FOURTH ISSUE: On How Filipino Cultures and Values Shape Communication Behaviors and Mindsets during Classroom Interactions
This issue is an article prepared as a newsletter by Nuestros Pensamientos (COMM 10 Group 3) in fulfillment of Group Activity №.4.
Our culture and values shape our identities as Filipinos. These factors affect and influence how we behave and understand others during social interactions and communication. However, because of cultural differences, it can be seen that people hold different styles in communicating– each with their own understanding and beliefs of the world, which often contributes to the confusion and culture shock of others.
In this interest, this article aims to share how students from various cultural backgrounds navigate and interpret meanings in situations and learning contexts within a classroom (physical and virtual), especially that the Philippines does not purely manifest a high or low context when communicating. It will also represent Philippine culture and values by highlighting the Filipino communication behaviors and mindsets that often arise in specific circumstances. Moreover, it will examine how communication among Filipinos varies from communication between Filipinos and foreigners in order to demonstrate whether or not communication among Filipinos is intercultural.
THE MANIFESTATIONS OF HIGH- AND LOW-CONTEXT COMMUNICATIONS INSIDE A CLASSROOM
Filipino high school students develop relationships within the four walls of a classroom. The tight and long-lasting friendships were tested through years of dramas and circumstantial events. The bond within a certain Filipino batch is far more different from batches seen in western countries. The difference may be determined by how students were stratified based on the curriculum they are taking or by a school system. Here, in the Philippines, students were placed in a room where they spend the rest of the school year, take the same subjects, and interact daily with the same faces. Thus, the occurrence of high-context culture.
Contrary to the way of interactions exercised in western schools, students, such as in America, develop a strong sense of individuality and self-perseverance to pass the subjects. High school students in America are like university students here in the Philippines. American students meet different people in every subject they take. They are not enclosed within the four walls of a single room with the same faces to see every minute and hours of the day. Ultimately, they mind their own business. Thus, they are more likely to have open relationships with others.
However, Filipino students’ relationships inside the classroom are not always nor purely in a high-context situation. There were times when we experienced low- and high-context communications. The communications we have are solely based on the “context” of an event or situation. The “context,” as described in module 4, is “the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.” Thus, the context is the basis of whether communication of a group of people is in high or low mode. In high-context communication, the process of relaying messages is indirect and relies on body gestures and non-verbal cues. The receiver of messages is expected to understand the message as they are “familiar” with each other. On the other hand, low-context communication is explicit and entails a detailed description or explanation for everything. The atmosphere between the two communication differs by the HC communication being lighter and comfortable while LC communication more tense and awkward.
With that, here are some personal experiences and situations that tell whether communications among people inside a classroom (physical or virtual) are in a high or low mode, depending on its context:
A. Low-Context Communications
1. Interaction with New People
I think I experience this kind of communication during the first days of classes where we have to meet a new subject teacher. My (junior high) school back then most likely hired a fresh graduate teacher to help them gain experience and transfer to public school once they passed the LET board exam. The first days are excruciatingly slow and sometimes unbearable since there would be a lot of introduction and overview of the lessons. But what has been the most awkward and uncomfortable experience I have had during my first day in seventh grade and first day in senior high (as I transferred the school to take STEM), and even today in college, as I am meeting my profs, and groupmates virtually. Anyway, as I am saying, meeting and interacting with new people ought me to express myself in an understandable manner. It requires me to be explicit with what I am saying and trying to impart as not all understand me and since everybody has a different perception of everything. Thus, I have to be extra careful with the words and language I use.
2. Lectures and Class Discussions
When classes were still held in a physical classroom during high school, the interaction between the students and teachers is very apparent. Information-sharing mainly occurs during lectures, class discussions as well as reporting. As students, we are obliged to listen to the teachers’ lectures, even though they are very technical and formal. The lessons are often brief and to the point, mainly because each lecture is only one hour long. After discussions, we tend to ask many questions to fully understand some topics, especially in subjects like Science and Math. The teacher would need to explain terms explicitly and provide enough information to make sure students comprehend what they are trying to teach. Nevertheless, it aids the teaching and learning process to run smoothly.
