CULTURE App
Culture Initiative
CHINESE
Pedagogical Guide for the Culture App and Related Materials
This page and its linked materials provide guidance for teachers using the Chinese edition (“中文”) of the Culture App, the English edition of the same (“Chinese”) and their related materials within formal curricula.
The Challenge of Teaching Intercultural Competence
In working toward a high level of proficiency as global professionals, language learners need to learn not only how to express their meaning in a literal sense using grammar and vocabulary, but also how to communicate effectively within a speech community. Communicating effectively, so that others are open to hearing what you say, involves knowledge of pragmatics: when it is appropriate to speak, what topics are suitable in what contexts, different ways of talking to different people, how to “read between the lines,” and how to maintain mutually respectful interpersonal relationships. Knowledge of the unwritten rules that govern all these things is termed sociopragmatics. Knowledge of the specific forms of language and linguistic behaviors connected to sociopragmatics is called pragmalinguistics.
These “rules and tools” are part of interpersonal communication in speech communities that share sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic norms as part of their culture. In interacting with members of a speech community, a learner who is pragmatically skillful is able to elicit attention and respect from others, and also to recognize when norms have been violated and to deploy effective strategies for repair. When a learner acquires intercultural competence, they are able to maintain their own cultural identity while recognizing that their own culture is not universal, and to find skillful means to negotiate differences between their personally held cultural values and those of the host community while maintaining mutually respectful relationships and accepted norms of behavior.
Acquiring intercultural competence means working toward mastery of sociopgramatics and pragmalinguistics, but also, in a certain sense, standing outside the “self” one has constructed in one’s home culture and viewing oneself through the eyes of the host culture. It may also mean being willing to suspend one’s own cultural norms in favor of those of the host culture, or at least being willing to recognize and negotiate cultural differences in mutually acceptable ways. This kind of learning can be disruptive to the learner’s sense of self as they come to realize that, as participants in a new speech community, they are neither the same as their old monocultural self, nor are they the same as experienced members of the host culture. They are, in a sense, putting on a new, intercultural self.
The challenging task of acquiring intercultural competence appears even more complex when we consider that not all members of the host culture subscribe equally to the norms of that culture, and that the culture itself is not monolithic. Moreover, sociopragmatic norms vary according to the social role and status of the participants in an interaction, and the situational context of the interaction itself. The complexity and variability of all the knowledge and skills that underlie intercultural competence make it a challenge to teach.
What Does the Culture App Teach?
The Culture App takes a holistic approach to the teaching of intercultural competence. Rather than oversimplifying by listing a set of prescriptive rules for behavior or formulas for speech, the app approaches the complexity of learning intercultural competence by challenging learners to observe and reflect on situations/scenarios in which non-native speakers of a language encounter problems due to their own lack of cultural knowledge when interacting with members of a speech community. Most often, these problems involve culturally-based expectations about appropriate ways to act and speak. Instead of stating those norms upfront, the app places the learner in the shoes of the non-native speaker by presenting a scenario, and then invites the learner to consider several alternative explanations or possible courses of action by presenting a judgment task. In the task, the learner indicates their personal level of agreement with each alternative choice, and is then provided with feedback allowing them to compare their own assessments with those of typical members of the target speech community and to learn about cultural values that underlie those assessments.
Scenarios are effective for teaching intercultural competence for several reasons. Sociopragmatic rules are complex and not equally applicable in all situations. Speakers’ pragmalinguistic choices depend heavily on variables related to the nature of the relationship between people in a situation and on their relative social statuses. This is why the Culture App provides information on the context of the scenario: who the people in a scenario are to one another, and on when and where the scenario takes place. The learner is implicitly placed into the scenario in the role of the non-native speaker and is asked, “If you were [name of non-native speaker], what would you do?” or “[Name of non-native speaker] can’t understand why things suddenly seem so awkward. What do you think?” Placing the learner in a “virtual” situation helps the learner make a personal connection. The judgment task supports student reflection on what they thought before reading the scenario, and how their thinking might have changed. By helping learners recognize the complexity of judging and responding to situations, the App supports habits of mind conducive to the development of intercultural competence, such as the suspension of certainty and the ability to examine one’s assumptions critically.
