Auf dieser Seite möchten wir einige Instrumente und Ideen zur Durchführung
von Schülerbegegnungen vorstellen. Unter Austausch verstehen wir sowohl Schülerbegegnungen
wie Studieren im Ausland
(sowohl deutsche Studenten "abroad", als auch ausländische Studenten
in Deutschland). Lehrer erhalten Hinweise. Der andere Teil dieses Kapitels enthält
ausgewählte Fotoreportagen.
![[i]](/icon/instrument.jpg){kind=icon}
Das Führen eines Tagebuchs bei einem Austausch ist für Schüler eine gute Möglichkeit, über das Erlebte zu reflektieren und Ereignisse in ihren den Erfahrungsschatz einzuordnen.
Das Führen eines Austauschtagebuchs verfolgt verschiedene Ziele, die Schüler sollen
Der folgende Auszug stammt aus einem Tagebuch eines französischen Schülers, der mit seiner Klasse Schüler in Halberstadt besuchte
Montag:
Ich habe am Unterricht teilgenommen. Die erste Stunde war interessant, weil das eine französische Stunde war.
Die andere Stunde war langweilig. Am Abend war die Disco in der Schule. Das hat mir nicht gefallen, weil niemand getanzt hat.
Dienstag:
Wir haben eine Stadtrallye in Halberstadt gemacht. Der Besuch hat mir gefallen, weil diese Stadt sehr schön ist.
Wir waren noch im Schwimmbad und ich habe Freunde von meiner Austauschpartnerin kennen gelernt.
Mittwoch:
Wir haben zusammen ein Fußballturnier gemacht. Obwohl wir nicht gewonnen haben, haben wir sehr gut gelacht.
Donnerstag:
Ich habe mit meiner Briefpartnerin die Tandemarbeit gemacht. Wir haben an einem Tanz teilgenommen, das war toll. Am Mittag haben wir 120 Jahre Gröpertor gefeiert.
Freitag:
Wir sind in die Halberstädter Würstchen Fabrik gefahren. Ich mochte das nicht, weil ich nicht den Führer verstanden habe. Danach sind wir ins Rathaus gefahren.
Wir haben den Bürgermeister ein paar Worte gesagt.
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Ein nützliches Buch ist:
Cameroon and Thailand are two beautiful countries. One in Africa, the other
in Southeast Asia they both make up two very different cultures. Traditions
and values seem to differ dramatically, even the climate is different. Consequently,
one could well assume that it would be a cultural shock if respective inhabitants
visited each other. On the field of intercultural studies it is therefore fairly
interesting to take a look at these cultures and their differences, especially
when they come together in an independent third country. For at the intersection
of three backgrounds and the influence of at least two of them on a third, it
may lead us to surprising insights about acquaintances with new factors in one’s
life.
This is going to be the case in the current report about two foreign students,
who have moved to Braunschweig/ Germany and still live there. On the following
pages we will have a closer look at these students and try to examine their
environment in Germany. Not only did they come to this country for a short visit,
but they decided to spend a significant part of their life in a dramatically
different surrounding, with different people and different cultural behavior.
How do they cope with large scale changes and integrate into a new society?
These are at least concerns which would probably be uttered by German inhabitants,
who face challenges of tolerance and openness themselves. Several factors will
be at issue. So for example, what is the very essence of their life in Germany
and how do they spend their free time? In respect to their cultural origin,
it is also useful to ask for special traditions or values that they might have
taken with them.
But, no report on intercultural encounters is exhaustive without support by
the media. Therefore, it is appealing to not merely focus on written words,
but on photographs as an authentic evidence of what has been said.
To begin with, both examples are going to be introduced by a brief description
of their original countries, which certainly leads to a better understanding
of following experiences and lifestyle. Afterwards, the protagonist’s, issues
of tradition, difficulties with the German culture and more will be presented
in the form of a photo-report. In the last part, both cultures will be compared
and the results made in this homework will be summarized.
