Teach English in Macun Zhen - Jining Shi

There are probably going to be frictions in a class with many nationalities, that is to be expected but there are also positive aspects and challenges that can be turned into opportunities. First let's address the positive aspects of having a multinational class. It is highly likely that the common language will be English, which can be beneficial in order to practice English skills without having the native language as a crutch. Different cultures, different set of values, different customs can bring out good practice possibilities by comparing and addressing issues that are similar or those that are unlike. In multicultural contexts there are however as many challenges as there are benefits. Cultural difference, the cultural blueprint. The culture is different in many countries especially with gender issues. What is suitable in Europe might not be in Asia or Saudi Arabia. For a teacher it is as important to study the culture of the country as the material he/she is going to teach. If you come across as rude or crude or break rules that are of common knowledge in the host country or with the students you might never be able to have a successful teaching experience. I will in this essay address some of the cultural differences by my best ability by taking some examples to make my point. The asian way of “saving face”. We know what it means in a western culture, it means to save yourself from embarrassment. But in Asia it has a deeper meaning. It has a social role and for the individual it has to do with self image as well as where you rank in the hierarchy of the society. It has to do with respecting your place in society Muslims not shaking hands. A muslim might not want to shake hands like we do everyday without a thought. A married muslim man is not going to shake hands with a woman, that is against his religion. It is not solely the muslims that have a different greeting habits. In France you would kiss people on both cheeks, Arabs do three kisses, southern European people tend to hug and kiss, northern Europeans shake hands and hold their distance, so this can be a open discussion in class at some point what the habits are in each students country of origin. The private bubble. The invisible bubble we have around us tends to get smaller if you come from a crowded country. In Scandinavia the bubble is really big, it gets smaller throughput Europe, but when it comes to Asia the bubble is nearly gone. So in a class it can be challenging if there are students of many nationalities who have a different meaning of how close, is too close when you are in the same room with someone. How close can you stand next to a person, without being rude? Universal signs, might not be that universal. The ok sign made with your thumb and your index finger means everything is dandy in most English speaking countries, but it is considered rude or obscene in Brazil, Turkey and Iran. In France it can indicate something that has zero worth, in other words worthless, so before using gestures like that it might be good to be sure of the different meanings Common thresholds The cultural difference is the first challenge, then there are issues regarding pronunciation. It is also an age thing. Children are better at picking up sounds than adults. Children are often fearless and don´t care if they make mistakes. Asian people tend to have a difficulty pronouncing r, they say often l instead so for instance the word race becomes lace, this can create many problems. Indian english speakers also have a distinct accent. But when you know about these weaknesses you can teach them and hear and understand people without always stopping them asking to repeat. I can think of an exercise that can be fun. Ask everyone to say a sentence with something in their mouth, and then repeat it with out something in the mouth. It can be fun and encourage the students to be silly before drilling on a correct pronunciation. Word games and silly sentences can be fun to implement and to warm the group up for the coming lesson. Age and culture In the some cultures age can also mean gap, gap in understanding between older and younger people. In the classroom this could be turned into advantage by pairing young and old. The best teams I have worked on have consisted of young and older together. A young tech savvy person can be valuable for the course of learning for an older person. How to use technology to ease the everyday problems in language learning, giving that there is good access to the internet. Youtube is a great supplementary source to drill and understand current matters when learning a new language. So is Khan academy, online dictionaries and many more resources. Arts and culture For a teacher that is going to be in the host country and teach it is a must to know a little about what the nation's treasures are, if you are going to teach in a country you will be challenged if you have no knowledge of things that are important to the inhabitants of the host country. You might be considered unprofessional and uninterested if you have not a basic cultural knowledge. It can be turned to a opportunity when you have a multinational class, some sort of presentation about each other's national treasures could be good for practicing English skills. Some national treasures are also world renown and those will not be a problem. I would advise everyone to study upon the local culture, get some days to visit museums and study a little before taking on the role of a teacher. My goal is to be the best teacher that I can be. Make myself proud and live up to the expectations of my future students and employers. Note 1: My footnotes did not copy from the document, here are my recourses. April 19th 2019 https://nomadcapitalist.com/2018/12/14/save-face-asia/ April 20th 2019 https://islamfyi.princeton.edu/why-do-some-muslims-refrain-from-shaking-hands-with-people-of-the-opposite-gender/ April 20th 2019 https://www.businessinsider.com/hand-gestures-offensive-countries-world-2017-6?r=US&IR=T#in-france-and-belgium-its-also-interpreted-as-offensive-signifying-zero-or-worthless-8 Note 2: I took the topic from an email I got, not from the list above. Thank you!