EAP Term 2 2022

 I think this cultural dimension model helps us a certain extent. The model shows us overviews at cultures and this is useful to get certain extent understandings before going to abroad. However, it is not enough to get full extent of understandings because culture differ among person in my opinion. The findings align with my observations. For example, I thought that Japan preferred “long Term Orientation” because they disliked risks and that New Zealander was more indulgence than Japan. I have felt the tendencies since I visited here. I think Kiwi are more quite expressive. On the other hand, I was surprised that Japan was one of the most Masculine societies in the world. However, we woman are preferred to be feminine in Japan so the true is confusing for woman. In my opinion, limitation is that this viewing can’t measure difference among individuals or families. For example, my mother and I more prefer to do by ourselves. Also, I feel I focus on “I” more than other Japanese peo...

 I found that it is good way to know culture, but there are some points of different from the actual state. First, I think masculinity is depend on people. This survey says Japanese society will be driven by competition, achievement and success. The percent was 92.  It is too high. There are many people who want to enjoy work with other people. In fact, I'm not focusing on results, I'm focusing on assumptions. If we focus on only results, the life will not fun.  On the other hand, Indulgence is almost correct. I realized that New Zealanders value holidays more than Japanese. For example, on Sunday, the shop clothes about 5:00pm. I was surprised because Japanese shop clothes about 11:00pm on Sunday.   By comparison between the two countries, I found that there is stereotype in this survey. I felt it can’t see everything about culture.

  Through the Hofstede ’ s Cultural Dimensions,  I realized that the level of satisfaction in life is completely different between Japan and New Zealand. For example, in Japan, work takes precedence over private life, so desires remain locked up in the mind. New Zealanders, however, prioritize private life over work. They can fully do what they want to do. Therefore, they do not feel stress. I would like to live in New Zealand someday myself.

In many respects, the comparison between Japan and New Zealand was as expected. However, there is one point that surprised me. That is the difference in competitiveness. I had assumed that this competitiveness was derived from Western capitalism, so I did not expect to see higher points in Japan than in New Zealand. If it did not come from the West, I would also make a new guess that it probably originated from the Chinese Imperial examination. Anyway, this is too difficult to find an answer. However, this is interesting, and I like this kind of things.

  Through the Hofstede ’ s Cultural Dimensions, I was surprised at differences between Japan and New Zealand.  As for Japan, I think that this finding align with my observations. For instance, about Uncertainty Avoidance, Japanese people tend to avoid the risk of immigration or the system of the government. Second is Indulgence. In Japanese culture, people have a thinking that people should not express their feeling in front of others. This finding shows that Japan is 42 for Restraint, New Zealand is 75 for Indulgence. Therefore, I suppose we can prepare the others country ’ s perspectives before we meet them. However there is a limitation of viewing the cultures. It might be included stereotype of countries. This result covers the almost fact of country ’ s perspectives, but not all of them don ’ t act like this result. There are some people who don ’ t match these ideas so we have to concern and act these kinds of people.  

    I thought New Zealand and Japan are quite opposite. Where Japan's numbers are low, New Zealand's numbers are high, and conversely, where Japan's numbers are high, New Zealand's numbers are low.      I found the INDULGENCE section particularly interesting. In this section, Japanese scores are considerably lower than New Zealanders. I too think New Zealanders are optimistic. I get very impatient and frustrated when buses are late or go early or do not arrive on time. I think it is because of the ingrained time-bound habits of the Japanese.      I felt that I was quite right about the Japanese tendencies presented by this site.　Especially in terms of masculine society in a section of MASCULINITY. And the reason for this is not so much overt gender discrimination, but rather the persistence of fields in which men are naturally strong, such as manufacturing and presentation.       Of course, this is not true for all pe...

  I think viewing the countries through the lens of the cultural dimensions model greatly helps us understand the two cultures and their differences. I understand it’s difficult to measure cultural differences with few things, but these dimensions clearly tell us them. The findings mostly aligned with my observations. On the other hand, I thought masculinity in New Zealand was quite low, but the result was higher than I imaged. I estimated that Japan was low in individualism, but it was not low. These results surprised me significantly . I think we can know other people’ culture before we meet new people from all over the world with Hofstede’s dimensions. That’s really helpful to everyone such as businessman. However, we should still be aware that the indicators represent the culture of a country, not personal characters of the people of the country when we attempt to establish personal relations and communicate successfully.

