TEFL Potomac Indiana

A few months ago, I was teaching a class of students about different kinds of food, and one of my students asked me if I had ever eaten dog. I was really horrified. While I knew that this was cultural reality living in Korea, I had certainly never expected to be confronted with it in the classroom. Being a dog lover myself made it harder for me to respond in a way that would not be offensive to him or any of my other students. I had to suppress all kinds of reactions – revulsion, anger, and hurt because my gut reaction was that the child was being insensitive. It is times like these that I must remind myself that I am in a foreign country, in a foreign culture, that I have voluntarily CHOSEN to be here, and that I must accept this. I am not here to judge. I am not here to condemn. I am here to teach. And really, the child was not trying to be insensitive. He had no idea that what he was saying was so offensive to me. How could he? It is a cultural norm in his country, and if it had been almost any other kind of food, I probably would have had a bit of a joke with him about it. One of the most challenging things to deal with in a multicultural classroom is cultural sensitivity. A huge part of being an esl teacher is that you are dealing with students, who come from different places and cultures, and that if you really want to teach them something, they need to feel that you are not judging them, or condemning them in any way. While learning english is becoming more and more important in today's world whether your students really need it or not is still a bone of contention for many esl learners. It is important to remember that you are not only teaching a language, but that you are also acting as an ambassador for that language – the way you act and the way you treat your students is likely to play a major role in how your students feel about that language. The most important thing that any esl teacher can do is educate themselves about their students culture. The teacher needs to be aware of how the students might feel or act in certain situations. In some cultures, it is not acceptable to make eye contact with a teacher or someone who is in a higher position than you. While many people in Western culture might think this is rude, the teacher should know and understand that this is a sign of respect or deference and treat it as such. The teacher should also be aware of how doing certain things might humiliate or upset students from other cultures, even things that might be perfectly acceptable in Western culture. For example, calling someone over with your palm facing up is considered extremely rude in Korea – it is the same way that you would call a dog. Whether you feel that these things are just silly superstitions or downright illogical, they should be observed and respected. Your student is making an effort to learn english – in many ways he/ she is making the effort to communicate in your culture. The least that any esl teacher can do is show some respect and sensitivity towards the learners culture. Whether you are living in a foreign country and teaching students there, or living at home and teaching students from multiple countries and cultures, this is something that every esl teacher is faced with. Not only will you, as a teacher, have to be sensitive to the culture of your students, but you will also have to allow that they may not know what is culturally acceptable to you. In the end our goals are the same. As the teacher, it is your responsibility to make the effort to not only educate your students, but to understand them.