Pieper CAPS #4 Blog

This past summer, I had the opportunity to live in Dresden, Germany, for 2 ½ months.  I believe saying that I lived in Germany is a far better description of my time there than saying I worked or studied there.  This is because I moved into an apartment with two native German men; I worked at a German research institution where I was surrounded by Germans on a daily basis.  I did not take a couple of classes with a bunch of American students, so in that sense I was far removed from the United States’ culture.  Because of my summer experience, I was able to relate with the refugees, to a certain extent obviously, that I read about in the three news articles.  I was not at all surprised that the biggest hurdle they needed to jump to adapt to the American culture was the language barrier.  I knew zero German upon embarking on my trip, so I know from experience that it is quite difficult getting around a city where your language is not the native tongue.

Refugees in an English class in Oakland, CA

Cultural adaptation is defined as the “process by which individuals learn the rules and customs of new cultural contexts.” (Martin & Nakayama, 2011, p. 320)  There are many factors that influence how well and how quickly an individual adapts to their new living situation.  Three common approaches to describe cultural adaptation are the social science approach, the interpretive approach, and the critical approach.  There are also multiple terms that describe the migrant-host relationships.  Martin and Nakayama use assimilation to describe an individual that does their best to drop their original cultural and adapt to the culture they are currently living in.(Martin & Nakayama, 2011)  Separation could be described as the opposite of assimilation.  Separation is where an individual keeps their old cultural and does not make any sort of attempt to adapt to the new one they are living in. (Martin & Nakayama, 2011) Finally, integration is “a type of cultural adaptation in which individuals maintain both their original culture and their daily interactions with other groups.” (Martin & Nakayama, 2011, p. 316)

In my mind, integration is the best method to achieve cultural adaptation.  It is important to attempt to learn the new culture when someone is permanently displaced from their home.  One must learn how to communicate effectively with the people around them or else they will certainly feel isolated and alone.  However, it is equally important to not forget who you are and where you came from.    Like the people in a recent Journal Star article, it is extremely helpful to meet with other refugees with similar backgrounds to swap stories about “troubles and triumph…[about] the persecution, fear, and fleeing” from one’s homeland.(Smith, 2011)  It reminds the individual they are not alone in figuring out how to fit in a new culture.  It must be a breath of fresh air for the individual who is usually surrounded by people with very different stories and backgrounds from their own. 

Somalian refugees being rescued off the coast of Italy after traveling across the Mediterranean Sea  

It is no surprise that refugees have an extremely difficult time picking up the English language.  Not only is the language complex, but a lot of refugees have never spoken or heard English prior to their arrival in the United States.  That is why I think it is so important for states to use their government to provide language-learning opportunities for these people.   I was happy to see that the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services gives “funding to provide English as a second language” courses.  (Myers, 2011)  One philanthropic program that works in a variety of cities across the U.S., including Los Angeles and New York City which are the two largest refugee destinations, is called the International Rescue Committee.  This program also provides English-language courses to refugees.  (“Resettling Refugees,” 2012)

Communication is defined as “a symbolic process whereby reality is produced, maintained, repaired, and transformed.” (Martin & Nakayama, 2011, p. 94)  I think the most difficult part of communication for refugee’s, besides learning the language, is understanding the lingo, symbolism, and the “many layers of meaning” for each word. (Martin & Nakayama, 2011, p. 94) In other words, I think refugees and people experiencing intercultural transition would get a grasp of the social science perspective of communication first.  In every culture, there is a sender, message, and receiver.  However, I think understanding the interpretive perspective to communication would be more difficult.  This is because we “use symbols to communicate, we assume that the other person shares our symbol system.” (Martin & Nakayama, 2011, p. 94)  The assumption aspect of communication is what is hard for someone unfamiliar with the culture to pick up on. 

Moving forward, I think more emphasis should be placed on teaching refugees English.  In every news story posted by Ms. Baker, the individuals speak about the difficulty of learning the English language.  It seems to the largest barrier they must break in order to become acclimated into the American culture.  This is not surprising, since it is extremely difficult to communicate with someone with whom you do not share a common language.  I think the state governments should seek refugees in their borders and let them know about any sort of English language courses they have to offer.

Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T.K. (2011) Intercultural communication in contexts(5^th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.

Smith, M. (2011, December 11). Lincoln refugee finds empathy as strife hits congo. Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved from http://journalstar.com/news/local/lincoln-refugee-finds-empathy-as-strife-hits-congo/article_6f011d2a-fe13-5d11-bbee-b5de6f5aba59.html

Myers, E. (2011, December 5). Lincoln community home to refugees from around the world.NewsNetNebraska. Retrieved from http://www.newsnetnebraska.org/news/lincoln-community-home-to-refugees-from-around-the-world/

Resettling refugees. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.rescue.org/our-work/resettling-refugees