Participate in intercultural interactions, recognising how their own cultural norms impact on language use and that intercultural communication involves shared responsibility for meaning-making
Elaborations
recognising that social values and reactions such as respect or displeasure can be expressed differently in different cultures, for example, noting the Japanese avoidance of direct refusal or eye contact, the desire to please by answering a question even if they do not know the answer, waiting to be invited to eat or drink, and the practice of smiling for different reasons in different contexts
noticing cultural cues when interacting with Japanese speakers or resources that suggest differences in traditions, ideas or values, for example, ways of expressing feelings or emotions, maintaining harmony by avoiding direct replies to a question by using それは ちょっと…。、 and avoiding foregrounding the self with phrases such as (お先に) どうぞ。がんばります。
recognising the importance of active listening skills to conversational etiquette in Japanese, such as showing interest and attentiveness by using あいづち and nodding, repeating information heard, and confirming details at the end of a conversation
discussing incidences in Japanese-language exchanges when miscommunication has occurred, and reflecting on why or how this happened
reflecting on how their own language and communication style might be perceived by Japanese speakers, considering concepts such as culture, attitudes, assumptions and values
discussing Japanese cultural concepts such as 恩 (owing a kindness), 義理 (a sense of duty) and 和 (harmony), and considering how the expression of these concepts in Japanese language and behaviour compares with the expression of similarly significant concepts in their own language(s) and culture(s)