Guiding Principles and Basic Practices for Using the Culture App in Instructed Contexts
Guiding Principles for Using the Culture App in Instruction
The Culture App is supplemented by the Preparing for Study Abroad in Mainland China and Taiwan pages and the related podcast episodes. All three of these products are usable for independent learning, but are even better utilized in instructed contexts, such as classrooms, online courses, and tutoring sessions, since in these contexts students’ reflective processes are guided and supported by the instructor, with the advantage of their expertise.
In approaching instruction aimed at developing intercultural competence, the aim is to develop sociopragmatic knowledge (the “rules”) and pragmalinguistic knowledge (the “tools”). Obviously, learners at different levels are not equally prepared to deal with this kind of knowledge. However, the basic stages of instruction are the same at all levels.
Stage 1: enhance learners’ pragmatic awareness: prompt students to reflect on sociopragmatic rules in their own culture, and activate the knowledge they already have about the target speech community. Depending on the students’ level, this reflection might take place in their first language or in Chinese.
Stage 2: expose learners to authentic conversational input (or simulated-authentic material). Again, depending on the students’ level, it might be necessary for the input to be translated (English version in the App) or otherwise scaffolded. In the sense used here, “exposure” means more than just having learners look at the material: it implies a sequence of scaffolding, comprehension checks, and noticing of form supporting learners’ uptake of what they see in the input.
Stage 3: engage learners in authentic production tasks to transition them from the Interpretive to the Interpersonal and/or Presentational modes of communication, consolidating their learning. Such tasks may begin with controlled practice, progress through open-ended practice, and culminate in formative and/or summative assessment, including reflections on learning.
Practices, Stage 1: What Activities Enhance Pragmatic Awareness?
Before learners dive into the Culture App to engage with the simulated-authentic scenarios, teachers can help students understand what to look for, and why they are doing these activities. Learners’ pragmatic awareness is enhanced through metapgragmatic discussion. “Metapragmatic” means “viewing pragmatics from the outside; being aware of pragmatics.” The teacher is helping students be aware that there is such a thing as pragmatics, and that students themselves use sociopragmatic rules and pragmalinguistic formulas all the time. Noticing the ways they themselves engage with pragmatics in their first language helps raise their awareness of pragmatics in the language of study.
Examples of metapragmatic discussion prompts might include challenging learners to explain differences between similar expressions in English, such as “Can you lend me your car?”, “Could you lend me your car?”, and “Lend me your car.” The teacher will draw students’ attention to how context affects speakers’ choice of language: who are the speakers, and what is the relationship between them? When are they speaking, and where? What expectations surround the conversation? As mentioned above, discussion of these questions might take different forms at different levels of instruction.
Learners can develop pragmatic awareness specific to situations such as gift-giving or being a guest at dinner in the target-language speech community by engaging with related material in the Preparing for Study Abroad pages. In addition, stories from Language Flagship alumni featured in the podcast episodes can provide points of departure for classroom discussion at this stage.
Practices, Stage 2: How Are Learners Exposed to Authentic Conversational Input?
The Culture App is designed to simulate real-life situations, placing the learner in the middle of a story. Using the Culture App, then, is one way of providing simulated authentic input. For learners who are not able to handle the scenarios in the language of study, the teacher can decide to stick with the English version, or to assign both versions with the English as a scaffold for the Chinese. (The teacher can follow up to make sure that students have engaged with the Chinese version by performing comprehension checks and/or asking students to recap or mind-map what they have read.)
The Culture App covers a range of themes and situations, but its scope is still limited. Teachers should strive to identify additional sources of input, such as scenes from films, videos, or advertisements, that are related to the themes they see in the App, and present them to students as appropriate. Teachers can also encourage students to find and share related materials themselves.
A typical instructional sequence would start with in-class metapragmatic discussion surrounding the theme of the material the teacher has selected. After class, students would be assigned to explore related metapragmatic material (for example, material in the Study Abroad pages or the podcast episodes) and engage with scenarios in the App. During the next class session, the teacher would perform comprehension checks, answer clarifying questions, and scaffold further discussion. Next, the teacher would engage students in authentic production tasks.
