulties.
Culture shock gets worse before it gets better – that’s almost unavoidable, but being aware of the stages can help you understand your experiences.

10. Practical Strategies Enjoy and learn about the culture and the campus
Avoid isolation; look for “cultural informants”
Maintain relationships here and at home
Use resources; ask for help
Don’t expect to be perfect
Keep an open mind; “study” the culture
Adjust to US culture without giving up your own
Look forward, not backward
Healthy body, healthy mind
Keep a journal, notebook, or blog
Here are some practical strategies recommended by a psychologist from UNC’s Counseling and Wellness Services:
Enjoy and learn about the culture and the campus – the more you know, the more you’ll understand
Avoid isolation; look for “cultural informants” – people who can explain the culture and tell you what things mean
Maintain relationships here and at home – phone home regularly but try to talk to people here too
Use resources; ask for help – it’s not a sign of weakness to ask for help, and US universities can usually offer a lot of support
Don’t expect to be perfect – you will make mistakes, but you will also learn from them
Keep an open mind; “study” the culture – keeping asking yourself why people behave the way they do
Adjust to US culture without giving up your own – no-one’s asking you to reject your native culture: keep the traditions and practices that are important to you
Look forward, not backward – don’t keep thinking about what you used to do back home. Think about what you will do here.
Healthy body, healthy mind – exercise can keep your spirits up.
Keep a journal, notebook, or blog – reflecting on your experiences is a way to understand them.
Sources: Adapted from UNC Counseling & Wellness Services materials by Preeti Vidwans, and from U. of Michigan

11. Counseling & Wellness Services
If you are experiencing psychological, academic, or health concerns, please visit Counseling & Wellness Services. CWS provides interventions, guidance, and support to students at UNC.
As I said at the start, everyone experiences culture shock, and most people get through the stages without major problems. But your individual experience might be different, and if you have psychological, academic, or health concerns, please talk to a professional. If you’re a UNC student, please visit the Counseling and Wellness Services in the Student Health Center. They provide interventions, guidance, and support to students at UNC. Their website is on the screen – you can click on the link in the menu under the video, not the PowerPoint.
You can download the PowerPoint slides and the transcript from the Writing Center’s ESL videos page, and that version includes a complete list of references.

12. Website: www.unc.edu/writingcenter/esl
Blog: eslonthehill.wordpress.com
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Thank you for watching this video about culture shock. Please take a quick survey to evaluate this presentation. The address is on the screen, or you can click the last link under the video. Your feedback is very valuable to us.
You can find information about other ESL services at UNC on the Writing Center’s ESL Resources pages. Please also visit my blog, ESL on the Hill, for more tips about American culture and language learning.
This has been an ESL video presentation from the Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I’m Nigel Caplan, and I hope to see you again online or in person very soon. And, good luck with your culture shock!
© 2010 by Nigel Caplan and the Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Some rights reserved under a Creative Commons 3.0 License for non-commercial use only. You may link to this URL with correct attribution, but before reproducing the presentation in another format, please contact the copyright holder.
© 2010 Nigel Caplan & The Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill. Some rights reserved. May be distributed unchanged for non-commercial use only. Contact

13. References
Hofstede, Pedersen, & Hofstede, Exploring Culture. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 2002
Irwin, R “Culture shock: negotiating feelings in the field.” Anthropology Matters, 9(1).
Oberg, K “Culture shock: adjustment to new cultural environments.” Practical Anthropology 7,
University of Michigan Office of International Programs Culture Guide --