Teach English in Hongchun Zhen - Ankang Shi

There are a number of different factors required to be an effective ESL teacher. Certainly the teacher should have a strong understanding of English grammar (parts of speech, verb tenses etc.). It is also important that they have a good foundation of general teaching methods (proper lesson planning, utilization of teaching aids etc.). However there is one important factor that often gets overlooked and results in needless misunderstandings, disengaged students and frustrated teachers. Cultural sensitivity in the classroom is essential to being an effective teacher and this will be the topic of my summative task. Cultural sensitivity is defined as "Being aware that cultural differences and similarities between people exist without assigning them a value". (https://online.seu.edu/cultural-sensitivity). When people find themselves in a new country or new environment and are faced with cultural norms or behavioral expectations that greatly differ from what they are accustomed to, their level of cultural sensitivity will play a large part in how they respond to their new environment. If a person has a low level of cultural sensitivity, they are more likely to act out of frustration and respond negatively to cultural differences. This can be illustrated in a ESL classroom where the teacher is from a culture that highly values punctuality and they are teaching in a Latin American country where rules regarding punctuality are much more relaxed. The teacher may attribute students tardiness to a lack of caring about their education and as a result interact with students in a more unfriendly manner. A low level of cultural sensitivity can also cause an ill-informed teacher to commit a faux pas in the classroom which will alienate their students. For example, in Thailand the royal family is held in very high esteem and any disrespect towards the king or royal family will be viewed as extremely offensive at best or illegal at worst. If a teacher wants to have a classroom activity which includes cutting out pictures of the royal family they will absolutely alienate their students who will be very uncomfortable. Learning will naturally suffer as a result. Fortunately with a bit of preparation, teachers can avoid some of the most egregious offenses. The internet contains multiple sources of information for teachers looking to research cultural norms in a given country. It is imperative that a teacher research the countries that they may be interested in teaching in. Ideally this will be one of the first things that a teacher does, so they can determine if their desired location will be a good cultural fit before they go through the process of applying for jobs and obtaining visas. It is also a valuable exercise to engage in some self reflection and determine how the norms and culture of your home country have shaped you and potential biases or challenges that you may face when going to a country with a very different culture. For example as a female citizen of the United States I enjoy a large degree of personal freedom that is much different from the experience of women in many middle eastern countries. If I were to accept a teaching assignment in the middle east, I would need to do a lot of research prior to my arrival to ensure that I was a prepared as possible for differences in culture. Finally it is important to remember that you will likely inadvertently commit some offence or experience some degree of frustration when beginning to teach in another country. Most people will be understanding and pretty forgiving of such minor offenses. If you take a humble attitude and experience your new environment with a sense of curiosity and not a sense of superiority, you will have a positive experience.