Earth and its people are not only divided by physical formations (such as oceans, mountains, and continents), but also by separate nations and cultures. People are often so familiar with their own customs that they become ethnocentric about how people are "supposed" to behave. This lesson introduces students to many subtle differences that must be appreciated in order to function socially, academically, and professionally in a multicultural world. [Note: Differences also exist among different cultures within the United States, but this lesson looks at broader international cultural distinctions.]

Geography, social studies

Standard 4: "The physical and human characteristics of places"
Standard 6: "How culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions"
Standard 10: "The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics"

Three to four hours

• Computer with Internet access [Note: If Internet access is not available to students in class, use copies of the Web site materials listed below under "Related Links," and have them do additional research at home or in the library.]
• Flip chart, chalkboard, or large sheets of paper
• Writing materials
• Tape measure(s) or yard stick(s)
• Presentation software, such as PowerPoint (optional)

Students will

• identify gestures that have significantly different meanings in various cultures;
• identify the problematic implications of giving gifts across cultures;
• identify appropriate interpersonal space considerations in various cultures; and
• appreciate that different cultures may vary in viewing personal proximity, gestures, gifts, and expressions as polite, neutral, or rude, and that this can have an impact on international friendships and business encounters.

Without giving any introduction about the subject of the lesson, get the class's attention and then roll your eyes at them and sigh, crossing your arms across your chest. After a moment, ask them what those gestures on your part meant to them, and how it made them feel. (Did it surprise them and make them think they'd done something to irritate you? Did it make them feel uneasy? Did it irritate them?) Point out that we don't always communicate with words, but often with gestures.

Discuss the degree to which the students are in agreement about what the gestures and sigh meant to them. Then make a "V for Victory" gesture, with the palm of your hand facing them. Ask the class what that means to them. Then make the same gesture, but with your palm facing your body. Ask them if it means anything different. Explain that gestures don't always mean the same thing in different countries. For example, the "V for Victory" gesture is more complicated in the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand, where turning the palm of your hand toward your body (a relatively meaningless distinction in the United States) makes it a very rude gesture, meaning, in polite terms, "shove it."

Have students listen to this brief interview with Wade Davis. Have any of the students in the class experienced what he is talking about? Can they think of any other languages that "look" different when people are speaking them?

Activity 1:
Ask students, alone or in pairs, to make a list of similar gestures that are commonly used in the United States. That is, ways that we make our feelings known without saying a word. (A warning might be necessary concerning appropriate gestures for a classroom situation, though it should be acknowledged that these gestures do exist. If a warning is not sufficient, the teacher can instead introduce appropriate gestures and have the students identify their meaning.) The following should be suggested:

• Waving (hello, goodbye, in dismissal, or to get attention)
• Cuckoo sign (circling finger at temple)
• Emphatic fist in the air with locked elbow
• High five
• Shrugging shoulders ("I don't know," or "I don't care.")
• Shaking head "no"
• Nodding head "yes"
• Making an OK sign with thumb and forefinger
• Raising an eyebrow
• Averting eyes when speaking or spoken to
• Smiling (warmly or sarcastically)
• Shaking hands
• Crossing fingers (for luck or to indicate an untruth)
• Pointing to something with a forefinger (to indicate or accuse)
• Folding arms across the chest (indicating cold or indignation)
• Winking (to be flirtatious or to indicate a private joke)
• Social (as opposed to romantic) kissing

When students have finished their lists, ask them to take turns mentioning a gesture they have listed, and have the class discuss what the gesture means to them. Have the class note how much general agreement about the meaning of the gestures exists among the students. Repeat this process until all the gestures have been shared, and mention any on the above list that have not been mentioned by the students. Make a list of the gestures on a flip chart or on the chalkboard, and ask the students to copy the list to use for Activity 3.

Activity 2:
Ask one of the students to leave the room for some purpose. While that student is out of the room, explain to the others that you want to demonstrate that each culture has a certain distance that is considered to be the comfort zone for "personal space." (This is called "proxemics"; a term coined by E.T. Hall in 1963.) When the unsuspecting student (Student "A") returns to the room, ask him or her to remain at the front to help with a demonstration. Say that you and the class want to observe the gestures mentioned in the first activity as he or she has a casual conversation with another student (Student "B"). Ask a pre-selected "volunteer" to come forward to talk about some upcoming event of interest. At first, they will be standing a normal distance apart. As they converse, Student "B" has been asked to move closer and closer. Have the class observe discomfort on the part of Student "A," and estimate how many inches they are from one another when Student "A" finally backs away from Student "B." After explaining the exercise to Student "A," ask how he or she felt as Student "B" closed in. Have the two students demonstrate what they consider to be a comfortable space between them as they converse. Measure that space (from shoulder to shoulder) with a measuring tape or yardstick.

Ask all the students to stand in pairs and determine what their own personal comfort zones are, using tape measures or yardsticks. If there are students in the class from other countries, see if their preferred personal space is different.

Share the following information with students from the CNNMoney feature, Body Language Savvy: Most Americans favor a distance of approximately 19 inches, or just about arm's length, though for Western Europeans and Americans, a space of 14 to 16 inches would be considered non-intrusive. Those from the U.K. are more comfortable if the person with whom they are speaking maintains a distance of 24 inches. Business owners and corporate executives in Korean and China generally prefer at least that much room, and Japanese business executives have indicated a preference for even greater personal space of roughly 36 inches. On the other hand, those from Middle Eastern countries favor a personal space of only 8 to 12 inches, and they could perceive a greater distance as suspicious behavior.

Have the students try to have a conversation when they feel that their conversation partner is standing too close or too far away. How does it make them feel when this happens? Ask them to discuss the pitfalls of not knowing the comfort zones of other cultures where they might be traveling for pleasure, education, or business. If they were traveling in a country in which the distance seems too close or too far, how might they deal with that reality?

Activity 3:
Ask students to look at the Web sites below and any others they find on the Internet, and note how the gestures on their lists from Activity 1 might be a problem in various countries. Ask them to find other activities, such as giving gifts, which could cause similar misunderstandings. When this assignment is completed, have the students discuss the results in class.

As a Guest in a Foreign Country
The Body Language of Proxemics
CNNMoney: Body Language Savvy
Gestures or Subtle Clues?
How's Your Personal Distance—Watch This Space
The Language Everybody Speaks

[Note: Roger E. Axtell has published a number of interesting books (listed at Amazon.com) dealing with this topic.]

At the conclusion of the lesson, ask the students to mention aspects of their behavior that they might consider when encountering people from other countries, or when traveling outside the United States, which they would not have thought about before. Discuss whether they think the visitor or the native of the country being visited should bear responsibility for accommodating the cultural differences. Ask them if and how what they have considered in this lesson will carry over into their thinking about people from different races, religions, and ethnic backgrounds within the United States as well.

Ask students to choose one country and write an essay advising both natives of that country and persons from the United States about the cultural differences they will encounter in visiting back and forth as students, tourists, and/or on business. As an alternative, have students work in pairs or small groups to create presentations for the class, advising them of how to prepare for such cultural differences on an upcoming trip. Students may use PowerPoint or other software if they have it, or make illustrations by hand to accompany their presentations.

Have the students each write an essay on the following question:

Would it be better for the peoples of the earth as a whole if (a) problematic cultural differences disappeared through what some call "cultural homogenization," brought about by extensive and wide-spread international travel, or (b) these differences remained? Defend your conclusion and its consequences.

As a Guest in a Foreign Country
Body Language Savvy
Gestures or Subtle Clues?
How's Your Personal Distance—Watch This Space
The Body Language of Proxemics
The Language Everybody Speaks