Reading. silent I love you. stop victory GestureCountryMeaning a circle with one’s thumb and index finger most countries Japan France Germany Brazil.

Reading

silent

I love you.

stop

victory

Gesture Country Meaning

a circle with one’s thumb

and index finger

most countries

Japan

France

Germany

Brazil

zero

rude

money

OK

thumbs up

the US

Nigeria

Germany

Japan No1

rude

great / good job

Gestures countries Meaning

Shaking one’s

head

Bulgaria, parts

of Greece, Iran

Other

countries No

Yes

Gestures countries Meanings

Kiss on the

cheek

A firm

handshake

A loving hug

A bow / a nod

of head

Greet friends

France

Russia

Other countries

Comparison

Meaning Gesture in the USA

Gesture in China

No, don’t do that.

Moving the index finger from side to side.

Moving the hand from side to side

I don’t know

Shrugging one’s shoulders.

Shaking the head

Meaning Gesture in the USA

Gesture in China

Well done Thumbs up. Thumbs up.

Incredible.

I can’t believe it.

Rolling one’s eyes.

Open one’s eye or mouth wide.

Meaning Gesture in the

USA

Gesture in

China

Money Rubbing the

thumb and

forefinger

together

Rubbing the

thumb

and forefinger

together

Meaning Gesture in

the USA

Gesture in

China

Come

here.

Moving the

index finger

forwards

and

backwards.

Moving one’s

hand up and

down with the

palm facing

down.

What do people usually do

when meeting?

China, Britain

Russia, France, Arab

Some western countries

Japan, Korea

Maori in New Zealand

• shake hands

• kiss

• embrace

• bow

• touch noses

What are these people What are these people communicating?communicating?

ReadingReading

Communication: No problem?

Tony Garcia (Columbia)

Julia Smith (Britain)

George Cook (Canada)

Japanese- Akira Nagata

I. While reading, please try to divide the

whole passage into several parts and find

out the main idea.

Part 1. (para. 1)

You are sent to Capital International Ai

rport to meet this year’s international

students.

Part 2 (para. 2 and 3 )

Examples of learned or cultural “body

language”.

Part 3. (para. 4 )

Different peoples have different body

languages.

Part 4. (para. 5)

Summary of body language.

II. How do different international

students behave when they greet people?

Complete the chart with information

from the passage.

Name Description Body Language To Whom

Tony

Garcia

everyone

no touching

man from

Japan

man from Colombia

kiss on the

cheek

Julia Smith

woman

from Britaineveryone

Akira Nagata

bowing everyone

Name Description Body Language To Whom

George Cook

to men

to women

shake hands

and kiss twice

on each cheek

man from Canada

shaking hands everyone

Ahmed Aziz

man from Jordan

shaking hands nodding

Darlene Coulon

woman from France

people she knows

1. Is the author of this passage male or

female? How do you know ?

The author is male. Ahmed Aziz will

not shake hands with women, but he

shakes hands with the author.

III. Answer questions

2.What were the two mistakes that the author noticed?

He noticed that the Colombian man kissed the British woman, but in her culture, a kiss from a stranger is not acceptable. He also noticed that the Japanese man bowed just as the Canadian man started to shake hands, so one man’s nose touched the other man’s hand.

3. Who seemed to prefer to keep more

physical distance from others? Who

seemed to prefer closer physical

distance ?

The British woman, Julia, and probably

the Canadian man, George, seemed to

prefer to keep more physical distance

from others. The Colombian man, Tony,

and the Jordanian man, Ahmed, seemed

to prefer closer physical distance .

4. Did any students have similar greeting

customs? If so, which ones?

Yes. Tony from Colombia and Darlene

from France had a similar greeting

custom-a kiss. George from Canada

and Ahmed from Jordan also had a

similar greeting custom-a handshake,

but Ahmed shakes hands only with

men.

5. “ When in Rome, do as the Romans

do.” What do you think this famous

saying means?

This saying means that when we are in

a certain place, we should follow the

customs of the people who live in that

place, not our own customs.

6. Do you agree with the author’s

statement that body language is not

good or bad? Why or why not?

• Englishmen often stand close to others or touch strangers as soon as they meet.

• Most people around the world now greet each other by kissing .

IV. Read the text carefully, then decide if the following statements are true (T) or false (F).

F

F

• Japanese will bow to others as greeting.

• People from Jordan will move very close to you as you introduce yourself to them.

• Some body languages in some countries are good while some countries’ body language are bad.

T

T

F

• People from different countries may have a major misunderstanding while greeting each other.

• The physical distance from each other that people are comfortable with generally depends on the culture.

• All members of a culture behave in the same way.

T

T

F

1. What is the main idea of the text? A. There are different customs in different countries. B. Foreigners should follow the customs of the country where they are visiting. C. People use body movements to send messages and different body movements have different meanings. D. The importance of knowing customs.

V. Choose the correct one.

2. If two men stand close to each other

while talking, they cannot be from

_____.

A. an Arab country B. USA

C. Britain D. Russia

3. What should a Chinese young man do

when he meets his Russian friend in

Moscow?

A. Kiss him.

B. Nod his head to his friend.

C. Shake hands with him.

D. Smile at him.

4. If you go to some Asian countries,

which of the following can you do?

A. Touch the head of a boy.

B. Nod your head to others.

C. Sit with your feet pointing at

another person.

D. Kiss each other.

5. “Foreigners should follow these

customs when they are visiting these

countries.”

The underlined word here means ___.

A. habits B. fault

C. words D. performance

If you meet a foreigner who comes

up close to you to talk, what

countries might he be from? How

can you show him that you are

uncomfortable with that?