Ting Toomey And Kong's Model Of Culture

Ting Toomey and Chung (2005) put forward a model where culture can be thought of as an iceberg with distinct levels. Accordingly, the surface level of the iceberg represents popular culture constituting artifacts such as artworks and customs. The reason they are put into the outermost level is because they can be straightway noticed in everyday life. Beneath this is the intermediate level, which is comprised of symbols, meanings, and norms. Meanings are linked to symbols which can take the form of signs, words, and para-lingual behaviors. Norms; however, determine what accounts for an appropriate or an inappropriate behavior. Consisting of traditions, beliefs, and values which are common to all members of the same culture is the deep level. It is worth noting that all of the previously mentioned levels rest upon another invisible part, called ‘universal human needs’ incorporating love for one another, passion, and respect…etc. These are not specific to any particular culture, they are ‘universal’. Hence, culture is viewed by Ting Toomey and Chung (2005) as per the following figure:
Whereas the preceding models of culture approach culture in terms of its elements and components, Hecht et al’s (2006) atom model concern itself with different themes

43). Accordingly, the comparative approach focuses attention on the target culture as well as the learners’ own culture. As its name suggests, this approach seeks to compare both cultures in order to have insights into the similarities and differences existing between them. Byram and Planet argue that despite the fact that the aim of the comparative approach is to compare both cultures, it does not work toward placing one culture above the other or saying that one culture is better than the other. In this, they