Fox- Listening to the World

Reading the Chapters from Fox has opened my eyes to quite a few things. I was unaware how different writing styles are taught and used across different cultures, especially when comparing an individualistic culture and a collectivist culture. One aspect that really fascinated me was the idea that students from other cultures appear to overgeneralize. They do not seem to understand why they must specifically explain and support their content with details.

To these students, they are simply communicating more subltly and respectively. They do not clearly support their arguments because they may not want to undermind a teachers intelligent. I found this really interesting. It seems the student is assuming a level of intelligence of their audience and feel a need to respect such a position.

I have taken a second language before and found writing simple 1-2 page papers difficult. I struggle with tenses and grammar. I can not fathom how one person could change their entire way of thinking and composing just to please a different audience. One story in Fox's book was about a girl who claimed it didn't feel right to change her words. She felt the more individualized form of writing Americans practice was forced upon her. Think, writing, and composing come so natural to me that I could not understand how to possibly alter it as drastically as it seems these students are asked to do. I am glad to have been given such insight from these students. Being raised from birth in an indvidualistic culture has not taught me to consider these ways of writing.