Practices, Stage 3: What Kinds of Authentic Production Tasks Can Learners Do?
In every instructional situation where learners are being challenged to engage in authentic production tasks, such tasks are structured and scaffolded to support students’ steps toward mastery. Teachers begin with more controlled/closed-ended tasks that may be less interactive, such as choosing the best utterance, and then progress toward less controlled, more open-ended and interactive tasks, such as role-plays. Here is a series of tasks sequenced in this way.
- Individual work: Write a dialogue in Chinese between Jason and 黄妈妈 based on the polite-refusal situation seen in the Culture App.
- Pair work: Discuss responses in pairs with regards to pragmalinguistics (what language is used) and sociopragmatics (what pragmatic norms are observed).
- Pair work: Rewrite the dialogue between Jason and 黄妈妈 based on the discussion, and write a dialogue between Jason and a friend’s mom based on a similar situation.
- Roleplay performance
- Extension to other refusal scenarios
Additional ideas can be found in the sample lesson plans provided at the bottom of the page.
Selecting and Using the Materials at Different Levels
Pragmatic Functions at Different Levels of Proficiency
The Culture App is built around themes, such as expectations between friends or behavior in public places. Most of the situations center around pragmatic functions such as polite refusals or making one’s own intentions known in an acceptable way. These pragmatic functions are a good organizer for teachers’ thinking about how to use Culture App materials in their own instructional context to match their students’ targeted level of proficiency. Any given pragmatic function might occur in a simple survival situation at the Novice level versus a situation with a complication at the Advanced level. Differing sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic expectations of learners at these levels provide a good framework for shaping the way you approach instruction.
Let us take polite refusals in Chinese as an example. Although sociopragmatic rules surrounding polite refusals are always in play no matter what the speaker’s proficiency is, Chinese speakers’ sociopragmatic expectations of a Novice learner of Chinese will differ from their expectations of an Advanced speaker. The Novice learner will be more readily forgiven if their pragmalinguistic choices are somewhat simplistic or clumsy (“我不要”), or if they forget that they are in fact expected to perform a ritual refusal as a preliminary to accepting something that is offered. The Advanced learner will be expected to have better mastery of the sociopragmatic rules governing polite refusal in a variety of situational contexts – for example, in situations where they are NOT expected to ultimately accept what is politely offered – and also to have a larger repertoire of pragmalinguistic tools to deploy as expressions of polite refusal (“怎麼好意思讓您破費呢”). In line with the Novice learner’s degree of linguistic control, it is pedagogically appropriate to teach a simple formula such as 謝謝，不要 to use across a variety of situations, but also to develop learners’ metapragmatic awareness that the cultural concept of refusal differs across cultures. Moving up to the Intermediate level, in line with learners’ development of the ability to create novel utterances, it is pedagogically appropriate to introduce a more open-ended formula for polite refusal such as [softener] + [negative willingness] + [explanation] (“對不起，我不能吃花生，我對花生過敏” / “謝謝謝謝，真的不用，我一點兒都不渴”). In terms of pragmatic awareness, an Intermediate learner’s expanding repertoire will allow them to compare and contrast ways to refuse in English and Chinese. At the Advanced level, appropriate tasks might include discussion in Chinese of what distinguishes a genuine refusal from a ritual refusal or of refusals between friends versus refusals between acquaintances, and exploration of the topic of polite refusals within the target speech community – for example, interviews with Chinese speakers about how they handle different situations in which refusals occur.
