Job Discussion Forums

[spiral78]

This thought came to me from another thread, where a teacher from the US who's been teaching in Asia for four years felt he/she should mention that he/she is white, when listing his/her qualifications for seeking a job in other regions (I'm not being judgemental here - it's ok with me to post the color of your skin, if you feel it's something to consider - and sometimes it genuinely IS).

But there are some interesting differences between homogeneous and heterogeneous cultures when it comes to appearances and their degree of importance in a teacher.

Here in Europe, people know that native speakers of English, like native speakers of Spanish and French and German and etc. commonly come in different colors and styles. But it seems that in Asia, perceptions of 'the look' tend to be more restricted.

I'm wondering what other effects this perception of 'correct looks' has on a classroom/learning situation, having never taught in Asia myself. I can't quite imagine what my Asian students here in the Netherlands are thinking about the mixed culture they are experiencing as they study here.

Any thoughts on this from those of you with experience would be quite useful - I'm currenly working on a project to bridge foreign students into more successful experiences here.

[steki47]

As an American teaching in Japan, I am a bit hesitant to teach "culture" as such. The differences are great and the topic can make students and teachers uncomfortable. Even little things like describing childhood memories of playing with my father can be awkward. Many of students don't see much of their fathers and so they express jealousy or think that American men are lazy because they don't work 60 hours a week. Just an example.

I have also had students make rude comments about cultural attitudes expressed by the foreign teacher. "That's weird" gets a bit annoying after a bit.

Other students are quite keen to discuss cultural variations in politics, economics and business. Those lessons can be great fun for both parties.

In short, I would make the decision on a case by case basis. Some of your students may want that, others could care less.

[gaijinalways]

[jdl]

Are we more similar than different?

http://www.chomsky.info/interviews/1984----.htm

[spiral78]

It was my question about how Asian students might see European/western culture and language. I am not teaching IN Asia - that's obviously a whole different ballgame.

But I'm interested in what people think about student perceptions of the foreign (western) cultures they may be living/studying in.

Teaching about culture when you are in the student's home country is much more sensitive, obviously.

In any case, I would never imply that one culture or trait is superior in any way. It's a matter of cracking the cultural codes in order to communicate both the message and on the level that you wish to.

In short, I would make the decision on a case by case basis. Some of your students may want that, others could care less.

You can't successfully 'care less' if you are living and studying in someone else's culture.

[steki47]

[gaijinalways]

spiral78 posted

[Glenlivet]

I think part of being a "native speaker" is that we can offer an insight into the culture of our home country. The operative word being "offer"! Certainly the Polish and Czech students seem to appreciate this approach, especially when coupled with a national stereotypes debate. Realia always works well too, English newspapers, especially if they have Polish related articles, even cutlery (they don't have soup spoons in Poland).

[echidna_of_doom]

In my experience as a Spanish student, teaching culture can be used as a crutch by a lazy teacher. �Culture� in this case usually involved chips and salsa, a pi�ata, guava paste on wafers, and a CD of mariachi music � because, of course, everyone who speaks Spanish eats chips and salsa. These �fiestas� were the teacher�s excuse to do two of his favorite things: eat and be lazy.

That being said, once I got to an advanced level with a better teacher, culture was included in ways that were beneficial. We�d read articles on subjects like the Moorish invasion of Spain, La Malinche, Spanish in the U.S. which were read and discussed in Spanish. Not only did the ensuing debate improve our Spanish in practical ways, it allowed culture to be taught in a way that reflected its complexity, which I found to be beneficial to my own interest in the language.

[spiral78]

Lazy teachers (and/or uninformed and uninventive ones) use stuff like hangman games in class too...culture's not the only picked-on aspect of language teaching that can be useful and relevant when applied with some level of intelligence, education in the field, and sensitivity to learner's real needs.

[spiral78]

...learners' ....I'm tired, sorry

[echidna_of_doom]

[spiral78]

I (and considerable research) feel that you can't realistically separate the culture from the language.

Newbie level teachers may not always need to be aware of the connections and how they can usefully be addressed, but those of us who are professional career-level teachers (IMO) do need to be aware of and to communicate effectively the ways in which culture and language are entertwined - so far as the goals of our students are impacted by the relationship.

[gaijinalways]

Culture is always there, and sometimes it's less visible. It often influences why certain phrases are worded the way they are (though sometimes the reasons are forgotten).

There are all levels of culture, and which aspects are taught will depend on the level of the students, their interests, and what topics the teacher feels comfortable approaching.

[housecattn]

The discussion on how culture applies to teaching language or not, and how the use of "manner" words occurs reminded me of a on going conversation I have had with a young Russian friend.

She is University student studying to be a language teacher. Her English is very good but has suffered from a lack of substantive interaction with native speakers.

When she says "thank you", I respond "You're Welcome" .. just as I am programed by my upbringing. She would respond with, "Don't say that" "or "why do you always say that". I would tell her that that was an appropriate response in English in most places I was a aware of. Then I would ask what would you say in Russian. She replied "nothing" or "pleased" or something equivalent to 'no need to thank'.

For a while she hard time being comfortable with it and explaining why that was so. After my trip to St Petersberg in January I finally understood why when she opened a door for me and said "You're Welcome" and smiled very big. She then explained that that was how Russian used the equivalent phrase which she had had a hard time applying to a response for thanks.

A long way to say the cultures involved can really color what seem to be very basic language uses.