Teach English in Taolin Zhen - Weifang Shi

Cultural sensitivity is the knowledge, awareness, respect and acceptance of other cultures. This comes into play when teaching a native language to somebody of a different culture and being a language student to a culturally different teacher. This is an especially important skill to have when working in the business realm. To further the business many companies seek to globalize, and as a result, encourage their employees to learn a global language. As an English teacher looking to work abroad, and those currently doing so, it’s important to be aware of the culture and customs to avoid offense and misinterpretation. It’s in everyone’s best interest to initially remain formal and polite when talking with someone of a different culture. It’s also a good idea to know basic customs/ mannerisms for both the professional and casual settings. For example, I’m looking to teach in Japan. Instead of shaking hands, a custom found in American formal situations, it’s more common to bow upon greeting someone (often to the depth of the other person). I have heard from natives that they don’t expect every foreigner to understand and correctly mimic Japanese customs, but it will assist in gaining respect by showing it first. As a foreigner, it’s also a good practice to avoid discussing politics and religion. As a teacher, this should never happen within the classroom. A teacher is there to teach English, not discuss personal beliefs and opinions. To bring Japan back as example, they are very much a collectivist country, and are hesitant to share personal opinions and ideas, for fear of standing out. In the instance we are unsure how to act and what to say, it’s a good idea to simply ask your employer or fellow English teachers for advice. Cultural sensitivity also needs to be brought into the classroom. Each culture will have it’s own methods to teaching, student-teacher relations and expected student roles. We need to remain calm and patient with students and try to understand how other classes’ function. We are unable to force an one hundred percent English style class onto them. Within Japan, it’s not common for teachers to joke around with the students, use sarcasm and constantly ask for students opinions/ input. Especially in the business environment where their higher management maybe in the classroom, they do not want to stand out or be made fun of in front of their subordinates. Teachers need to understand both the business customs and typical classroom/school customs. There is, however, potential for students to relax over time (and for advanced students to potentially take on an English mindset in English scenarios) as they gain confidence in using and understanding English. When considering the business environment, I believe it’s a good idea to make business students aware of some general customs and mannerisms of English natives. These business clients are studying English with the aim to work with and communicate with English speakers and businesses. For example, teaching a basic formal introduction common in America, teaching related vocabulary, phrases and role-playing those scenarios. It’s common to shake hands instead of bowing, asking ‘How are you today?’ as a friendly greeting, and even the common use of first names (situation dependent) rather than strictly last in a business setting. I believe it’s also important to make students are of American opinion sharing. They may deal with American clients or business partners, who potentially may share opinions, rather than agreement or compliance. Its not intended offense but rather a culture built on the idea that a group of individuals work together to shape and grow a company. This applies to Japan specifically, where their culture often deems it as insubordination to share opposing ideas to superiors and is often scared of standing out from the consensus. These two cultures contain very different ideas, customs and mannerisms. Students may not agree but it is important for all parties involved to be culturally sensitive, especially in business settings to get the most out of the trade. We need to accept and respect our differences to move forward. Sharing these to students doesn’t need to be the main focus of the lesson, but rather used as an awareness springboard for language points. After all, the goal is to work with English speakers to advance their company. There is also potential to share their customs in English to English speakers, developing a global cultural sensitivity outside the classroom. This preemptively avoids potential misunderstandings. Sharing these differences also provide practice for students to learn common language they’ll most likely come across, and eventually use, in the Business English world.