3. Competitiveness
We cannot conceal the fact that there are very competitive students who desire to acquire the rank they are aiming for, be admired by others, or establish a strong temperament. I experienced having very competitive classmates, and it came to the point where we can observe that they drag some of our classmates down as they wanted and that they are the only ones who get credits in every output or project.
4. Monochronic Perception of Time
During class hours, teachers and students have a monochronic perception of time, as subjects in school follow a schedule, usually an hour per subject. In this hour, students and teachers would focus on this single subject, communicating information and topics related that are almost exclusive to that subject and sometimes entirely exclusive to that subject.
5. No Shared Spaces
During the first days of class, students and teachers would communicate directly until they form a strong enough relationship that can allow high-context communication. In virtual classes/online classes, establishing this relationship becomes difficult as students no longer share the same space. In some of my experiences, even in group works, fellow students use low-context communication in such a way that the communication focuses on completing the group activity rather than trying to establish relationships.
6. Reduced Socialization
This simulated classroom environment, I suppose, has restricted my ability to communicate with my classmates. Unlike in person where I am able to quickly overcome my fear of socializing with my new teachers and classmates, now, as a freshman, I am not very sociable, particularly when meeting new professors and classmates. As a consequence, I prefer to talk with them in a direct and formal manner, with words carefully chosen, and only with school-related topics.
B. High-Context Communications
1. Usage of Nonverbal Cues
I am unable to communicate personally with most of my college classmates due to the pandemic. During secondary school, however, I formed a small group of friends, some of whom turned out to be my sisters (though not by blood), as well as some of my teachers. Being with my classmates turned friends in four-six years had made us know and understand each other. We have got to see and experience the good and bad sides of everyone. We have developed a certain bond that leads us to relay easily and decipher messages- may it be a direct or indirect process. An example of it is the so-called “telepathy,” but it is just about determining the context of a situation in reality. We have this kind of bond that we already know what we were trying to do either by speaking the “word” or just making eye contact with each other. With these, we easily determine what each other’s thinking and what each other’s trying to impart. A scenario of it was when we heard the teachers have an emergency meeting, an eye contact with my friend, and we are off to the canteen. Another is hand gestures and facial expressions. It is easy to read the situation based on the feelings shown in the eyes and the contortion of the face muscles. A scenario of it is when I was late for the nth time in our homeroom period, and the portrayal of my teacher’s mood through my friend’s face will make me decide whether to skip the period to avoid our teacher’s wrath or just go in and greet them a very good morning.
2. Silence Conveys a Message
In social groups and ‘barkada,’ high-context communication is commonplace, as classmates or peers in school have strong relationships, especially ones that have been classmates through grade levels; in such a case, the relationships formed are deep and long-term. In a class, students usually form their own social circles. We can see a group of girls talking with each other during class breaks while the other groups are busy playing mobile games, strumming a guitar, and singing songs. Even though all the students in a classroom can get along, within the social circles, the members share inside jokes. They can converse about experiences together that only the group members would understand. That is why, when one member of a group is silent and quiet during interactions, others can quickly tell that the group is having a conflict and disagreement.
3. Relationship-Building
Teachers also use high-context communication when they have a great rapport with students. Some of my favorite former teachers intentionally add some innuendos and humor to the lecture to keep us interested. In the same way, teachers use facial expressions and gestures to express that a student broke a rule or crossed the line.
Moreover, when I was in the ninth grade, I experienced having a teacher who keeps on telling his life story every break time. He is very open about his plans, struggles, and even his love life. As we established a relationship, he is like our second father as he is the person we, his students, always wanted to talk to and share our rants.
4. Filipino Time
In a class, there is always someone who arrives late. When I was in high school, my friend used to arrive at school thirty minutes after the first class began; unfortunately, others tend to arrive much later than her. My other classmates would often tease and tell them that they are way too early for the next subject.
Filipino time also happens outside the class group discussions when some groupmates arrive later than the agreed time.
