Interview
Interview Preparations
I prepared for the interview with the
objective of acting professionally while still being able to create a
comfortable environment for interaction. I approached the interviewee through a
friend who arranged for our meeting. Wednesday, November 6, 2013 at 2:30pm, was
the day and time we set for our interview. In addition, I arranged the
interview questions to facilitate for a smooth flow of communication.
Initially, I had planned to use a
video recorder but my interviewee mentioned that she preferred a tape recorder.
To make my interviewee comfortable, I decided to use my tape recorder.
Fortunately, my tape recorder was fully charged so I did not have to worry
about possible technical hitches in the course of the interview. According to
Miller & Brewer (208), it is important to consider the context of the
interview in relation to time and social structure to facilitate for a flowing
interview. In addition, the conditions of the interview have to accommodate the
social needs of the interviewee as well.
Interview Report
I interviewed a Chinese female
student in her early twenties. We met at St. Cloud State University, Atwood. I
decided to conduct the interview at the cafeteria when everyone else was out.
This was a suitable place because the interviewee could easily communicate
without worrying about disturbing other students or being disturbed by others.
We sat opposite each other and placed the tape recorder at the center of the
table.
My interviewee’s name is J. Young. She
seemed comfortable with the interview because she responded well with a smile.
As mentioned by Sapsford and Jupp (93), an interviewer has to be careful with
the words she uses. Miss Young informed me that she was born in China but was
awarded a scholarship to study in the United States. Her family is in China but
she keeps in constant touch with them. Miss Young is optimistic about her
future and believes that she is going to develop her skills and grow her
knowledge in medicine so that she can have something to take back to her home
country. Generally, Miss Young was convinced that her country was experiencing
growth and that despite the present challenges, the Chinese people are
determined to make their country better. For example, the interviewee mentioned
that criminal activities such as petty theft and pick pocketing have become
common but the Chinese government is focusing on improving its laws.
In relation to her culture, Miss
Young mentioned that most people use Chinese as the main language of
communication and that they tend to adhere to traditional customs and cultures.
For instance, women in the Chinese culture act submissively toward men, respect
social class, and dress modestly. Miss Young also mentioned that there are
different dialects in China which are differentiated by sounds and intonations.
However, most of her people belong to the Han descent which is the reason why
most of the cultural, scientific, and cultural accomplishments are associated
with the Han people. In terms of food, Miss Young stated that rice is the common
food among the Chinese people. However, there are other foods such as wheat
porridge, noodles, wheat bread, shrimp, pickles, and vegetables.
After Miss Young had told me about
her country, I did some research to learn more.
Country Report
Chinese is the culture of the people
of China. Whereas other countries such as the United States are culturally and
linguistically diverse, the culture in China tends to be rather uniform. The
size of China is large, occupying about 9.5 million square kilometers. It
borders countries such as Mongolia, India, South and East China Sea, and Laos.
The country is divided into two regions: the Outer and the Inner China. China ranks
among the most populous nations in the world with more than 1.2 billion people.
Most of the people are Han Chinese while others belong to groups such as the
Miao, Buyi, Tibetan, Korean, Yi, and other nationalities. Mongolian Chinese is
the language used by most people in China (Stanford online).
Different symbols are used in China. For
example, the country’s flag depicts the Communist Party (star), revolution (red
color), and the small stars (the Chinese people). Gender roles in China are
largely designated with men and women taking up different roles. Men are
expected to exhibit performance, dominance, wealth pursuits, and assertiveness
whereas women are expected to be modest, submissive, warm-hearted, and
solicitous (Thomas et al. 55).
Interview Transcription
Q: Question by
interviewer (me)
A: Answer by Miss Young
Q. Hi, kindly
introduce yourself
A. My name is J. Young but you can call me Miss Young. I
came from China and I am a
student at St. Cloud
State University.
Q. Do you live with
your family?
A. No, my family is in China
Q. How many people
are in your family?
A. My nuclear family is made up of eight people but my
extended family is very large
Q. What kind of
transportation do you have?
A. Coming from one of the most crowded cities, we often use
bicycles although there are buses, trains, and airplanes as well
Q. What kind of food
do you like?
A. I have been brought up eating rice and I have always
loved it but I also love shrimp
Q. Are there any
favorite cooking?
A. My mother’s home-cooked pancakes are my favorite
Q. What holiday do
you like most in your country?
A. I like celebrating the International Labor Day which is
celebrated on May 1st every year.
Q. How long have you been
in the United States?
A. Actually this is my second year.
Q. That’s great. Can
you tell me about life in China?
A. China is a large country with over one billion people. I
come from the outskirts of shanghai.
Q. How do you
communicate with each other in China?
A. Most people speak Mongolian Chinese but some few people
speak other languages like English and French
Q. What is your
clothing style? It is different for men and women?
A. Traditionally, women are supposed to be dressed in a
traditional dress while men can wear pants. But, that is changing; modern
Chinese women wear pants as well
Q. Are men and women
treated differently?
A. Men are given higher regard than women. Women are
supposed to submit to men – that is changing as well as men are learning to
listen to what women have to say
Q. What are the major
religions in your country?
A. Most people practice Buddhism and Taoism but there are
Christians, Muslims, and Hindus as well
Q. How has your
experience in the United
States helped you interpret and respect
cultural differences.
A. In the beginning it was hard to adjust to a completely
new culture, but with time, I have learned that we have different
interpretations of events and behaviors. I have learned to respect that.
Q. What are some of
the challenges in your country?
A. I believe the increasing population is a challenge
because in the recent past, petty theft and pick pocketing have become common
even as the government strives to improve its policies
Q. What is the state
of wildlife in your country?
A. Considering our high population, the environment is
really being strained but what worries me most is the depletion of endangered
species such as the giant panda, tiger species, the crane, the golden monkey,
and the Yangtze alligator.
Q. How is your
writing system?
A. My grandfather tells me that one thing that has never
changed about us is the writing system- irrespective of our different dialects,
our writing is pretty the same
Q. Did you say
dialects?
A. Yeah, our dialects differ based on sounds and intonation.
Some of us raise our intonation while others lower the intonation
Q. Do you enjoy
speaking with other exchange students?
A. Absolutely, I am an outgoing person and my interest in
trying out new languages has pushed me to talk to many students
Q. Have you visited
other parts of the United
States?
A. I have only been to South Florida and Las Vegas.
Q. What influenced
you to come to the United States-
especially St. Cloud
State?
A. The United States is one of the most educationally
advanced countries in the world and I would like to study here. St. Cloud State is a favorable environment
geographically and socially that is why I like it.
Q. Do you have any
questions for me? I have asked you a lot of them.
A. Ok, do you think I did well?
Works Cited
Miller, Robert L. & Brewer, John D. The A-Z of Social Research: a Dictionary of Key Social Science Research
Concepts. New York:
SAGE publishers,
Sapsford, Roger & Jupp, Victor. Data Collection and Analysis. New York: SAGE publishers, 2006
Stanford, Eleanor. Countries
and their Cultures: China.
2013. Retrieved from, http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/China.html
Thomas Alexander et al. Handbook
of Intercultural Communication and Cooperation: Basics and Areas of Application.
Chicago:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2010