In this chapter we want to introduce the first student N. from Thailand. Before we start with the photo report, we want to give some basic information about N’s home country Thailand and about N.. The photo report will focus on how N. lives in Germany and the things that remind her of her home country.
Thailand is located in South-East Asia. The total area of it amounts 513 115
square kilometers. The expanse of the country is 1770 kilometers from north
to south and 805 kilometers from west to east. The total population of Thailand
is in about 62.4 millions (2002) with a population density of 122 citizens per
square-kilometer. The highest density of population is in middle-Thailand. Most
people in Thailand are Thai. Together with the Lao they form about ¾th of Thailand’s
population. The biggest minority are the Chinese with 14 percent of the population.
The capital city and the biggest city of this country is Bangkok with a population
of 7.36 millions.
The official language is Thai, which is spoken in four different, regional dialects.
Laotic, Chinese, Khmer and Malaiic are minority languages spoken in Thailand.
English is used as commercial language and is taught in some secondary schools
and colleges.
The predominant religion in Thailand is Buddhism. In about 95 percent of Thailand’s
population are Buddhists. There are in about 18 000 Buddhist temples and 140
000 Buddhist priests in the country. There are also several Christian, Hindu
and Muslim communities all over the country.
Thailand is a parliamentary democracy and is ruled according to the constitution
of 1997. The head of state is King Rama IX. (Bhumipol), who is also the military
commander-in-chief. The legislative power is represented by a two chamber parliament
which consists of a house of representatives (500 delegates) and a senate (200
senators).
N. is 24 years old and was born in Bangkok, Thailand. She grew up at her grandmother’s
house in a very poor area of Bangkok. She came to Germany at the age of 7 because
her mother was living there. She started and finished German school without
any problems and did her general qualification for university entrance in 2002.
After school she studied theology, sports and mathematics at the TU Braunschweig.
In July 2006 she finished her study with an average of 1.7 and now she wants
to become a teacher.
Even though she grew up in Thailand with the local culture, she also accepted
German culture and now lives and likes both cultures. Her cultural situation
is symbolized by her parents: her father is German and her mother is Thai. N.
is perfect in speaking Thai and German. She sometimes talks to her mother in
Thai at home to avoid forgetting the words. Together with her family N. travels
to Thailand every year and visits her aunts, uncles and cousins there.
The
flag of Thailand
Even though N. is a German citizen, she still is very proud of her country of
birth and therefore her origin. She feels part of German and Thai culture and
feels home in both countries. The flag of Thailand reminds her of her early
childhood when she lived there.
The colors of this flag have a certain meaning: red stands for the state of
Thailand, white stands for religion and blue symbolizes the Kingdom of Thailand.
The flat of N. and her boyfriend in Braunschweig
This flat gives N. the feeling of being home. She can organize it the way she
wants to. She lived in this flat during her study and returned to her parents
in the weekends and during the semester-breaks.
note : to preserve the anonymity, the house of N’s parents
isn’t shown.
The house of N.’s parents.
A few years ago the parents of N. built a house in Niedersachsen, Germany. By
this, they fulfilled themselves a big dream. N. now lives in this house together
with her
father, her mother and her 5-year-old sister. By living in this house she finally
feels like a real German citizen.
N’s room in her parents’ house
N. feels very comfortable in her own room. She can learn for university there
and also relax if she needs some rest. Her room is arranged very European. This
shows how much N. feels part of German culture.
Typical Thai food
N. cooks and eats Thai food every day. It mostly consists of fish and rice and
is spiced with a lot of chili. Food is one of the things N. likes most about
her culture. She is remembered of her home country every time she cooks. In
spite of the fact that she also eats German food, she prefers Thai food because
she likes the typical fishy and spicy taste so much.
