Brown's Opimal Distance Model.

I visited my friend's blog after a long absence. I read what he wrote about and it made me think that he is having a difficult time in the U.S. now. It seems like that he undergoes culture stress. I'm not worrying too much, however. I do know it's a natural process and he isn't a kind of bull shits who are afraid of living with others in other cultures.

Brown's Optimal Distance Model could explain the feelings that my friend has these days. Brown said second culture acquisition is the process of becoming adapted to a new culture. He divided the process into four steps - Euphoria and excitement, Culture shock, Culture stress, and Acculturation. Every person feels culture stress while he/she adapts himself/herself to a new culture. This culture stress, however, helps a person to acquire the language. Optimal social distance makes language learners have facilitative anxiety that gives positive effects on the new language learning. No anxiety for acquiring new culture could make learners become too comfortable and they may not feel the necessity to study a foreign language.


Just watch out for the pressure neither too overwhelming nor too weak, ma friend!