THE REPRESENTATIONS OF FILIPINO COMMUNICATION BEHAVIORS AND MINDSETS DURING CLASSROOM INTERACTIONS
Aside from the experiences written above about high- and low-context communication, it is no surprise that being in a Philippine culture, where relationships are often close-knit and have a centralized social structure, the habits, behaviors, and mindsets of each other can easily be discovered. In connection, here are some Filipino communication behaviors and mindsets that often occur during classroom interactions:
1. Crab Mentality under the Deprivation of Attention (Kulang sa Pansin) and the Quest for Ownership and Credit Seeking
One of the mindsets that are relevant to Filipino communicative behavior that Lacson observed is the Kulang sa Pansin (deprivation of attention/understanding). There is always one person who feels like they should always be in the spotlight and be the center of attention.
A part of this behavior is the crab mentality. Given that competition cannot be avoided in the classroom, being competitive is inherent and innate to some students. Since most Filipinos based success on the ranks, possession, and position, the crab mentality cannot be put to a halt. Perhaps competitiveness is innate for us, but overdoing it affects other people, especially those who achieve success more than them. It degrades a person’s self-esteem and makes a person doubt herself/himself in the path she/he is supposed to take.
My experience with the people who have this mentality made me develop anxiety and depression for most of my time in senior high. I am a chill person academically and in non-academic activities. I am not actually grade-conscious and competitive in academics as I am tired of being in that situation. All I want is to learn peacefully and mind my own business. However, it is not the case with my senior high classmates. A student who got a higher score than them, even one point, is a threat to their ranking.
In this scenario, “panglalamang” is also very much evident because the persona wanted to be recognized and get the attention of the whole class.
2. Sayang and Libre Mentality under the Deprivation — Deservation Syndrome
My classmates back then, especially my guy friends, sometimes did not pass up the opportunity to have free things, especially the food. They take any measure to acquire these to the point that we need to exchange food and conditions for them to do the favor I ask them to make.
3. Sense of Humor and Pakikisama
I think typical communication behaviors within peers are the sense of humor and ‘pakikisama,’ that although some jokes and some occurrences of banter could be taken as offensive, peers would more than likely be able to find some humor in the situation.
Furthermore, both Filipino students and teachers use these mindsets to cope with difficulties (e.g., heavy workloads, hectic schedules, etc.) and improve their mood. They convert their negative thoughts and emotions into positive energy in this way, giving them relief and motivation to solve their problems and move forward.
4. Passing Around of Accountability
The passing around of accountability usually happens in a group. In this situation, a member would pass the blame to a fellow member even though the whole group is to be held collectively responsible for mistakes, just to save some face and pride. Aside from this, when it comes to group activities, other students often make excuses or “palusot” in order to evade or escape from the tasks.
5. Convenience Approach to Living on
Cheating happens in school. Before quizzes and examinations start, students would align their chairs closer to easily and clearly see each other’s papers and answers. Students would also effortlessly submit copied and plagiarized assignments and activities from one of their classmates. Another scenario is when the other members of the group quickly cover up, divide and finish one’s assigned part in their tasks because his schedule suddenly becomes hectic. Since the activities were graded by group, the individual who did not put much effort and sweat during the process could nevertheless achieve a high score and a passing grade.
6. Pakiki-pagsosyalan
Inside a classroom, students are more likely to interact and socialize with their peers or even their teachers. Later on, these groups will share various experiences or stories, bringing them closer together.
7. Pagpapakitang-giliw
Students normally give a strong first impression on others on the first day of school, such as during class introductions.
8. Tuwirang Pagsasagutan
Teachers and schools often organize structured activities such as debates in which students communicate in a confrontational manner.
COMMUNICATION AMONG FILIPINOS VS. COMMUNICATION BETWEEN FILIPINOS AND FOREIGNERS
Filipinos are good conversationalists and speakers. They can have an enjoyable and substantial conversation with anyone, even with strangers and out of the blue, as long as we can relate to each other. However, the difference in the communication between a Filipino talking to a fellow citizen and a Filipino talking to a foreigner can be identified through the way they interact and use words and languages.
