Intercultural Communication

Service Learning Paper

Submitted by:
Makayla Harris
May 2, 2014

Submitted to:
Tamara K. Philips, M.S
COMM 2150-002
Department of Communication
Salt Lake Community College

Service Organization:
For my service learning project, I chose to volunteer at the Robert
G. Sanderson Community Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Contact information is listed
below:
Eleanor McCowan
Program Director
Robert G. Sanderson Community Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Taylorsville, Utah
Phone: 801-513-3984 VP
Email: emccowan@utah.gov
Project:
The Robert G. Sanderson Community Center for the Deaf and Hard of
Hearing is the only Deaf center located in Utah and is the home to thousands of Deaf adults and
children in Utah. The community Center is a place where individuals can come and have no
communication barrier. The community center offers activities on a daily basis, Vocational
Rehab services, Senior Citizen Programs, community education classes and much more. The
Sanderson center includes a full-size gymnasium and a lounge with a pool table, TV, and video
services were you can come, practice, and communicate with Deaf individuals.
For my project, I got in contact with Eleanor McCowan and the process was very fast
and simple for volunteering. When I volunteered, I did many different jobs that included:
putting labels on pamphlets with the correct information, organizing their Surprise Easter Egg
Hunt that took place in April, and organizing rooms and making sure it was professional looking.
I had the great opportunity to practice my signing skills as I met new individuals; some that I
have met for the first time and some that I have met previously through different Deaf
activities.
Cultural Groups:
The culture group that I volunteered with was the Deaf culture, which is a very
collectivist culture. They value time spent talking about life and big decisions that are being
made whether its personal or with the community as a whole, they dont whether the
scheduled event starts on time or runs late because communication is more valued, they
always look out for the groups and so many other collectivist characteristics that I observed and
have learned through my service learning project.
Challenges:
The hardest part of my service learning project was communicating with
the Deaf adults and children that I came in contact with and making sure it was effective
communication. I would tell myself that I know American Sign Language (ASL) and that I will be
able to understand, grasp, and respond to everything that is being said. I always have to fear
that I will sign something wrong or just space out and completely forget the language, which
hasnt happened. The Deaf community just likes to know that a person is trying to
communicate with them and that you are willing to learn.
Theory:
The theory that I want to focus on for my service learning project is
Edward Halls theory of Proxemics. Edward Hall was born in 1914 and his career was an
anthropologist. Edward Halls lifelong study on cultural space was founded during World War II
when he served in the US Army in the Philippines and Europe. During his time there, Hall
noticed many difficulties and failures of intercultural communication. Hall developed his theory
of Proxemics in 1966. The course packet Hall defines Proxemics as, the study of the human use
of space within the context of culture.(Course packet, page 44). There are two different types
of ways in how cultures differ in communication. One of them is high context communication,
most of the information is either physical context or internalized in the person, while very little
is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the message (Hall, 1976). With high-context
communication, one can understand a message without direct verbal communication.
Examples of high-context cultures are people in long-term relationships, the Deaf culture,
Italian culture and Asian cultures. The second is low-context communication, this is the
opposite of high-context. Low-context communication is, when the message is conveyed in
words rather than non-verbal cues. (Martin & Nakayama, 2004). Many professionals and text
books have said that cultures shouldnt rely on non-verbal communication, they should be right
to the point. Low-context cultures would include: United States, Germany, and the Dutch.
In Proxemics, Edward Hall developed four zones that map out how humans use space
and it is known to be his famous innovation that has to do with Proxemics.
1. Intimate Space: 0-18, closet friends and intimate partners allowed. The closet
bubble of space.
2. Social and consultative space: 4-10, is reserved for people who are more
comfortable conducting routine social interactions with acquaintances as well as
strangers.
3. Personal space: 18-4. This distance is arms-length away and only minimal touch is
seen. Usually reserved for family and friends.
4. Public space: 10 and beyond. Public distance involves lecture hall meetings and
public speeches.
Now, the Deaf community and their culture would fall into Personal or Intimate
space. The reason for this is because they are always welcoming and dont mind
touching you because thats what they do in their community. Another reason
for this is because they can see signs more easily and not have to look across a
room to try and figure out what one is saying. Close distance is easier
communication for them. They can see facial expressions more, body posture,
and eye contact, which is very valued in their culture. If one does not maintain
eye contact during a conversation is it seen as rude and as if you dont care what
the Deaf person is saying. When you maintain eye contact, it shows that you care
what is being said and that you will respond with some type of answer. Facial
expressions is another major part of the Deaf culture. Paul Ekman has been
studying facial expressions for the past 40 years and has come up with six basic
emotions: happiness, sadness, disgust, surprise, anger, and fear. (Martin &
Nakayama, 2004) Ekman took photos of these expressions and showed them to
different cultures. They concluded that these expressions are known universally.
(Ekman, 2004; Elfenbein & Ambody, 2002; Matsumoto, Olide, Schug, Willingham
& Callan, 2009). The Deaf culture highly values facial expressions because on can
tell only by facial expressions if one is happy, sad, angry, or fearful. That is how,
when telling a story, for example, that the audience knows the personality of the
character.
Analysis:
During my service learning project and not that Ive completed it,
the theory of Proxemics makes more and more sense to me as I push myself into
another culture and push myself out of my comfort zone. Before I started this
project, I was somewhat picky in who I let in my bubble. If I didnt know you
that well, the more space between us. If I did know you and we were close, I
would open it up a lot more. Since Ive volunteered at the Deaf center, it has
been an experience of learning to let the Deaf people closer into my bubble
because they are a contact culture. Contact cultures are ones that stand closer
together, more eye contact and touch frequently. At first, I was a little surprised
in the closeness, but now I completely understand why and am more
comfortable with it.
I noticed while volunteering that the Deaf culture is a very collectivist
culture and that I can sometimes be more individualistic. I like being early to
events and leave when scheduled, and I have my husband to thank for that. If I
have another event scheduled, then leaving previous events is that much more
important to me. I like starting on time at an event and finishing on time. Being
around the Deaf community, I had to let some of that go because they care more
about the group and socializing with the groups. Events start late and end late,
hellos and good-byes are very long. I have let the Deaf community go from social
space to personal space for me. The more I learn about their history today and in
the past and see how rich their language and culture is, the more my ASL skills
improve and the more I will be able to open up to them.
Reflection:
When the service learning project was announced at the
beginning of the semester, I knew what I wanted to do, but was still nervous
about where the project would take me. To get started, I had one of my friends,
Kaela, help me get in contact with Eleanor McCowan. Eleanor was very helpful
and always so flexible. She returned emails to me right away and I was very
grateful for that. This experience has given me even more experience in the
career that I want to go into. I have put my foot in the door and I plan on
continuing volunteering there in the future.


References:
Martin, Judith, and Thomas Nakayama, Intercultural
Communication, 6
th
ed: McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print.

Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science (CSISS. Center for Spatially
Integrated Social Science (CSISS), Santa Barbra, California, 1 Jan, 2001.
www.csiss.org

Division of Services to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Powered by: Mantra and
WordPress, n.d. Web. 30 April, 2014 http://deafservices.utah.gov

Tamra, Philips. COMM 2150: Intercultural Communication: course packet. Tamra
K. Philips, M.S. Department of Communication. Salt Lake Community College.