Look at the results for Japan and New Zealand on the Hofstede Insights website. (You can find the link on Teams). You can also read the discussion of Japan and New Zealand below the results if you select the countries one at a time.  To what extent do you think viewing the countries through the lens of the cultural dimensions model helps you understand the two cultures and their differences? Do the findings align with your observations? On the other hand, what do you think the limitations of viewing the cultures in this way are?

All I wanted to know before I came to New Zealand was that I could drive a car in New Zealand if I got an international driver's license. In New Zealand, trains are not the main mode of transportation, but buses are. Buses are frequently late and it is very difficult to arrive on time. However, if you can drive a car, it is very convenient because you can travel at your own time. So I wanted to know that I could get an international driver's license before I came to New Zealand. 

 I have been in New Zealand for a month now. There are two things I thought I should know about this country before coming to New Zealand. About their shower time and souvenirs. First, I would like to describe shower time. The shower time is very different from Japan. In New Zealand, we have to finish our shower within at least 15 minutes, depending on your house. The next thing that surprised me was the difference in the culture of souvenirs. Before I came to New Zealand, I used to think about what kind of souvenirs my host family would like. However, I learned that the culture of giving souvenirs is not that important in New Zealand.

I’ve lived here about 1 month and there is some information about NZ culture would have prepared me better for my experience. First, it is about stationaries. I found that Japanese stationary are more useful and good qualities and wide varieties. For example, I was surprised that there aren’t mechanical pencils. Also, one day, I brought erasers in Dunedin. However, there are few varieties of goods. Next, it is about food. Kiwi foods are very tasty but too big for me. I love Japanese food like OSUIMONO or CHAWANNMUSI so they might be strong taste sometimes. So far, I think I only found differences between Japan and New Zealand which is “above the water of Iceberg”. To learn and find “under the water of iceberg”, I would like to experience NZ culture more.

  It has been a month since I came to NZ. There is so mething about kiwi culture that I wish had known before I came here.  First, the wind is too strong and people often don't put on an umbrella. These days, it is rain and wind a lot. I want to put up an umbrella, because I don’t want to wet. However, it is difficult to do it because of strong wind. In fact, my umbrella was broken down, so I bought new one. My friend bought, too. Kiwi don’t put up an umbrella. They wear clothes like raincoat. I should bring raincoat or waterproof clothing from Japan. Second, this is not something I should have known before I came to New Zealand, but there is no public announcement on the bus. Fortunately, when I got on the bus in the first time, my host mother told me where to press the button. However, if she hadn’t done it, I might have missed my bus stop.   Third, New Zealanders are very kind. I don’t know whether it is culture or not, but person who I haven’t met before sometimes...

   It has been 5 weeks since I came in New Zealand. I think I got used to live in here. Before getting used to new life, I was surprised in many times. Then, I would like to introduce a couple of information that I thought I wanted to know before coming to New Zealand.  First one is, there is a strict rule about shower. In New Zealand, people cannot use much hot water in one day so when my host mother told me that I had to finish taking shower in 9 minutes. I was surprised. When I was in Japan, I used to take shower for 15 minutes at least so I was worried I would not be able to finish the shower in 9 minutes. However I could get used to this culture.  Second, you should bring clothes with hoods. Most people in New Zealand don ’ t use umbrellas. I would like to recommend to bring hoodies and it helps to fit New Zealand culture.  

    Actually, I am mostly satisfied with my lifestyle now, so I don't have too many regrets that I wish I had known about. But I dare to mention...     ①Dunedin has sometimes too windy days. My folding umbrella sometimes is overturned because of wind and rain. So I regretted that I think I should bring a raincoat from Japan.   ② In Dunedin, the way to see a doctor is different from that in Japan. In Japan, when we have a cold, we can go to the hospital and could see a specialist almost whenever. But in Dunedin, I needed an appointment to go to the hospital and had to wait at least a few days. And I could not see a specialist other than an emergency. I have already used my throat cold medicine for almost everything, so I am worried about the next time that I have a cold. I should have brought more medicines from Japan in larger quantities.   ③ Dunedin has few buses. And now, due to the driver's illness, the bus is less than normal. We can...

