Diversity and multiculturalism The theme of this session was

personal space, body language, and directness. Students mainly did group discussions and there were only a few occasions where they interacted in pairs. There was a total of three conversations observed. The first was a discussion about gestures, eye contact, and body language. The students had to brainstorm their ideas about other cultures they knew and make comparisons. Afterwards, time was taken to review the reading again, then the students were broken into pairs where they each had a different topic to debate. Finally, at the end of class, they had a discussion about personal space in Japan and discussed the similarities and differences to other cultures.

Overall, they seemed very cordial with one another. A lot of students were smiling, and they seemed to be getting along really well. No one appeared overly uncomfortable even though the topic required them to talk about controversial topics including personal space, body language, men touching, and physical contact. Nevertheless, this lesson was a little more focused on writing rather than oral

communication. Also, they had some problems interacting when sharing at the end of lesson, although they had topics in the notes written down with what they talked about

previously. The teacher-researcher concluded that they work very well in small groups and in pairs, but not as a whole.

Ricky. He was not wearing a mask, however, because Ricky spoke quietly, it was difficult to hear what he was saying all the time. He paused a lot and spent less time interacting during this session than in previous ones. This was especially true for when he was talking with Karen. Attempts were made to interact and speak with them directly, but the teacher-researcher’s presence only made the situation worse. One quote that really stuck out was when he said, “Because when I go to other countries, I should try to assimilate, so I think when people come to Japan they should try to accept Japanese culture.” This statement seemed quite heavy because the teacher-researcher did not think that people who visit Japan know Japanese society and cultural norms. Consistently, he has only focused on Japan in his journal and this was the case again during this session where he also did not provide a link to support his ideas and choose to look at the differences between two cultures. “Japanese culture ‘Aiseki’, sharing a table with

somebody, also show the smallness of Japanese personal space. In comparison with Japan, Finnish [sic] personal space is far greater. I think this difference is due to the differences in cultures, national traits, and so on.”

Ken. He acted as the leader for the group today and took charge when doing checking as well as group conversations. He noted that, “America is a low context society and Japan is a high context society.” In this way, he brought up a lot of different points about communication styles including language, proxemics, and body language. Additionally, he said that he feels uncomfortable when people enter his intimate space and he had experienced it before while living abroad. He actually challenged the content

of the video we watched by questioning the ideas that Americans enjoy larger amounts of private space. “They say Americans enjoy their privacy, but I’m not sure.” I was

surprised that he did not point out that situations are different depending on relationships, gender, and social status considering that he lived there previously. He was able to compare and contrast different cultures in his journal and supplied a link that really helped contextualize what he was thinking about, which extended to his discussions in class.

I also feel uncomfortable if someone stands or sit close to me except on the train. So, I think most Japanese have these kinds of personal space. Russians think it is natural to talk closely with someone. This idea is different from Japan but U.S. people have the similar idea as Japan. The similar idea is that they talk closely with their family or their friends. So, I think U.S. people also feel uncomfortable when they talk closely with someone they don’t know.

George. He used a lot of body language during the session and made steady eye contact with Louie. He was able to reference specific aspect of Japanese society where cultural norms and personal space were allowed to be broken. For example, when

speaking about Japanese trains he said, “They are too crowded, so we can get used to it.” He was talking about making body contact and allowing people within intimate zones that is usually not permitted in Japanese society in public as it is a non-contact society. He also clarified that he can be closer with family members, and although they do not touch, their proximity is much different than that of acquaintances. He was able to reference all different kinds of complexities of body language and contact in Japan but

did not reference any other cultures. This was the same situation in his journal, but he did make some comparisons highlighting only differences.

Many Japanese people are shy compared to other countries. So, Japanese people's personal space is larger than any other country. For example, Japanese greeting is just shaking hands. But when American greet, they do hug. And Italian kiss each other's cheeks.

Louie. This situation was the second session in a row that he seemed

uncomfortable speaking about topics related to cultural norms. Whether he was trying to think or if he was trying to avoid speaking with his partner Ricky was unclear. He was pausing a lot and looking into space for long periods of time. In this respect, he had some problems interacting with other members who were not usually part of his group.

Specifically, he had issues interacting with other girls that he had not spoken to previously. He seemed to be constantly looking at his phone and he was not checking answers or brainstorming with any members. Furthermore, he was looking down a lot. The teacher-researcher had difficulties in assessing if he was comparing the similarities and differences of culture, because the teacher-researcher could not interact with him directly. He also did not write a journal reflection or provide a link to a website to talk about.

Joe. He seemed to cooperate with Karen much better in this session than in the past. They both used a lot of English to communicate with each other. This could be due to the teacher-researcher having been strict on their group and constantly reminding them that they needed to be checking in English, but for whatever the reason they seemed to really converse more fluidly. Joe spoke about very common things with Karen, like Japan

in general, and how close or how far people will stand from each other. The teacher- researcher found difficulties in catching any direct quote about what he said when he was comparing Japanese culture to other foreign cultures; however, after reviewing his

worksheet, the teacher-researcher noticed that he had listed differences as well as similarities. His journal was very enlightening and it allowed for seeing how he was really thinking about complex issues from a Japanese point of view.

I think Japanese personal space is narrower than one of the other country. The reasons cause me the thoughts are Japanese land and Japanese culture. First Japan is island country. That means Japan has less land and a hundred million people. In Tokyo, for example, ‘Tsuukin Rush’ is a famous event. The train was so crowded and there is no space that can be called personal space.

Karen. Karen appeared very interested in the topic during this session and seemed like a completely different person today. She expanded on her opinions, and while

speaking to Joe, she was smiling and made eye contact. She was also asking extra follow- up questions to find out why he believed what he believed. She was overheard saying, “People have different ideas about personal space, this is because of their country.” However, once again she became very quiet during group checking suggesting that she works much better in smaller social groups. Her journal also contained a lot of

information and links to support her ideas.

I think it's decided what kind of space the space is by a relation with the person in the space, not the physical distance in Japan. I think that place that is an elevator and a next seat in trains with a close person is personal space. Even though the distance is close, I think if a partner is the person who doesn't know at all, that

isn't personal space. According to this article, there seems to be a person who worries about the physical distance in the United States. I was surprised that the next seat in trains becomes intimate space in the United States and it's different from Japan.

Session 8: Diversity and multiculturalism. The content from their journal and