Teach English in Chengbei Zhen - Linyi Shi

what does it mean to be culturally aware? To me, it is more than just a Google search on the Internet. it is immersing yourself in a new environment by stepping out of your comfort zone and learning the different mannerisms; ways of speaking, ways of communicating in another culture. Every culture comes with their own niche; their own way of doing things. In my experience I am from a big city where we just cut to the chase, it is what it is, what we have to say is what we have to say. We don't soften the edges, because we don't have time for that. But when you go down to the South, it is chill and laid back, and it may take somebody a lot longer to give instructions. One of the best ways to identify that is, up North in Chicago, my big city one person would give direct instructions. Whereas in the South, say as a country town Georgia, one would give instructions with details and a storyline. It is important to understand the culture that you're going to in order to teach effectively. Is very important to know what disrespectful body language is and to know what OK is to say. As body language and verbal cues are all different no matter where you go. In Thailand it's very disrespectful to Pat somebody on the head, as the head is a sacred place. But in South Georgia it's commonplace for teachers to be physical, such as a Pat on the head saying you're doing a good job. And that is why it's important to understand the culture going to. you're trying to build a rapport, so the students can learn effectively, you're trying to establish understanding between you and the student. A first step in developing competency in another culture is to be aware of the issues that are multicultural and how they manifest themselves in the classroom. You can start by considering some of your assumptions that you may hold already about the learning behaviors and capacities of your students. Such as, in America students will seek help when they're struggling with the class. They will come to you and say, “I do not understand this”, however in other cultures such as Latin American cultures it may be disrespectful to interrupt and to come forward with their lack of understanding. So how can one be culturally aware in a classroom? Anticipating possible responses to controversial topics in the classroom should be encouraged, allow the students to openly share their views during discussions but be prepared to crush stereotypes and challenge the student’s assumptions when comments are exchanged. it can be difficult to reconcile tension between challenging offensive speech and not suppressing free speech. You should also consider your own response to emotions in the classroom and use this as awareness, don't let your emotions dictate what you're going to say. Keep in mind the importance of facts over feelings. another way is you can establish some guidelines early in the class. Keep discussions open during your class, keep in mind though, you may have to remind students periodically throughout the semester that their behavior is not acceptable, but only if it suggests that they may be ignoring these guidelines. Another thing you can do is you can use a variety of methods to create different learning groups. Group composition can have a significant impact on group functioning which is why it's always wise to have a variety of methods on hand. you can try assigning students by group integration, race, gender, mix up the groups and see what happens. Another way is to be on point. be ready to challenge assumptions that some groups may have aided or hindered in by their environment. In some cultures, men may feel obligated to help the females in a class because they don't feel that she understands it the same way that he would. Again, you can spend some time informing the class that everyone every person is an individual, teach that individuals bring different combinations of strengths and weaknesses. utilizing group exercises to identify specific resources each group member brings, can be useful in the early stages of your group formation but it is also important to inform the students of your availability to discuss problems that the groups may be having and be ready to address these issues. One of the best ways to integrate cultural awareness and to get to know your students personally is by asking questions. don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone to understand them. The best part about teaching in another country is the cultural experience. yes, you may encounter a little bit of a culture shock but that's the excitement in at all. An activity you can use to get know your students is to have them write an autobiography as this utilizes their English and at the same time, you're getting to know your students, and their culture. As a teacher in a different culture you need to be careful about comments that you may make during your lectures and discussions. know some comments that are not fully explained may inadvertently invoke stereotypes or promote inaccurate conclusions. Some examples of these topics are religious, historical or other events that have the potential to lead students to believe in falsified truths. so be aware of what you're saying, be aware that you are in a different environment. By being aware you're conditioning not only yourself, but you’re teaching the students to have an open mind. one of the most important ways to overcome the cultural differences is to create a classroom environment that encourages and expects questions. As a teacher encourage critique and critical thinking. This will facilitate the learning process for all students, have them constructively criticize each other. The benefit by being exposed to different interpretations is perspective/viewpoints. it helps to expose different concerns regarding course material. The environment can provide an opportunity for students to add to the course content, by correcting any inaccuracies or misrepresentations related to the experience of their own groups. By staying open minded it helps you to keep that feeling factor out of your instructions, it keeps the facts open. be prepared for students to publicly challenge you they're going to challenge you with inaccurate information about groups, they may react strongly upon hearing what they perceived to be inaccurate and negative about their own country’s culture. by giving serious consideration that some of these students are minorities and hearing their viewpoints encourage students to respond honestly about issues but also encouraging them to think more broadly about these issues. Again, I want to touch back on being aware of gender dynamics in classroom discussions even when women are in the majority, men may sometimes consciously or unconsciously dominate class discussions or interrupt women. And depending on where you're from that may be seen as disrespectful but understanding the culture that you're in, you need to keep in mind that this may be the social norm but as a teacher is your job to monitor and remember that you are a facilitator. So, it is important for you to teach that this behavior is unacceptable and encourage these women to speak up, and that everyone, even women can have a voice. Be sure to always include multiple perspectives on each topic of courses, rather than focusing solely on a single perspective. keep in mind you are in a different environment and people have different viewpoints. everybody has their own best way of doing things. so, keeping these different perspectives in mind when teaching in the classroom, you must develop not only that rapport but that open mind. Again, while being cultural aware it is important to understand the culture you are being immersed in, but it's also important for the students to understand the culture that you are from. This bridges that gap between teacher and student, foreigner to citizen. So why is being culturally aware important? it is important because we're all different, no two people are the same, no two people have experienced the same life. And by understanding this we create a broad dynamic for learning and development; not only as a student or teacher; but as a human being.