Time goes by quickly. It has been 4 weeks since I came to New Zealand. This is my first time to study abroad, so I found a lot of cultural differences. From one of them, I wish I had known about Kiwi food culture. Before going to New Zealand, I thought New Zealanders often ate fish, meat, vegetables, and fruits a lot. This is because New Zealand is very fertile, is surrounded by the seas, and have a lot of sheep and cows. However, I noticed that a lot of Kiwi people eat wheat products every day such as bread, pastas and pizzas. On top of that, they eat sweets made from wheat. In Japan, I ate wheat products less than now, so my body has changed a little bit. I regret not having brought ingredients and foods from Japan, but I have embraced the change. Therefore, I started cooking by myself.

Is there anything about Kiwi culture that you wish you had known before you came to New Zealand? In other words, what information about NZ culture would have prepared you better for your experience here?

  The ideal school in my opinion is one that offers many opportunities for social visits. A field trip is a visit to a company to see and experience how they work. The advantage of a field trip is that children can visit companies they are interested in and get a clear idea of what they want to be in the future and what kind of career they want to pursue. By experiencing workplaces in all fields, from those that interest them to those that do not, they are able to learn about a world they have never known before. This is very useful for self-reflection. The more we go on field trips, the more we learn about society. So I think we should incorporate social visits at least once a week. However, in many schools, social tours are only offered once a year or once every six months, which is not much at all. I don't think you will find your dream after experiencing one or two workplaces. However, there are many problems in achieving this ideal school. One is cooperation with businesses. S...

     My ideal school is to develop students who are strong in computers and other mechanical skills. It can be said that the school is strong in computer science. When the students enter school, they are given their own electronic devices, for example, laptops or tablets, and they can use them freely during they are spending time in school. In the class, they can learn about programming and how to do fast typing. Moreover, they have presentations and researching documents and graphs class much more than in normal school, so they become proficient in the use of business tools such as Excel and PowerPoint. And I think the most interesting class is using the game Minecraft. Students are able to create various architectural structures, so they can learn creativity and programming. There will also be classes to learn digital illustration using digital illustration tools such as Ibis Paint. Students live in dorms, and there are the newest computer rooms, and they can use this ...

  My ideal school   I would like to describe my ideal school.   If I were an educator or a school principal, I’d like to introduce a method called “6 trees”. I came up with this system by myself, so I’d like to explain. “4 trees” is a method that 4 educational approaches are combined. The first approach is adopting high tech classes. The second one is adopting outside classes that teaches students farming and environmentally-friendly classes ． The third one is adopting self-organizing study. The fourth one is that teachers teach children but make students solve questions. To adopt this method, children can study inside and outside their school. Also, they can learn both high tech and traditional ones. Also, they can work with their classmates, and they can even have their individual studying time. However, there is a problem. Students would be lazy whilst they are studying by themselves. To solve this problem, we can hire mentors to cheer them up.    

My Ideal School     I would like to describe the details of my ideal school.   Firstly, I need the place where is near the nature because students can go outside in brake time or lunch time freely. If there isn’t digital devices in school, they cannot learn how to use that or media literacy when they grow up so I would like to create classes which have both side of aspects, nature and technology.  I also need advisors and counselors.   In my school, I want students to think outside the box. They will need skills to create ideas which will be useful for our environment or our future. Therefore, I don’t adopt methods of using curriculum and teachers. Because of this, they can take classes what they want to learn or subjects which they are interested in. If there were in school, they would behave typically and conventionally. I believe that people who can think outside the box will be needed to save our future so I don’t use any curriculum and teachers.  ...

 I could talked with some people because I could use skills we learned in a class the other day, so I could really enjoy jolly time. I think I was able to communicate effectively, because I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to be aware of taking actual action to communicate better. I have now learned about communication in class, but have not been able to use it enough. I decided to sign up online for the International Club.

Yesterday was amazing because I was able to do some successful networking. My wish bone was going to a dance club booth, but, unfortunately, there was no booth. However, I can get information on online. Next Monday, there is a dance class so I will go this. I’m not sure I was able to communicate effectively but I’m sure I was able to be myself. Therefore, I got connections with person who like Japan. I was able to get and exchange contact address yesterday. Thanks to this, I can keep in touch with them. Also, to the back bones, I will go events and talk to people to be friend. I think being myself is most important for me.

