415. Encountering different cultures

Agata Zgarda asked for help to teach students of different countries. This post of hers appeared on www.teachingenglish.org.uk , the site of BBC – British Council. Underneath is my response to her post. Photo from Farsi Crop.

How diferent is it to teach students from different countries?

Submitted by Agata Zgarda on 26 July, 2010 - 23:08

I've been invited to take part in a webinar with a title (that's not the final title yet) "Cross-cultural communication". One of my ideas was to look at the communication from a different point of view: teacher-student communication, provided that a teacher is of a different nationality than a student. I am one of the examples - a Polish person teaching English in Brazil.

So for that I need to collect characteristics of English students from different countries. Have you ever had an opportunity to teach people of a diferent nationality? How would you characterize them as learners? What kind of difficulties (that come from cultural differences) did you face in the classroom? Did you need to change your approach because of cultural diferences? I'd be really grateful for your help.

Teaching students from different countries

Submitted on 4 August, 2010 - 15:42

Hello Agata Zgarda and everyone,

This circumstance of having students from other countries is increasing, as you well know.

There may be students whose L1 is Arabic, like it happens in Spain more and more. Nevertheless these children and teenagers admirably learn or acquire Spanish quite easily or early, I'd dare say. You can hear them on the street, talking either in Arabic or with their friends in Spanish.

You know a joining and making-friends activity? Ever-present football.

In my school we have had Magrebi students. You know what? They mastered Spanish! I think the necessity helps a lot, evidently. They have got to earn daily food.

A suggestion. First try giving them physical instructions in the class, aided with your gestures and movements, even somehow acting out, don't worry. An instruction like, 'Nazli, take the paper bin and put it onto this desk.' Don't mind he or she doesn't understand at first. You can fulfil the instruction yourself. With emphasis on your words, and slowly, and in a repetitive way. Praise their hit on the target when achieved.

Repeat this instruction or others on the following days, as a revision. They for granted will get glad they are able to receive messages in so a strange language like English.

Tell one student to give one instruction to the Arabic student and let that Spanish classmate do whatsoever action or prompt so as to monitor his Arabic classmate. Both students get roped more intensely in the conducting of the class.

Afterwards you can write 'paper bin' on the blakboard. And then ask the Arabic adolescent or child to fulfil the famous instruction, but you now omit saying the word 'paper bin', while tapping on that written word, on the blackboard.

Little by little the Arab will recognise the shapes and forms of that word in clear Roman characters: that's the object he or she has to pick up to fulfil the instruction.

This may be the beginning - You will need a big patience, but also you will obtain a big satisfaction when you see his/her progress. It's important for the boy, for the girl, to see you smiling and content. Non-verbal language of communication makes a good role! At that very moment you two, learner and teacher, are communicating with each other.

Then, I'm trying to finish this comment, make a student write 'paper bin' in clear big letters, on the board. Call the Arab and ask him or her just to copy the word under the English word, as better as possible.

With the passing time they may be able to write the instructions in full sentences.

So, basically, and this is the logical and psychological process to learn a foreign strange language: listening massively and trying repeating-speaking by the learner, and secondly reading and writing.

Best wishes for you. One more thing: let the Arabic student just tell things in Arabic, for the rest of his or her classmates to listen to a foreign and nice and different-texture language.

Fernando Díez Gallego

Teacher of English. Teacher trainer.

I live in Granada!, Spain. This was the land of Muslims only 500 years ago!

http://fernandoexperiences.blogspot.com

I appreciate the above helping comments by you, other teachers. My congrats.