18 February 2020

Week 7 Cross-Cultural Students in the Classroom

As teachers we should be aware of the culture the learners come from. This does not only mean the culture of the country they come from, but also the family values they have. Sometimes respect in one country can be seen as sarcasm in another country. One of my grandsons has spent his last five years in Australia. His father is African American from the south and his mother is our daughter. Their children say sir and mam. They came back to the United States and our grandson started school in North Carolina. He is eight years old and said the children in the class are rude and loud. He has been in Australia most of his life and the children are usually not loud in the classes. This was a sock to him.

Many difficulties can come up when students and teachers might misunderstand one another because of cultural understandings. Students need to know it's alright to ask questions and discuss the lesson material. Students might feel uncomfortable giving their opinions about the lesson material. Perhaps students have nt been allowed to do that before. They might think other students are rude speaking back at the teacher. 

It’s true in many places in the world Americans are considered loud in public. It is a culture shock for many students to come here from other countries. It’s also a learning process for them to open up with their opinions in class. I ask the learners to raise their hands to comment or ask questions.  Some are loud and I tell them I can not hear them any better if they are loud and speak out of turn. The classroom rules need to be established at the beginning of term and even written up on a poster on the wall.