Matching Materials to Levels
Because of learners’ differing levels of mastery, different choices of materials are appropriate at different levels of instruction. The following table was prepared by Prof. Yunwen Su of the University of Utah as a framework for thinking about polite refusals at four levels of university instruction in Chinese.
| Instructional level | Level-exit standard (ACTFL levels) | Instructional targets | Instructional materials |
| 100 | Novice high |
Cross-cultural comparison of refusals Refusal keyword: 不 Polite formula: 謝謝，不要 |
Culture App – English edition
|
| 200 | Intermediate low to mid | Generic pattern: [softener] + [negative willingness] + [explanation] |
Culture App – Chinese edition, simplified/scaffolded by instructor (maybe add English version)
|
| 300 | Intermediate mid to high |
Contextual variation
|
Culture App – Chinese edition
|
| 400 | Advanced |
Genuine versus ritual refusals
|
Culture App – Chinese edition, plus extension activities in the target speech community
|
Matching Materials to Textbook Themes
Another approach to matching the Culture App to one’s instructional program is thematic linkage to the main text of your course. Prof. Su prepared the following table as an example, matching the first five lessons in Volume 3 of Integrated Chinese (Liu et al., Cheng & Tsui, publishers) to Culture App scenarios. (Each scenario is listed under its containing topic and module.) The rightmost column suggests associated materials from the Preparing for Study Abroad pages.
| Integrated Chinese Vol. 3 |
Culture App (中文 edition) |
Study Abroad Resource Pages |
|
| Lesson | Objectives & Culture | ||
|
• School relationships • Military training |
Module: 人情礼仪 Topic: 友情的界限 Scenario: 友情与隐私；对朋友的期待 |
Personal Interactions • Chinese culture in social interactions |
|
2. 宿舍生活 |
• Student housing • Campus dining • Accommodation for international students |
Module: 工作、学习环境中的人际关系 Topic: 自行决定 vs. 听从安排 Scenario: 住宿纠纷 |
Personal Interactions • Being a good guest |
|
3. 在饭馆儿 |
• Restaurants • Dining conventions • Chopstick dos and don’ts |
Module: 在公共场所 Topic: 台灣餐飲文化 Scenario: 在一間早午餐餐廳 |
Travel & Settling In • First days: Eating Personal Interactions • Dining etiquette |
|
4. 买东西 |
• Bargaining • New forms of payment |
Travel & Settling In • Buying what you need in Taiwan • Essential apps in Mainland China |
|
|
5. 选课 |
• Value of education • Future job opportunities • Plans after graduation |
Module: 人情礼仪 Topic: 学术环境中的人情礼仪 Scenario: 跟教授談學習計畫 |
Travel & Settling In • Additional resources (study and employment opportunities in Taiwan) |
Sample Lesson Plans for Various Courses and Levels
Each tile below links to one or more documents generously shared by the authors as examples for your reference. The documents follow a variety of formats and are prepared for courses targeting various levels and themes. Documents are view-only, but you may save a copy.
Four Instructional Units from CFCI
Target Level: Intermediate High / Advanced
Course Context: 3rd-year courses, Capstone preparation
Author: Chinese Flagship Culture Initiative Instructional Design Team
Additional info: These four instructional units are designed to develop and assess intercultural communicative competence (ICC) for advanced-level students of Chinese in several real-life in-country situations such as interacting with host families, communicating appropriately with colleagues at internship sites, etc. The content of the units is based on a needs analysis of North American students studying and working in Taiwan, and is connected thematically with the Culture App Scenarios.
Scenario: Eating in Class
Target Level: Novice or Intermediate; English-only instruction on Chinese/Taiwanese culture
Course Context: Preparation for Project Global Officer candidates who may be posted to positions in-country in Taiwan
Author: Andrew Fluegel, Indiana University
Additional info: This is an example of a lesson entirely in English for cultural study only.
Scenario: Are We Just Hanging Out, Or Is It a Date?
Target Level: Novice or Intermediate; English-only instruction on Taiwanese culture
Course Context: Preparation for Project Global Officer candidates who may be posted to positions in-country in Taiwan
Author: Prof. Andrew Fluegel, Indiana University
Additional info: This is an example of a lesson mostly in English for cultural study, with just a few key words in Chinese.
Scenario: Talking about study plans with a professor
Target Level: Intermediate High
Course Context: Intermediate Chinese 3 (Flagship Program Year 2)
Author: Ran Chen, University of North Georgia
Additional info: This is a lesson plan only, to accompany student study of IC, Vol. 3, Lesson 5 选课. The lesson plan mentions that the language of the scenario is scaffolded by the teacher by (1) having students read the English version as well as (2) providing a simplified version of the Chinese scenario text (not included here).