A Filipino conversing with a Filipino may have a fluid and spontaneous conversation since they are comfortable with the language they both use. They are also familiar and aware of Filipino millennial slang, generation x,y,z slang, and gay lingo such as “chaka,” “bagets,” “syota,” “lafang,” and more. Aside from that, they could easily understand each other just by using nonverbal cues such as nod and eye contact, “isang tingin.” However, they are still aware that they should use respectful words. The usage of “po” and “opo” is a must, most especially when talking to adults. However, there are instances when Filipinos do not want to say unpleasant issues or topics directly to the person they are conversing with. That is why they cannot help but beat around the bush. However, through the familiarity with the words used, they can both understand each other. Aside from that, Filipinos can relate with each other through social, political, and life issues, primarily that they are under one nation, one government, and one society.
Meanwhile, the discourse between a Filipino and a foreigner needs to be stated and explained clearly and directly with the use of English, the global language. It is to convey the message in a comprehensible manner since foreigners do not understand Filipino or Tagalog. They also cannot relate to our Filipino gay lingo and slang. Filipinos need to adjust and use the universal language to relay their message. That is why we can observe that Filipinos are much more conscious with their grammar, pronunciation, and word usage when conversing with foreigners through e-mails and chats.
However, this action is only applicable to a good portion of Filipinos who could speak and understand English. Filipinos who are not used to communicating more explicitly and in English would have a more challenging time expressing their thoughts to a foreigner. Nevertheless, as mentioned before, in the case that the Filipino is comfortable conversing with the opposing foreign language, maybe they could communicate effectively with a foreigner, in the same level of communication with fellow Filipinos.
FILIPINO COMMUNICATION AS INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
As of today, the Philippines comprises 7 641 islands. Our country is divided and represented by the three largest islands: the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Within these islands, groups lie in different regions with different cultures and dialects. With more than 170 dialects and 111 of them are official and recognized, we conclude that we are still a multilingual country despite being under one nation, and it is because we are a mixture of cultures. Our country has 175 ethnolinguistic nations or ethnic groups. It is also given that people can move into other areas. With this, a particular place can be composed of people from various regions. As time goes by, these individuals could adapt to the cultures and languages of the people they interact with, especially that it is natural for human beings to acquire the things they always see and hear. Hence, Filipino communication is a form of intercultural communication.
An example of it is our university that accepts students from different regions in the Philippines. The students here have different ethnic backgrounds and cultures. Students can have a different religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, even social class. In a classroom, students share the same room and communicate with people of entirely different backgrounds. I have had more privileged classmates and some borderline indigent, but it did not show any hindrance in communication and establishing a relationship.
Thus, in a single course, anyone could see culturally diverse Filipino students.
THE REFLECTION OF CULTURES AND VALUES IN FILIPINO BEHAVIOR
Edward T. Hall emphasized that “culture is communication” (as cited in module 4). The two words are integrated with each other, and both have a meaningful role that affects one from another. It is said in our module 4 that “culture influences communication because communication is shaped by deeply held cultural values and beliefs. The way we communicate and the meanings we make are defined by cultural norms. Likewise, communication influences culture because culture is enacted through communication.” Thus, the communicative behavior and mindset cited by Lacson and Maggay and the behaviors we have observed daily upon interacting with my classmates outside and inside the classroom indeed reflect the culture and values of Filipinos.
People have been raised in a variety of cultures, which has influenced their values and conversation. Culture influences communication and is transmitted within and across generations. How we interpret messages in communicating is also influenced by our cultural background. For example, the crab mentality is uncontrollable to most Filipinos because they want to be always on top and ace everything they do. After all, that is what we thought success is since we were blinded by the words adults taught us — we would be considered successful when we have a name and position in life. As a result, we always aspire to be on top, even though it means dragging others down.
Reference:
Communication and Culture (Module 4). Retrieved from https://vle.upb.edu.ph/mod/page/view.php?id=37444
Members:
Grace Ortinero
Nicole Angela Eumag
Pricess Jherissa P. Villanueva
Rupert Gavin Santos
Armie VIray
