I have now made several visits to the Ling family at their home in Rock Island and am so happy to say that it really has become a highlight of the day and something I genuinely look forward to each Sunday. I love seeing the faces on the kids as they open the door and quickly get ready for our visit. Each visit so far as been similar to the first, as we work on a variety of skills such as picture flash cards, simple math, counting and identifying money, telling time, labeling things around the house, playing games and reading. With each visit I can see the improvements and can tell that everyone in the family practices on their own as well. The kids especially love the "labeling game" in which Liz and I write words on sticky notes and have them place it on the proper item in the room. Another activity that has been quite popular is the game "Guess Who" in which one has to describe what a person looks like to another as they attempt to guess the character. This game has been great to get the whole family involved and also it has been good for more relaxed conversational English and not just point and shoot words. Liz and I are very comfortable going over to visit with the Ling's now and it has been a great experience so far.
I spoke of the language barrier in my previous blog post and while I still notice it as a factor that plays into intercultural communication, I am also noticing a lot more non-verbal behavior that also plays a role. As the family has gotten more comfortable with us, and us with them, all of the nonverbal actions are coming out. Lots of facial expressions have been displayed that often times infer content or understanding, and of course sometimes of confusion. The youngest in the family has even sat on my lap during part of a visit which I think not only shows acceptance of my presence but also of me as a person. He is able to understand more and more of what I say and while he loves to repeat all the English words he hears, he also now shows behaviors that indicate understanding of the language and not just verbal repetition.
It seems that the Ling family is working towards the acceptance and integration stage of cultural adaption and that they have taken on acculturation as their method of adjusting to living her in the United States. They seem to be eager to learn about our culture and strive in it, yet they also retain many aspects of their native culture. For instance they still speak their native language and still eat many of the foods from their home country. They even offered us some candy from their culture which was a strawberry sucker covered in chili powder.
I have also seen the family, especially the parents go through the stages of the perception process. They will select a word they do not understand (cupboard for example) and then try to organize it into the scheme of "kitchen items." They will interpret the word as a place to store things and associate it with the cupboards they have in their kitchen, finally they negotiate among each other as they speak about the word together.
What I learned from these past few visits with the Ling family is really just more about how to be a competent intercultural communicator. I have learned that communicating across cultures, especially those with differing languages takes time and patience. I have learned about the struggles of those who must learn the ways of a new culture and I have also learned how to be of the most assistance I can to lessen those struggles. I have seen how important non-verbal communication is especially when language is not always a sufficient option, and also how key perception is to understanding each other. For future interactions both with the Ling family and others I will be mindful and enthusiastic about communication.
