Teach English in Bicheng Jiedao - Chongqing

Cultural sensitivity in the classroomMark Twain expresses, through this poetic quote, many of the current conflicts that second language learners are received with when immersing in the foreign country where they are studying. Sad to say, but travel not always eliminates these attitudes. As an ESL instructor, making sure that cultural sensitivity in the classroom is acknowledged and respected should be top priority. Having taught English to adults in a multilingual setting for many years, I can name a few situations where cultural sensitivity had to be addressed. One scenario was when students, as a class, had to adapt to many cultural differences about their Muslim classmates. Whether it was their dress code, their observance of holy days, or their clear distinction of gender roles, non-Muslim students were led and informed about these differences by their own Muslim peers. This served as a great opportunity to activate the English language and to get informed about a topic that was obscure. In the first couple of weeks of class, though there was no disrespect amongst each other, there was a subtle confusion and misunderstanding by part of the non-Muslim students. For example, doing pair work with a woman whose eyes and hands were the only parts of the body exposed took a bit of getting used to for the Asian and Latin American students. Questions and intrigue oozed through their body language; why are you covered in a black robe (thobe)?, why can?t you do pair work with other Muslim men?, why aren?t all Muslim women covered in black robes (thobes), what?s the difference? These and many other questions were answered to not only satisfy the curiosity of the class but also to educate through open communication in order to be culturally aware, respectful and sensitive to their lifestyle. As a teacher, being culturally sensitive to the fact that Muslim women preferred to work in class with other women and not with men (specially Muslim men), helped to provide a safer and less stressful environment for the female Muslim students as well as for me. However, there was one particular action from the Muslim women that I did not understand, and later had to deduce. Most of my female Muslim students wanted to work with other female Muslim students and not with any other. At first, I tagged this as ?click-ish? and obnoxious; only to later conclude that it is how they have been doing it for centuries in their culture, with very little room for outsiders. As the weeks and months progressed, all students gained a sense of comfort with each other and with the class atmosphere and were engaging one with another without any signs of doubt. Another example of being culturally sensitive in class is by confronting stereotypes before they become an issue in your class (though it tends to be an unexposed issue, it?s still an underlying issue that needs to be addressed). I tend to do this in a comical way since my family is originally from colombia, South America and I can put myself first as an example of stereotyping. Unfortunately, many of us stereotype people and generalize them depending on where they are from, what they look like or what they believe in. So I begin with a Direct Speech dialogue of a scenario that I, and countless other Colombians, have encountered at a party. They say: You are from colombia I say: Yes They say: Do you have some weed or cocaine in your purse??.hahahaha! I say: No?(and walk away feeling stereotyped) This dialogue initiates some laughs and ignites a series of examples from all my students and their personal stories. These are just some that the students themselves have come up with: all Asians are smart and eat rice; all Arabic speakers are terrorists or know someone who is a terrorist; all Americans eat fast food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; all British people drink tea; all Indians are engineers or work in a Call Center; all Saudis have oil and camels in their backyards, etc. We finally end up (jokingly!) blaming everyone else for their ignorance, unaware that we too, at some moment in our lives, may have been guilty of such an awful attitude. All in all, I believe it is the duty of an instructor to set the standard on the level of cultural sensitivity that there should be in the classroom. This can only be achieved by leading through example and by dealing with cultural issues as soon as they arise. All of this will enhance the positive learning environment of the class, and the students will be able to continue adding to each others? experience instead of subtracting from it.