A
Buddhist altar
Her belief is one of the things N. wants to keep and pass on to her children
later on. She believes in Buddha. In her parent’s house her mother has got a
Buddhist altar. This altar is always nicely decorated to honor Buddha. This
is done by putting a fresh glass of water and flowers on it every few days.
N.’s belief in Buddha is not as strong as her mother’s belief. On the one hand
N. knows about the most important Buddhist rituals and behavior patterns but
on the other hand she also believes in God. This is no problem for her because
Buddhism does not forbid other religions. N. likes both religions very much
and tries to find a way in between.
Buddhist
amulet
This picture shows the Buddhist amulet N. is wearing. This amulet is a symbol
for Buddha and is supposed to protect the person that is wearing it. It is made
of real gold. Almost every Thai wears such an amulet. This shows how strong
the belief in Buddha is in Thailand. N. never takes this amulet off because
it is believed that a consequence of this would be bad luck.
The
main building of the TU Braunschweig
N. finished studying at the TU Braunschweig a few weeks ago. She likes this
university very much because it is not as big as other universities and it is
much easier to get to know other students. Unlike many other students from foreign
countries, N. does not have many friends from her home country. She has got
a lot of friends from Germany and is not treated like a foreigner by them.
The
Pockelsstraße
This is where most of the buildings of the TU-BS are. N. had a lot of her lectures
in this street.
The gym of the TU-BS were the students of physical education
have their lectures
N. finished her study as a teacher in July 2006. One of her subjects she finished
in was physical education. She had her lectures and practical tests in the Pockelstraße
11, were the gym of the TU-BS is located. Sport is a very important part of
her life and helps her to get to know other people.
Hannover
Airport
N. arrived at Hannover Airport at the age of 7. At this time she did not know
what life in Germany looks like. Know she does and enjoys living in Germany
very much. Thailand is a very poor country in several regions. Therefore life
in Germany still is very luxurious for N. Together with her parents and her
little sister she flies to Thailand every year. They stay there for at least
4 weeks and visit their Thai relatives.
For N. and her mother the trips to Thailand are no vacation but rather a trip
home. It always reminds them of how they grew up and of their Thai ancestors.
In this chapter we want to focus on a second, and very different, example of intercultural encounter. This time we focus on the African continent, in particular Cameroon, the place of birth of our second student. Before we will go into a detailed description of W., it is important again to mention some facts about his home country. Afterwards, photos are going to emphasize major issues of his life in Braunschweig.
Cameroon is a relatively small republic on the western coast of Central Africa.
Its neighboring countries are Chad, the Central African Republic, the Republic
of Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The capital city is Yaoundé, which is
one of the two largest cities and all important governmental departments are
located there. The other major city is Douala on the Atlantic Ocean. Although
both cities inhabit approximately three million people, Cameroon has about sixteen
million inhabitants on the whole. Due to its location close to the equator,
the climate is very humid and rainforests dominate in many parts of the country.
Cameroon is a diverse country. The sixteen million inhabitants are made up of
a diversity of about 140 different ethnic groups. Even more interesting is that
within these groups, roughly twenty-four languages can be distinguished. The
two most significant groups are the Bamileke, speaking Bantu, and the Fulbe,
an Islamic group. One might assume this diversity to be difficult in terms of
communication, but on the official level English and French dominate, while
the other languages are not important. French is the primary language and English
is used merely in some parts of the country. The reasons for these languages
are obvious, since Cameroon was amongst the colonized countries as well. When
in the late nineteenth century Britain and Germany colonized the country, both
imposed their languages on the population. By the beginning of the twentieth
century, Britain and France then took Germany’s part and divided the country,
leaving the German language behind. Nowadays, German is spoken and taught only
rarely, as our person described. We will focus on that issue later. Moreover,
it might be interesting as well to mention that with the ongoing colonization
many things have been acquired, so that today even the school system resembles
the French structure.
For the last part of this introduction it is crucial to point out the religious
status of Cameroon, because it is always vital for intercultural communication.
