English.Arabic.Oriental.Romance.Russian.Kaplan, Robert, B. "Cultural Thought Patterns in Inter-Cultural Education." Landmark Essays on ESL Writing, edited by Tony Silva. and Paul Kei Matsuda. Hermagoras Press, 2001
"Are you going to take the car to work this morning?" That's me, asking a question to my husband, who was born and raised in Venezuela.
"I prefer to drive if it rains." That's my husband, thinking he is answering my question directly. But instead he is following the thought pattern of the country he was raised in and is giving me an explanation or expansion, but not a direct answer.
Here is how an American would probably have answered the same question: "Yes, I'm going to take the car to work because it's probably going to rain." The American might add an explanation like this: "And I prefer to drive when it rains."
Many students find switching their thought pattern harder than learning any grammar point. What can you do to switch?
First, you have to get into the habit of putting the words from the question into the answer.
Let's say an American asked you,"What is the biggest problem your country faces today?" The American would probably start with, "The biggest problem that my country faces today is....
Second, you have to make sure you answer the question first before adding an explanation, an expansion, or a comment.
If asked, "What law have you broken?" an American might answer, "I have exceeded the speed limit when driving." There is no comment that this is a common law that is broken or that the person never got caught. There is no explanation of "When I'm late, I speed." That would be the answer to the question "When do you speed?" Note how the answer uses the same verb tense as the question and provides only the information asked for.
So when you think about expressions that Americans often use, such as "Don't beat around the bush" or "Get to the point," what they are trying to tell you is to answer the question directly first before you explain, expand, or comment on it.
Below you can see how Robert Kaplan, a linguist who wrote about thought patterns, diagrammed the way countries organize their ideas. Find your pattern below and see how it differs from the American pattern.
English.Arabic.Oriental.Romance.Russian.Kaplan, Robert, B. "Cultural Thought Patterns in Inter-Cultural Education." Landmark Essays on ESL Writing, edited by Tony Silva. and Paul Kei Matsuda. Hermagoras Press, 2001
Priscilla Karant specializes in teaching writing to the advanced international professional, academic English to graduate and undergraduate students, and speaking skills to the international professional.