Thông báo Khoa học và Công nghệ * Số 1-2014

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CULTURE SHOCK AND SUGGESTIONS TO OVERCOME IT
Master My Tra Hoang
Informatics - Languages Center, Central University of Construction
Abstract: Due to the trend of globalization, more and more people are
experiencing culture shock when living and working or studying overseas. This
writing is to help these people to understand more about culture shock by
examining some issues such as culture shock stages, suggestions to overcome it
and its benefits.
Keywords: culture shock, culture shock’s stages, suggestions to overcome
culture shock, benefits from culture shock

1. Definitions of Culture Shock
Due to the rapid globalization of
world economies, the need for
understanding cultural diversity is
becoming more and more inevitable and
this
makes
cross
cultural
communication become a global issue.
As a result, individual ability to adjust to
a new culture is being paid increased
attention (Ferraro, 2006). In this process
of adjusting to a new environment,
newcomers have to face with various
obstacles which are called culture shock.

According to Oxford Dictionary, culture
shock is “disorientation experienced
when suddenly subjected to an
unfamiliar culture or way of life.”
Sharing the same point of view, Oberg
describes culture shock as psychological
disorientation experienced by people
who suddenly enter radically different
cultural environments to live and work
(cite in Eschbach et al, 2001). Culture
shock is related to the feelings in the
hearers or speakers of “estrangement,
anger, hostility indecision, frustration,
unhappiness,
sadness,
loneliness,
homesickness and even physical illness”

(Valdes, 1995: 35). It can be seen that
culture shock is a natural phenomenon
happening to people who are in unusual
or unexpected circumstances. These
circumstances are popular when they are
in a foreign country or in a different
place they are not familiar.
2. Stages of Culture Shock
There are some different ideas
among experts about culture shock
stages. Although some experts divide
culture shock into five stages, some

others divide it into six stages; most of
experts agree that people experiencing
culture shock have to go through four
fundamental
stages
including
Fascination, Disenchantment, Gradual
Adjustment and Achievement or
Independence.
The first stage is often described as
the Fascination or Honeymoon Period,
everything you feel in the new country is
exciting and positive. You are excited
about new things, new people and new
opportunities here. At this stage, most
people enjoy new surroundings with
fascination. You are happy and satisfied
with your decision to come there. This


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period is exhilarating, full of
observation
and
discoveries;
unfortunately, it only lasts a few day or
weeks to a few months.
When you set out to study, to work
or to live in the real environment, you

begin to face with various difficulties
and the culture shock begins to affect
your life. At this time, you have entered
the second stage, the Disenchantment
or the Distress Stage. The difficulties
you encounter in this stage often make
you angry, uncomfortable, confused,
frustrated or irritable and lose your
senses of humor. You tend to spend
excessive amounts of time alone for
sleeping or thinking about your old life
in your own country. You may waste
much of time thinking about the decision
of coming and living in the host country,
you may even think about returning your
own country. Normally, you spend more
time calling and chatting with your
family or your friends at home, but you
tend to avoid contacting with the local
people. You feel isolated as a fish out of
water and everything is foreign to you.
Gradually, you develop negative
feelings about the people and culture of
the host country. There are lots of
reasons to create these feelings to you
such as the absence of the immediate
encourages or supports from family or
friends, the realization of the differences
and the high expectations set during the
Honeymoon Period. At the end of this

stage, your feelings become worse and
worse, and then reach the extreme
letdown with various feelings such as
anxiety, sadness, homesickness, and
anger. In a consequence, you may

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change your behaviors such as
inappropriate anger, disordered sleep
patterns,
compulsive
eating
and
drinking, irritability, poor concentration,
and unexplainable crying. In conclusion,
in the second stage, your feelings change
a lot, from realizing the differences and
difficulties to coming to the top of
letdown at which all your feelings seem
to be overwhelming.
Enduring all these feelings is too
difficult for you, you may think about
returning your home; however it is
unable because you have set your life
here and everything just starts, you
cannot give it up. As a result, you tend
to change yourself to adapt and adopt
the new culture. At this time, you come
to the third stage, Gradual Adjustment

or Adaptation. In this stage, you have
tried to discover the differences and the
similarities and then you try to behave in
the same way as people in the host
country or at least, to accept all the rules
of behaviors and the values in the new
surrounding.
You
also
try
to
communicate well in the target language
and try to be familiar with the climate
and food in the host country. Gradually,
you
begin
to
understand
the
surroundings better, and find ways to
comfortably interact and work in the
new environment. Often, in this stage,
you adopt a humorous and ironic
outlook on the differences between your
culture and that of your host country.
Then, you realize that the people and the
culture in the host country are not as bad
as you thought. You enjoy your new life
in various activities with the natives and
no longer feel alone or isolated.



