A Research On Culture Shock During The Process Of Intercultural Adaptation

Culture shock is ubiquitous. It happens accompanying the occurrence of intercultural contact. American anthropologist Kalvero Oberg (1960) first coined this term to describe the signs of anxiety producing when people enter a new cultural environment which has very few familiar symbols or behaviors. Since several decades ago, a host of researchers in this field have devoted themselves to probing this problem to completely reveal the deep causes behind the phenomenon and further to explore effective strategies to cope with the negative effects culture shock brings, or at least mitigate it so as to really improve expatriates'oversea quality of life, study and work. However, their researches are still unsystematic. This thesis explores culture shock during the process of intercultural adaptation. It has two objectives: first, it explores and analyzes culture shock from many angles such as the different forms, symptoms, causes, process and stages and two important models. Second, it proposes the effective strategies to cope with or mitigate culture shock.To deepen the discussion of the complex causes of culture shock, this thesis employs Hofstede's theory of five cultural dimensions. Kim's (1991) theory of the dynamic stress-adaptation-growth interplay is also used to illustrate the process of intercultural adaptation. In addition, the concept of culture, cultural relativism, ethnocentrism and the role culture shock plays during the process of intercultural adaptation are all elaborated concretely.Among the coping strategies of culture shock, intercultural training is highlighted. At the same time, adaptation as a natural way to surmount culture shock is also emphasized.This thesis comprises five chapters.The first chapter is an introduction which mainly discusses the significance, objectives and organization of the thesis.The second chapter analyzes the understanding of culture and explores culture shock from different angles.The third chapter connects culture shock and intercultural adaptation. It briefly discusses the process of intercultural adaptation and the comprehension of it, explores the role culture shock plays in the process and analyses the deep causes of culture shock.The fourth chapter proposes the coping strategies of culture shock. It highlights the importance of intercultural training for intercultural competence and emphasizes adaptation as a natural way to surmount or mitigate culture shock through judging the outcomes of successful intercultural adaptation.The last chapter is the implications for the research of culture shock and for the middle school English teaching of culture as well as the conclusion of the whole thesis.