Culture & cultural differences

The 6D model of national culture 

• A researcher named Geert Hofstede, assisted by others, came up with six basic issues that characterize societies. These are called dimensions of culture. Each of them is expressed on a scale from 0 to 100. 

• Hofstede & the 6 dimensions of culture

• Here are some brief teaching materials with discussion questions for each dimension. Most of the docs also include reference links to get more information:

  • #1: Individualist / collectivist cultures

  • #2: Power distance

  • #3: Uncertainty avoidance

  • #4: Masculinity

• I never actually taught the last two, so they are a bit less developed:

  • #5: Short-term / long-term orientation

  • #6: Indulgence

Miscellaneous

• Lesson sequence for a nine-session conversation course about culture 

• Parenting & parent-child relationships

• College admissions related to diversity and culture - Harvard discrimination lawsuit

• The cultural iceberg, with discussion questions

• Great resources for understanding and teaching about cultural differences, from Heidi Dryden. 

• 24 American customs that are considered offensive in other countries 

  • A list & explanation of the 24 American Customs (from here)

  • Vocab exercises - copy onto card stock and cut along the lines. Students should match each expression or vocabulary word with its 3 explanations/examples.

• Body language - lesson plan, pieces, original intro

• Mom in Translation - lesson plan with links (audio),  for online classes - text & discussion questions

• What makes someone black? (Affirmative Action in Brazil) - text & discussion questions

• More Fun in French - lesson plan with links (article)

• See also "personality" teaching resources here