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After the process of adjustment
and adaptation finishes, you enter the
last stage, the stage of Achievement or
Independence. At this stage, you can
enjoy yourself in the new environment
and are able to communicate
comfortably with the natives. You are
familiar with weather and food here,
you have some new close friends, your
study or work is improving and your
relations
are
broadened.
You
understand people and cultures in the
host country as your own country. You
start to feel at home with the comfort,
confidence and relaxation. If you visit
your home, you will miss your friends
and your life here. At this stage, the
new country has become your second
hometown.
3. Suggestions for Overcoming
Culture Shock
It is not easy for you to overcome
all the difficulties at the second stage of

culture shock. You may have to bear the
negative feelings for a long time if you
do not try to get out of them. Although a
lot of suggestions for those who are
suffering culture shock are offered by
experts or people ever experiencing it,
only practical and useful ones are stated
and discussed in this small writing.
Firstly, the most practical advice to
avoid culture shock is to learn and
master the target language because
language is the key for you to discover
culture in the host country. Learning
language should be started right at the
time you give the decision to move or
before
entering
new
cultural
environment. By speaking only some
simple sentences, you may feel more

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confident to go out and to maintain your
daily life. Your language skills can be
improved gradually by taking part in
activities such as working, learning or
playing with the natives.
Secondly, mastering the target

language does not mean communicating.
Although you can speak or listen the
target language, you may still meet a lot
of difficulties in communicating with the
natives due to the lack of cultural
understanding. For this reason, it is
necessary for you to do a research of
the place you are going to come to build
up knowledge and collect information
related. It is advisable for you to look
into the customs and traditions in their
culture and make notes of anything that
is absolutely taboo and try to remember
them. The research can be done through
some ways such as asking people ever
experiencing culture shock, reading
books or watching films or programs
related to the host country. However, the
fastest and most useful way of
researching about one country is through
the Internet. Thanks to the Internet, you
can find any necessary materials such as
books, articles, videos, etc. Furthermore,
you also can enter some forums or chat
rooms to contact with people ever living
in the country you want to come and
receive their sharing.
Thirdly, learning the language and
doing the research can be done before
you enter the new surrounding, however,

when you really step your feet into the
new land, it is important for you to
adjust yourself as quickly as possible.
You have to realize that you have left
your own land and are in a new and


Thông báo Khoa học và Công nghệ * Số 1-2014

strange place with new customs,
traditions, norms and rules of
behaviours, etc. Only by realizing these,
you are able to pay attention to the
similarities and the differences between
your country and the new one and then
change your way of thinking and way of
life to be familiar with the new one.
Fourthly, it is better for you to be
confident, active, and healthy in the
new surrounding. In fact, it is not easy
for you to have fully confidence,
activeness and especially health during
four stages of culture shock. Generally,
when you are healthy, you are confident
to do anything, however, when you are
sick or ill, you cannot maintain your
daily life normally and you tend to be
lonely, sad and depressed due to the lack
of constant caring and love from your
family. These feelings, to some extent,

affect negatively to your new life. You
can avoid this situation by maintaining a
balance life. Your eating, sleeping and
working or learning habit should be
scheduled
and followed strictly.
Furthermore, to be confident and active,
you advised to join in some sport
activities such as swimming, jogging,
tennis, golf, etc or register for an art or
music class in the evening or at the
weekend.
Being
engaged
in
productive, social and funny activities
not only keeps you healthy but also
makes you more sociable, and you
also have more chances to learn
language and culture here.
Fifthly, making friends with
native speakers or with international
people helps you to overcome cultural
differences and understand the country

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more. Local people will generally be
pleased to introduce you to their culture
and willing to answer any questions. If

you have some local friends, you have
more chances to enjoy social activities
and tend to shorten your time of culture
shock. Local friends are regarded as a
bridge to connect you to their world and
turn you into one part of their society. It
is also advisable for you to make friends
with people from your own country or
from other countries in the world living
around you. Those people not only help
you to know more about culture but also
share with your difficulties because they
understand the feelings you have
experienced. Whenever you feel isolated
or homesick, contacting them is a good
choice because they can tell exactly
what are happening in your mind and
find the right way to help you to
overcome these feelings. It is good for
you to join a group of people coming
from your own country once or twice a
week in some activities. Thanks to them,
you love yourself and your life more.
Sixthly, keeping in touch with
your family and your friends from
your country is very necessary. When
you are away from home for some
weeks or some months, you are certain
to feel homesick. Contacting with them
frequently can help you to feel like at

home. You no longer feel lonely or sad
because your family and your friends are
always beside you. Furthermore,
sometimes you just need to talk to
someone who fully understands you. In
this case, local or international friends
seem to be strange to you; you should
contact with one of your best friends in


Thông báo Khoa học và Công nghệ * Số 1-2014

your home country. In terms of the
means of connection, each person often
chooses their own ways to contact with
their family and friends. Some people
use phone calls and letters, however,
calling is rather expensive while letters
take too much time. For these reasons,
many people choose the Internet as the
main way of connection. Thanks to it,
you can maintain contact easily by
making voice calls, sharing news,
information and photos of your new life.
Your friends can follow you in every
action or feeling by connecting to
Facebook and you are the same.
Although keeping contact with your
home is very essential, it becomes bad if
you contact them too often. Maintaining

very regular contact with home can
actually make the process of settling in
the new country more difficult and
longer. When you take your time in
relationships with old friends, you lack
time for new friends and activities in the
host country. As a result, you have to
spend more time and energy in adjusting
yourself in the new environment. In
short, you should keep balance between
contacting with local or international
friends and your family or old friends.
Lastly, maintaining a positive
attitude always helps you to succeed. It
is very common for you to be tired,
disappointed or stressful when dealing
with culture shock. If you become
depressed and waste your time of
drinking, sleeping and staying alone, the
process of adaptation and adjustment
will take you much of time or you never
reach this stage. You fail in adjusting
yourself and be bored and isolated