 Club Day was a very meaningful time for me. It was great to be able to actively go and talk to clubs that I was interested in. I also had a lot of fun arm-wrestling, watching cartoons, and meeting lots of interesting people. My wish bone was to act without being passive at this event. As a result, I was able to talk to many people on my own, which was a good experience. I found myself interested in the International Club and the Snow Club, so I think I will look into them a little more.  However, I don't think I was able to use my jawbone. I couldn't expand the conversation much, and I confused them a little. However, the people at the International Club were especially attentive to me and listened to me very attentively.  As for my backbone, I would like to study English so that I can have more daily conversations. For that purpose, I would like to join some kind of club and increase my opportunities to have conversations with native speakers.

 It was very good day. At first, I was afraid of talking with people who is in the booths, but once I talked to them, I found they are very friendly. Then I was glad to meet with David’s nephew.   I wanted to achieve knowing about club which was interested in for me. I was planning to find out about volleyball club and snow sports club, like skiing and snowboarding.   Unfortunately, I couldn’t communicate effectively. I spent time volleyball club, snow sports club, Japanese association club, and so on. When I talked with people who join in volleyball club, I asked the same question many times. However, she was very kind and friendly, so I could relax. Then, I become able to talk with her.  Now, I should get more information by using Instagram or Facebook. I would like to go to Japanese association on Saturday, but I can’t go because I have some plan. Therefore, I should ask my friends who will go to the event. Then, I’m going to try volleyball club on Wednesda...

It was amazing that all of the club activity joined this event and everyone was kind. Kansai University club activity event is bigger than this, so it was too many to decide on one. But this time, I could get the exact information that I wanted. I felt that I was able to talk to students and succeed making networking at the event. Wish bone→ I wanted to know what kind of clubs are located at Otago University and whether the club members are good people or not. Also, I like Japanese anime, so I wanted to get about the anime club information. Jaw bone→ At first, I felt scared to talk to club members because my English is not fluent. I was worried that they didn't take me seriously. However, they were all of the kind, so finally, I was able to actively go talk to the clubs I was interested in. I felt I was able to communicate effectively. I especially spent some time in the anime club area and I promised to go tomorrow for the experience. Back bone→ I think I should try to go to ...

  I was surprised at the atmosphere of this event because there were a lot of club activities and people and most of them were friendly to us. It was a little bit different from Japan. University students in Japan are too aggressive to recruit so I don’t prefer that, but students of Otago University were very kind to us. I couldn’t act well to build networking at the event, but I think through this event, we can expand the relationship with others.     My wish bones was to get along with people who is from foreign countries. I wanted to join a swimming club, but there wasn’t so I will find out another club to suit me.     I couldn’t use jaw bone and communicate effectively because I felt scary a little bit so I didn’t able to talk for myself. I talked a lot with people who was a member of Otago University Student’s Association. They were friendly and they talked in Japanese surprisingly.     About back bone, I had to talk and ask questions. To get...

How was Clubs Day for you? Do you feel like you were able to do some successful networking at the event?  What was your wish bone ? What did you want to achieve through networking at the event? What clubs did you plan to find out about?  How did you go with using your jaw bone ? Do you feel you were able to communicate effectively? What clubs did you spend time interacting with and exploring? And then to the  back bone , what do you need to do now to ensure that you make the most of the opportunities afforded at this event? What are the next steps you need to take? Are there any clubs you are going to sign up to online? Are there any events you are planning on attending?

subject: request for a meeting   Hello, Professor Garfield The other students in my group and I gave our presentation last week. Mr. Anderson suggested that we come and talk to you because you are an expert on marketing, especially marketing in the food sector. Therefore, when would it be convenient for you? I am available next Wednesday at 10.00am, if that would suit you.   Best regards, Boo Riley Business Studies 2C group     Hey Faisal I’ve heard you haven’t uploaded your stuff of the presentation yet. This was due yesterday :P And if you don’t submit yours on time, the marks for ours will suffer! You should upload asap. Lucy and Mike