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Teach English in Shahe Zhen - Hanzhong Shi

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Recently, I learned a very valuable lesson regarding cultural sensitivity in the classroom. I'd like to share an example from my personal experience which really illustrates the need to be sensitive to students' cultural situations. I have an evening ESL class that consists primarily of Venezuelan students. They're Elementary students (A2 Level). Like many evening classes, I experience some common issues. For example, their energy, motivation, and focus tends to be low. They're easily distracted because they're often thinking about their days at work or what they need to do when they get home. And like many A2 levels that I've experienced, we have some pretty common issues. For example, they're a little shy and reluctant to talk. They regularly speak to me and their classmates in Spanish (L1). And they would prefer to spend the majority of the class playing games and/or listening to music. Recently, I attempted to try to get my class to "open up" and speak more. I introduced a game called "Show and Tell" to the class. This is a game that is very popular in elementary schools in the United States. And this game has been extremely successful with other Elementary classes that I've taught. So, I thought that it would be a fun and casual way to get them to produce more English and spark more energy into my classroom. "Show and Tell" is a very simple activity. In this activity, students bring a personal item from their homes, and they explain why the item is interesting or of personal value to them. To demonstarte how the activity works, I brought an interesting souveneir that I aquired while traveling. I made sure not to bring an item that was of monetary value. I wanted to be sensitive to students that might not have something flashy or valuable to show off. But something unexpected happened after I demonstrated the activity. The students stared at me with dropped jaws. This was not an uncommon look for them. As they're Elementary students, I'm used to getting "confused looks". Even when I explain things clearly and slowly. In fact, in my mind, I thought they were waiting for me or one of their classmates to reexplain the activity to them in Spanish. This time, that wasn't the case, though. I got a little frustrated. And I unintentionally said something that was insensitive. I said "Come on, guys! You have to have something interesting in your home that you can bring in and share with your classmates?" After making this comment, I saw worried and desperate looks from my students. At that point, I knew that I said something wrong. A student then said to me in a defensive manner in Spanish "We came to the U.S. with only one suitcase. We left everything that we own in Venezuela." Immediately, I felt terrible. I apoligized to the class. But I should have known better. The majority of my Venezuelan students are refugees that escaped terrible situations to try to find a better life in the U.S. Through all the Venezuelan friends and students that I've met over the years, I shouldn't have made such a terrible cultural mistake. I was frustrated at the moment I made the insensitive comment. But I'd learned enough about their personal histories prior to making that comment that I should have been more sensitive to the situation. I took this as a learning experience. I apologized a second time to my students. And I turned the "Show and Tell" activity into an opportunity for my students to teach me things about Venezuela that I'd never learned before. We basically turned the activity into an opportunity for them to educate me. And, to my surprise, I got quite a bit of English out of them in the process. I also shared my experience with the other teachers so they didn't make the same mistake. In my case, I knew better, but I just had a moment of "absent mindedness" due to the frustration that I was feeling at the time. Nobody is perfect. But knowing students' cultures and backgrounds can definitely help avoid embarassing situations like the one that I experienced.


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