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during the whole time being abroad. On
the other hand, with a positive attitude,
all the difficulties will pass away quickly
and you are easy to make friends or take

part in activities with the natives. You
are soon to enjoy the achievement and
independence in the new country and
consider it your home one day.
4. Benefits from Culture Shock
It is important to stress that culture
shock is entirely normal, usually
unavoidable and not a sign that you
have made a mistake or that you won’t
manage. In fact, there are many positive
aspects of culture shock. After
recovering from culture shock, you
certainly gain a lot of benefits in terms
of understanding new culture in
comparison with your own one, being
more adaptable and open-minded,
developing your communication skill
and broadening your view of world.
Firstly, to adjust to the new
environment successfully, you have to
acquire wide knowledge of culture in the
new country; the knowledge is perceived
in
comparison with
the basic
understanding of your own culture. In
the other word, after the process of
adjusting to the new environment, you
have understood various traditions,
customs, rules of behaviours and values

there. Furthermore, by comparing all
knowledge of culture you gain with one
in your own country, you can distinguish
the differences and find out the
similarities which are very useful for
you in the process of working or
learning in the future.
Secondly, you are certain to be
more adaptable and open-minded after


Thông báo Khoa học và Công nghệ * Số 1-2014

the process of adapting and adjusting to
the new country. It is undeniable that you
have tried your best to adjust yourself to
be more and more familiar with life there.
You change your eating habit, your
fashion, your hobbies, your way of
communicating and establishing many
new relationships with various people.
Although you life changes considerably,
you still enjoy it so much. To obtain
these changes, you must be an openminded person. In the beginning, you
may be a close-minded person or at least
are not tolerable of other cultures right
away, then, you are made to change your
points of view and your ways of living.
Without these changes, you are not able
to live and work in the new country

happily. All the difficulties in your new
life such as the barriers of language, the
lack of cultural knowledge and the effects
of negative feelings help you to become
an open-minded person and enjoy your
life more.
Lastly, your views of the world
and people have been broadened. From
all difficulties you have overcome and
from all cultural knowledge you have
gained, your points of view about the
world and people are better. You know
more about the customs, rules of
behaviours, values and traditions of the
host country and of other countries in
the world through communicating with
international people in comparison with
the ones in your own country. This
helps you to improve the critical
thinking. The way you look the world is
more optimistic. More importantly, the
way you communicate and treat people
is also improved. You have realized that

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different people have different ways of
thinking and ways of living mainly
because of the influence of their culture.
Their behaviours are not true or false;

they are different because these people
grow up in different countries and
inheriting different values, customs and
traditions. Thanks to these changes in
the view of the world and people, you
can improve communication skills and
establish important relationships with
various kinds of people. These skills
and relationships are very useful for
you to become successful in work and
life in the future.
In summary, when you have
overcome culture shock, you become
an experienced person. All the
experiences and knowledge you gain
will become beneficial to you sooner
or later. In your work, in your life or
even in your family, these experiences
may help you to be successful and
maintain an enjoying life.
6. Conclusion
Culture shock is not good or bad,
it is a natural process, affecting anyone
living, working or studying oversea. It
may be challenging for you to
overcome the second and the third
stage of culture shock, but when you
succeed you will enjoy your life much
in the last stage; when you fail, you
have to suffer negative feelings for all

the time abroad. Culture shock is
unavoidable but it can be dealt with in
a short or long time depending on each
individual. If you are suffering from
culture shock, you should not stay at
home and keep annoying feelings, you
had better find ways to get out of this


Thông báo Khoa học và Công nghệ * Số 1-2014

situation by consulting advices and
experiences from others. Although
culture shock may challenge you at
first, it, after that, becomes one of
your best experiences in your life.
After recovering from culture shock,

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you can learn and gain a lot of
benefits which are very useful for your
future work and life. Thanks to culture
shock, many people have changed
their minds positively and obtained a
lot of achievement in their life.

REFERENCES
[1] Eschbach, D. M., Parker, G. E., & Stoeberl, P. A. 2001. American repatriate
employees’ retrospective assessments of the effects of cross-cultural training on their

adaptation to international assignments, International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 2-270;
[2] Ferraro, G. P. 2006. The cultural dimension of international business (5th ed.),
New Jersey: Pearson Education;
[3] Nguyen Quang. 1998. Intercultural Communication, Vietnam National University,
Hanoi;
[4] Valders, J.M. 1995. Culture Bound, Cambridge, CUP;
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