Week 6: Personal Space Differences 29 May 2020

Week 6: Personal Space Differences

29 May 2020

     Hello!

     I am going to share some thoughts on how the cultural diversity of personal space affects people in different aspects of their life.

     People might not notice it, but there is some area around every person that is special. Everyone has a personal space that varies in size from culture to culture. There are several zones in one’s personal space- intimate, friend, social, and audience zones. For some people, it is okay to stand very close to the speaker in a conversation or get closer to give a handshake and touch the shoulder or the arm. On the contrary, some people will take it as a violation and feel intimidated. Eventually, this can cause serious problems and misunderstandings. However, People do not do it consciously. For example, if a person grew up in a place where personal space is not a big deal, then he/she will subconsciously go very close to people's friends or intimate zones.

       In general, individualistic cultures tend to need much personal space, and the collectivistic cultures are not in much need of it. There are exceptions and deviations, of course. Usually, people who grow up in the countryside pay more attention to their personal space and are cautious when someone, whom they do not know well, gets closer. Those people who grow up in cities might not need that much personal space. They have a tolerance for situations where it’s necessary to share all the personal space. For example, in most collectivistic countries, trains and buses get super packed, and people tolerate others standing in their intimate zone. In Japan, for example, people are used to situations such as this one in the video.

     In TESOL classrooms, teachers should be careful about the personal space of students. They should be mindful of the cultural background of each student and not make anyone feel uncomfortable. A potential challenge could be a distance violation between the teacher and the students. If a student needs personal space protection, and the teacher from a different cultural background is not aware of it, then a discomfort could arise in the teaching environment. This can lead to experiences that impede effective learning. Therefore, teachers should be prepared to face the needs of every culture, as well as, bring the diversity of the classroom to a balance.

     In my culture, personal space does not matter as much as in the westernized countries. In public transport, for instance, people are okay with standing super close to each other. Several years ago, I even noticed that people could sit on each other’s lap, only females though, compared to Florania, Brazil, where gender does not matter. Because Armenia’s culture is based on collectivism, it follows many of its outcomes, one of which is the personal space. I think, however, that some improvements could be made here. One could be more careful with the personal space, especially if the other person is complaining about it, which happens more often, nowadays.

In conclusion, I invite you to be more mindful of others’ personal space to not cause discomfort.

References

https://westsidetoastmasters.com/resources/book_of_body_language/chap9.html

Mane Mamajanyan