Scenario: 酒桌上的禮儀 • Etiquette at the Drinking Table
Target Level: Advanced Low
Course Context: CHN 322, Advanced Chinese: Language & Culture
Author: Prof. Jianhua Bai, Kenyon College
Additional info: The instructor transcribed the scenario, which is in traditional characters in the app (because it takes place in Taiwan), into simplified characters to scaffold his students’ understanding. A full analytic rubric is supplied for the final role-play assessment task.
Question Set – Using Culture App Scenarios in Lesson Design
Target Level: Any level
Course Context: Your instructional context
Author: Stephen Tschudi, consultant
Additional info: This is a read-only Google Doc, based on a worksheet used in workshops of the Chinese Flagship Culture Initiative, that you can save a copy of for your own use as a drafting board to brainstorm lesson creation based on the Culture App and related materials.
Google Doc (use File menu to make a copy for yourself, then edit)
Several Scenarios; Four Instructional Days
Target Level: Advanced High
Course Context: Preparation for Chinese Flagship Capstone study abroad
Author: Prof. Tianyu Qin, University of North Georgia
Additional info: A number of scenarios on different topics are included in a unit covering four instructional days.
Acknowledgements
Chinese Flagship Culture Initiative Principal Investigator and Project Director
Yea-Fen Chen, Indiana University
Chinese Flagship Culture Initiative Assistant Director
Tianyu Qin, University of North Georgia
Pedagogy Lead
Stephen Tschudi, University of Hawai‘i
Instructional Technology Lead
Julio Rodríguez, University of Hawai‘i
Instructional Design Team Leads
Yea-Fen Chen, Indiana University
Charles Egan, San Francisco State University
Tianyu Qin, University of North Georgia
Madeline Spring, University of Hawai‘i
Assessment Leads
Jianhua Bai, Kenyon College
Zhuo Jing-Schmidt, University of Oregon
Assessment Expert
Mindy King, Limelight Analytics
Project Coordinators
Neeli Kasdorf
Drew Kunard
Content Development and Testing
Yingling Bao, Indiana University
Xiaoying Liles, Indiana University
Tiao-Guan Huang, DePauw University
Ying-Ju Chen, Chinese Flagship Capstone Year Program, Taipei
Yu-Ting Jian, Indiana University
Yu-Ting Tseng, Indiana University
Yi Chun Kuo, Indiana University
Yu-Chi Tong, Indiana University
Project Consultants
Der-lin Chao, Hunter College, CUNY
Ming-Ying Li, Hunter College, CUNY
Yuhshi Lee, Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages
Data and Content Entry
Stephen Tschudi, University of Hawaiʻi
Tian Wang, University of Hawaiʻi
Images and Graphic Design
Julio C. Rodriguez, University of Hawaiʻi
Pedagogical Consultation and Review
Shuai Li, Georgia State University
Feng Xiao, Pomona College
Modules
Note: The following contents are avaiable in Chinese and English in the respective sections of the Culture App.
礼仪饮食礼仪与主客关系 • Food, Hosts and Relationships
餐桌礼仪 · Table Etiquette
欢迎晚宴 • The Welcome Banquet
慷慨的主人 • The Generous Host
夹菜 • Putting Food in Your Bowl
酒桌上的禮儀 • Etiquette at the Drinking Table
饮食与人之间的关系 · Food and Relationships
你要不要吃？• Would you like a bite?
在教室里吃东西 • Eating in a Classroom
不同的用餐期待 • Criss-crossed Dinner Expectations
亲疏感: 朋友、陌生人、恋人• Boundaries – Between Friends and Strangers
友谊与爱情之间的分界线 • The Line Between Friendship and Romance
我们只是普通朋友吗？• Are we just friends?
她为什么不理我了？· Are We Just Hanging Out or Is It a Date？
朋友之间的分寸边界 • Boundaries Between Friends
碰别人的头发 · Touching Someone’s Hair
你为什么这样说? • Why Did You Say That?