Most inhabitants of the country, half of them, belong to the Christians religion,
in particular a third is Catholic and the others are Protestants. The other
parts of the population are Muslims. Native religions are not influential so
far, but they certainly exist in one or another region.
What all these facts about the origin contribute to our example’s life in Germany
and his decision to move to this country will be depicted on the oncoming pages,
emphasized by particular photographs.
As already mentioned, the following pages will be a closer observation of a very different person and his motives to come to Germany.
To begin with, the picture above shows the starting place for most foreign
students who come to Braunschweig, the international office of the TU Braunschweig.
W. needed to apply there too. Why did he pick Germany to study and no other
alternative? Coming from far away, his choice did not seem to be influenced
by the family, as was the case with our first example. He rather chose on the
basis of his knowledge about the country.
The major motive for W. was indeed the reputation of Germany in Cameroon. His
personal associations are that Germany is well known for its strength in technology,
including scientific institutions as well as car companies etc., information
technology and other influential European companies. Even though Germans themselves
sometimes regard these facts to be slightly negative, he also states discipline
and work as well known characteristics. These associations led him to assume
that this country would fit his intention to study informatics. Interestingly,
what can be seen by the associations of our example is that in every stereotypical
image of a country and its people, there may be some truth. Despite the fact
that a part of the German population is perhaps not satisfied with some of these
stereotypes, they were of importance, and therefore positive, for W. to chose
Germany. The picture above shows a department of the TU Braunschweig where he
spends most of his time for studies.
One other aspect, as he states, certainly also is the historical background
of his country. Since Germany played a significant role as a colonial power
some centuries ago, the school system still offers German as a foreign language,
although not many students seem to prefer it to English. Still, W. has learned
German in school and it has more or less affected his choice.
But why did he chose Braunschweig then? Most foreign students seem to prefer
large cities, so what drew his attention?
Ironically, the choice was not made by him. Germany’s system does not allow
a definite choice. As it is the case with every student, he applied for several
universities in order to get an admission to study. Besides that, his visa also
depended on the admission. As a result, Braunschweig was among several cities
and he chose it, because of its main technical emphasis. This technical emphasis
might have been the only fact that drew his attention to Braunschweig. In comparison
to the French school system in France and other French influenced countries,
such as Cameroon, and their equivalent “école polytechnique”, Germany’s universities
act as an incentive for students, because of their admission procedures. French
universities prefer to choose merely best grade students and are highly expensive.
German universities are relatively open for everyone, which attracted W. to
this country and city. The shelves give an impression of the study load and
eagerness of this student.
Subsequent to W.’s decision to move to Braunschweig the question occurs of
how he perceived this new culture at first sight. What was his first impression
of Braunschweig and how did people respond to him?
Indeed, he had imagined Germany to be very different from what he saw after
his arrival. As one of the largest countries in Europe, he thought it would
appear much more international, in terms such as architectural influence or
for instance a diversity and multiculturalism in the population. He perceived
only some cities to be significantly international in his terms. Nothing in
Braunschweig reminds him of Cameroon. The picture below (picture 4) tries to
describe this circumstance. Houses look different, and streets and people do
not resemble his homeland Cameroon in the slightest way. It must have been a
minor cultural shock then, when he arrived in this country.
The picture with its typical houses for German inhabitants suddenly looks dramatically
unfamiliar when viewed from the perspective of a foreigner, especially of a
different culture group. These typical houses serve perfectly well to show which
range cultural difference can have, even on the level of simple architecture.
Still these differences did not disappoint our person. The cleanliness and punctuality
left a good impression upon him. Someone living in Germany would see that as
normal, perhaps even a bit critical; for him it was a considerable experience.
