326 Part V: What Kind of Class Will I Have?
Going beyond language: Teaching culture
Some of us are fortunate enough to have been brought up in a multicultural
society so that it’s nothing new or strange to have a mixture of races, cultures
and languages around us.
There is a knack to showing interest without appearing ignorant or
acknowledging differences without alienating anyone. In a class with many
different nationalities you sometimes find that students from mono-cultural
societies lack these skills and are in danger of making gaffes.
Unfortunately, students sometimes bring their prejudices with them to the
learning environment. Some problems I have encountered so far are:
✓ Students from neighbouring countries can display animosity towards
each other based on historical or political factors.
✓ Some males feel that they are superior to female students (and female
teachers).
✓ One student’s religious beliefs may be undermined by others, for example
the observance or non-observance of particular festivals or the need to
pray at particular times.
✓ Differing opinions on sexuality might be offensive to some.
✓ Stereotyping might result in a failure to accept as a native speaker, a
teacher who doesn’t fit the student’s perception of Britishness (a black
teacher for example) or a student whose physical characteristics are not
typical of his nationality.
✓ Students may use inappropriate gestures or expressions to refer to
someone of another race.
✓ A dodgy sense of humour with inappropriate jokes which the student
feels the strange compulsion to translate into English.
By all means, deal with problems as they arise but there are also some
preventative measures which might help: Promote an atmosphere of mutual
respect by asking students to share information about their backgrounds at a
class level and showing real interest in what they say.
Occasionally you encounter students who resent the dominance of the English
language and the political histories of English speaking nations. When you
enquire about the student’s culture and demonstrate that you view it as equal
to your own it helps to break down these barriers.
