LISTENING FLUENCY LIBRARY

#2

Deep English
LISTENING FLUENCY LIBRARY
When Cultures Collide

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Shadow along with the audio and match the speakers intonation and stress.

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 #2 When Cultures Collide

Meet Richard Lewis. A world traveler and linguist

who speaks 10 different languages, Richard is
highly experienced in interacting with people
from many different cultures. In 1996, he first
published a book called When Cultures Collide.
predominant: Now, in that book he presents a model of 3
prominent, different predominant cultural types into which
prevailing, having
influence
people from various countries can be placed.

linear: The first cultural type is called Linear-active.

resembling a These are people who experience time as being
straight line something very real and linear. These people
would agree with the idiom Time is money, and
punctual:
on time, not late
therefore time is something that can be saved,
spent, wasted, and invested. Linear-actives like
decisive: to plan, schedule, organize, and do one thing at
having the power a time. These are punctual people, who are
to decide with cool, direct, and decisive. Their body language is
certainty and often restrained. The Germans and the Swiss
without hesitation
would be examples of Linear-actives.
restrained:
held back The second cultural type is called Multi-active.
Unlike Linear-actives, these are people who are
comfortable doing many things at one time.
They are very talkative and they place
importance on relationships. In fact, they often
plan their priorities according to the happiness
or importance that each appointment gives
them rather than a time schedule. Multi-actives
are much more flexible and not so punctual
when it comes to keeping appointments. They
unrestrained:
are often emotional and warm people with
let loose; the
opposite of unrestrained body language. Latin Americans,
restrained Arabs, and Southern Europeans fall into this
category.

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 #2 When Cultures Collide

The third cultural type is called Reactive. Reactives

confrontational:
not afraid to come
face-to-face with
others to share
ideas, argue,
discuss, etc.
subtle:
not easy to see
and understand
are people who place a great priority on courtesy
and respect. Reactives are very good listeners and
are rarely confrontational. In this sense, they
value social harmony and are often group
oriented. They react carefully to situations and
see statements as promises. Face-to-face contact
is important, while body language is subtle. The
Chinese, Japanese, and Finns are examples of
Reactive cultures.

What I find interesting is the way that Lewis has

categorized certain countries as being a mixture
of two types. For example, Canada falls in the
middle of Reactive and Linear-active, implying
that Canadians are better listeners and somewhat
less confrontational than Americans, who are
counterparts: much more Linear-active. Likewise, India is a
a person or group
mixture of Multi-active and Reactive, implying that
of people who
share many things Indians are much more emotional and talkative
in common or than many of their Asian counterparts, such as
who resemble one the Chinese, Thai, Koreans, and Malaysians.
another

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 #2 When Cultures Collide

Where does your country fall on Lewis map? Do

you agree with Lewis categories? How can this
knowledge be useful when interacting with
people from different places in the world?

Photos / Credits:
Photo #1 (cover) by Fe Ilya:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/renneville/2908748583/

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