What is more is that not merely material facts were positive. His first encounter
with inhabitants of Braunschweig was positive too. The people were nice and
willing to help and inform him in any possible way. Braunschweig is a large
city with many young inhabitants, but it is not a huge city. Therefore, it is
manageable for foreign people, as he states, to get to know people, live and
study. Bigger cities create an atmosphere of anonymity which makes it hard to
cope with new surroundings. Thus, Braunschweig and its people were a welcome
opportunity.
But people and their surrounding can be considered even more elaborate when
it comes to definite cultural differences, apart from superficial impressions.
Cultures always include peculiarities and people who have been raised in their
respective culture, will inevitably compare and sometimes adopt or refuse new
influences when living in another country. What is particularly different or
resembles each other between our student from Cameroon and Germany?
His apartment does not look unlike many German apartments at first sight. Of course, basic ingredients of ordinary student life are always the same. Furniture and essential articles are similar everywhere people live. Only closer observation, for instance when it comes to food, and conversation with him revealed typical features. Expanding on these typical cultural features on every aspect of daily life, such as behavior, some remarkable things came up. Basically everything is different in between both cultures mentioned here. It seems difficult, if not impossible or necessary to simply forget ones original culture in favor of another. Germans think different, act and react different from Cameroon people. He perceives people in Germany to be far more reserved, introverted and somehow cold. However, he also acknowledges their loyalty and honesty and when one approaches Germans by himself, they will certainly be open and polite. On the other hand, he regards himself to be rather the opposite in his behavior. He is an extroverted personwho approaches people openly, while being honest and loyal nevertheless. Stereotypically spoken we might say he has more temperament. Temperament on the one hand, reserved-ness on the other give us an impression of how two cultures may face problems in contact with each other, because both cannot really adopt the opposite. So far, our student never had any problems in conversation with Germans and copes well with the slightly reserved behavior of most Germans.
Apart from inborn characteristics, like the temperament, there are things which
could be adapted if a person was willing to do so. Food, music, clothes and
many other aspects are sometimes considered to be subject to much quicker change.
Nevertheless, in case of W., traditional items outweigh the new experiences.
He thinks that most people from Cameroon in Braunschweig stick to their culture.
They generally use and do similar things as in their homeland. The picture above
is a concrete example for one of these daily facets. It gives us an insight
into the student’s kitchen cupboard. In an interview he confirmed that he regularly
cooks food which he knows from home, rather than what we know. Interestingly
he believes that exactly these parts of daily life can hardly be changed. It
does no make sense to describe typical features of food in detail here, but
again it represents the idea behind it. With music it is quite the same. He
rarely listens to German music. Even English artists cannot challenge his preferred
French musicians, which is remarkable when thinking about the dominance of English
music. This perhaps also signifies a strong identification with his country.
For the last part of this paragraph, another characteristic of Cameroon students
shall be depicted. Unlike Germans or others, they take care of their identity
by celebrating typical holidays. They are organized in associations or clubs.
These clubs celebrate holidays with traditional food and music, to maintain
some of their culture. In general, his imagination is that many Cameroon students
do not just change little of their behavior, which is of course not necessary,
but also keep other things as they are. Normally, he changes little of the individual
he is.
All of these points are not to be interpreted negatively. The positive experiences
outweigh everything else by far on both sides, and as long as the intercultural
communication and life in Braunschweig work out, nothing needs change. However,
the last question remains: Is there anything that particularly leads to an intercultural
communication when living in a new culture? Or is it far easier to stay with
people of the same culture?
Some things contribute to the fact that W. considers it easier to get acquainted
to other foreign students. At first, there is the well-known fact of a similar
situation. As a stranger in a new environment, he found it simply more comfortable
to group with other Cameroon students or international students. Although not
a primary reason, the German’s relatively reserved and cold behavior made it
difficult for him to get to know them first as well. There may be suspicion
in one or the other person toward new experiences, whereas he considers foreigners
necessarily open-minded in order to manage a new situation.