对陌生人保持适当的距离 • Maintaining Boundaries with Strangers
美国人= 篮球教练？· American = Basketball Referee?
为什么大家都要跟我拍照？• Why Does Everyone Ask to Take a Picture with Me?
敏感政治话题 • Sensitive Political Topics
工作、学习环境中的人际关系 • Working In and With Hierarchical Systems
自行决定 vs 听从安排 · Making One’s Own Decisions vs. Following a Plan
住宿纠纷 · Accommodation Retaliation
消失之谜 • A Misinterpreted Disappearance
自己离开 • Wanting to Be Alone
对于工作日程表的不同态度 · Different Attitudes Towards Work Schedules
安排的改变 · A Change in Schedule
在办公室 • In the Office
去还是不去？• To Go or Not to Go?
对老师表示尊重 • Showing Respect to Teachers
课程大纲在哪？• Where’s The Syllabus?
考试提前离场 • Leaving Before the Exam Ends
朋友？老师？该赴谁的约？• Friends or Teachers: Which Invitation Should I Accept?
工作态度自我评价 · Proper Attitudes Towards One’s Work
你做得太好了 • You Did a Good Job
姓名与称呼 · Names and Forms of Address
称呼有什么关系？• What’s in an Address?
实习生的职场挑战 • Challenges Faced by Students in Internships
工作時遇到需緊急處理的私事，我該怎麼辦？• How do I handle a personal emergency at work?
我應該怎麼匯報工作? • How should I report my work?
我都聽懂了也做好了，為什麼老板還是不滿意？• I understood everything and did the work, so why is the boss still not satisfied?
在公共场所 • BEHAVIOR IN PUBLIC SPACES
公交禮儀 • Using Public Transportation
我應該讓座嗎？• Should I Give Up My Seat?
台灣餐飲文化 • The Culture of Restaurant Dining in Taiwan
在一間早午餐餐廳 • At a brunch restaurant
琳琅滿目的飲料 • So Many Drinks to Choose From!
如何向路人尋求幫助？• How does one ask for help from a stranger?
嘿！這裡怎麼去？• Hey! Which Way Do I Go?
人情礼仪 • SOCIAL RITUALS
学术环境中的人情礼仪 • Social Rituals in Academic Settings
跟教授談學習計畫 • Talking About Study Plans with a Professor
分工合作 • Dividing Work in a Team
社会礼仪 – 友情的界限 • Social Rituals – Friendship
友情與隱私 • Friendship vs. Privacy
對朋友的期待 • Expectation of Friendship
特定情境下的語言使用 • Special Language Use Situations
表達哀悼 • Expressing Condolences
与接待家庭相处 • Interactions with One’s Host Family
你穿这样会不会冷？• Are you cold?
各付各的行得通吗？ • Is it feasible to get separate checks?
我什么时候可以回去？• When can I go back?
技术与媒体 • TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL MEDIA
社交媒体上的语言使用 • Language Used on Social Media
当幽默吐槽出问题时 • When Humor Fails
不是这个意思吗？• That’s Not What That Means?
社交平台上的惯常做法 • Conventional Practices on Social Platforms
对老师已读不回 • Leaving Teachers on Read
老板在LINE群里发工作消息 • Receiving a Work-Related Message in a LINE Group
网上点餐要不要给小费？• Tipping for Food Delivery
The Chinese Flagship Culture Initiative is supported under grant funding to Indiana University from the Institute of International Education (IIE), acting as the administrative agent of the National Security Education Program (NSEP), Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO) for The Language Flagship.
The Language Flagship is a national initiative to change the way Americans learn languages through a groundbreaking approach to language education through a network of programs at institutions of higher education across the United States. The Language Flagship graduates students who will take their place among the next generation of global professionals, commanding a superior level of proficiency in one of ten languages critical to U.S. national security and economic competitiveness.
This website has been developed and is maintained by The Language Flagship Technology Innovation Center. The content of this website and of the Culture App do not necessarily reflect the position of policy of the U.S. government. No official government endorsement should be inferred.
