Chapter Eleven: Human Behaviour Part 1: Ethnocentrism

1. Chapter Eleven: Human BehaviourPart 1: Ethnocentrism Presented by: Li Xiaoli Beijing Language and Culture University

2. To Test Yourself: • When you are invited to eat some unusual food, let’s say, some worms, can you manage to do it with a smile?

3. To Test Yourself: • When you find in the UK some big supermarkets close door at 5:00 pm on Sunday, do you feel surprised? • (Why does culture shock happen?)

4. What’s Ethnocentrism? • ethno-: race or people (ethnic group) • centri-: being the center (concentrate, eccentric) • Ethnocentrism refers to the fact that our outlook or world view is centered on our own way of life. • It is the belief that one’s own patterns of behaviour are the best.

5. Warming-up Questions: • What is the meaning of the term “culture shock”? • Why does culture shock occur? • Could you give some examples of culture shock concerning dressing, eating, housing, traveling etc? • Do you have any personal experiences of culture shock? • What have been your most difficult experience involving unusual food or other customs?

6. Some Key Words • ethno-: race or people (ethnic group) • centri-: being the center (concentrate, eccentric) • relative (adj.): being measured by being compared to something else (respective) (e.g. There was a discussion on the relative military force of the U.S.A. and Russia.) ; relatively (adv.): to quite a large extent but not to a very large extent (comparatively) (e.g. A relatively small number of people object to the smoking ban in public places.) • irrational (adj.): unreasonable, ridiculous

7. Continue with Key Words • distasteful (adj.): disgusting or immoral, offensive (e.g. Unnecessary slaughter of animals is distasteful to animal rights advocates.) • be ashamed of VS. shameful + n. (e.g. Nobody should be ashamed of his own culture since no culture is born to be good or bad.) (e.g. Some people show a shameful lack of concern about human rights.) • outcome (n.): result • be tempted to: tend to (e.g. Some only children are tempted to think they are the center of the family or even the world.)

8. Continue with Key Words • objective VS. subjective • bias (n.): prejudice • to take sth into account / consideration: to consider sth (e.g. The government should take the people’s interests into account when making any decision.) • as such: considering a particular subject only from a theoretical point of view rather than taking into account its practical aspects. • repulsive / repugnant (adj.): horrible, disgusting

9. Continue with Key Words • be out of the ordinary: unusual, abnormal, weird, eccentric, freak (e.g. Being more open-minded, some young people don’t think being self-employed is out of the ordinary.) • much as (conj.): although • in one’s haste: in one’s hurry (More haste, less speed.) • hue (n.): shade, color • to rescue (vt.): to save (a rescue squad) • to turn green: to look pale and ill (be scared to green, green-eyed, a green hand)

10. Continue with Key Words • inconceivable (adj.): unbelievable (e.g. Twenty years ago, it was inconceivable that we could have access to a flood of information just with a click of the mouse.) • delicacy (n. c.): delicious food • to think of sth as: to consider sth as (e.g. We cannot simply think of our parents as care-givers.) • to feel affection for: to be fond of sth (e.g. Some spoiled only children don’t feel affection for anybody, even their own parents.)