Fascinatingly, these facts are all overcome in one situation, his free-time
activities. Hobbies and free-time activities not merely act as a linking element
in this regard, best of all they symbolize a perfect intercultural communication.
They are led by the idea of a common interest, irrespective of everything beside
it. For instance, the picture shows a basketball court in Braunschweig. W. is
a passionate Basketball player in his free time. Sports areas and events are
where he usually spends much of his time and it is exactly there where he meets
most of his German friends. Amazingly, he notices that in sports, and probably
many other leisure-time activities, people are very different in their behavior
than elsewhere. He perceives openness and much friendlier communication. Clubs
and discotheques are like that too. Whenever he spends time in the clubs of
Braunschweig, cultural differences are gone. Consequently, despite the fact
that there is no special effort of intercultural encounter, which includes German
and Cameroon people equally, daily life to some extent executes intercultural
communication by itself.
W. is happy to live in Germany. He copes well with Germans and international students. Of course, people of the same culture always draw more attention, especially when they come from the same country. However, intercultural dialogue does happen as can be seen by the example in the last paragraph. His hobby Basketball makes new encounters an uncomplicated experience. Still, traditions and remembrance of the homeland lead him too. Food, music and holidays from Cameroon are a constant and strong part of his life. This is not a hindrance but preserves cultural characteristics despite thriving globalization and mixing cultures.
In this paragraph the students N. and W. will be compared with regard to the
questions How did they integrate into German society? and What
did they do to create a connection between their own and German culture?.
It became quite obvious that the two students are very different from each other.
They live differently, integrate into German culture differently and also have
different reasons for coming to Germany. N. came to Germany because her mother
lived here. She not just came here to finish school or to study but rather to
spend the rest of her life here. W. in comparison came to Germany to study here.
After finishing his study he wants to return to Cameroon. Therefore N. and W.
have a different attitude towards life here. N. knows that integrating into
society makes living here much easier for her. In contrast to that W. knows
that he does not need to integrate or accept most aspects of German culture
because he will return to his home country in a few years.
This different attitude is expressed by several things. One of them is how the
two students spend their free time. Student N. behaves like other Germans, has
a lot of German friends and speaks German most of the time. W. in contrast to
that tries to be together with other students from his home country. He rarely
meets Germans in his free time and his only connections to other Germans are
university lectures and playing Basketball. He separates himself from Germans
by mostly speaking French. Even though he able to speak German fluently, he
talks in French most of the time. Because of this it very difficult for people
who are not able to speak French to start a conversation with him.
With regard to intercultural behavior, it can be said that N. and W. symbolize
two different attitudes. Student N. on the one hand is a good example for the
intermixture of two different cultures. She grew up in Thailand with the local
culture, came to Germany and integrated into our culture. Even though she integrated,
she did not forget or rule out her own culture. She much more tried to find
a way to accept both cultures and also be accepted by them. She realizes this
by speaking both languages and knowing about the traditions of both countries.
W. on the other hand lives in Germany but only barely integrates into German
culture. He tries to keep the traditions from his home country and mostly talks
in his mother-tongue. He does not behave this way because he does not like Germany
but much more because he is afraid of losing the connection to his family, who
lives in Cameroon. He cannot refuse influences of German culture completely
and is therefore also a good example of intermixture of two different cultures
but this intermixture is not as strong as the one realized by N..
As a conclusion it can be said that life for W. and N., especially in their
first years in Germany has been very difficult. They had to learn about and
to live in a totally new environment and culture. They both found a way to live
in Germany without causing any problems or decisive intercultural misunderstandings.
By doing this they preserved their own culture but also accepted and included
aspects of German culture in their personality. Germans who meet N. and W. and
talk to them are able to learn about foreign cultures. Therefore N. and W. are
a very important mediators of intercultural exchange.
Written by Tim Böger & Steve Raue, 2006 (project paper in
the seminar Intercultural communication and Intercultural learning). The students
interviewed gave permission to have the reports included in the webportal