Differences in Manners

Differences in Manners
                                                June 1, 2021       TESOL 103 Week 7

     Differences in manners between people of differing cultures can potentially bring challenges to a classroom.  Something that is good manners in one culture can mean something entirely different in another.  As a future TESOL teacher, knowing some of these
differences can help me be prepared for the issues that arise.

   Different gestures, chewing gum, feet positioning, and hand shaking,  are just a few of the customs that differ from culture to culture.  Usually an explanation, or a positive expectation can resolve challenges.  However, this might not be the case, so teaching about differences can also help.  And being prepared with the Savior's advice, to forgive 70 x 7 times gives much more latitude.

   My Western culture is basically much less respectful than Eastern cultures.  It is also less formal.  This insight explains many differences in behavior, and in basic assumptions.  Although I cannot change my whole culture's attitudes, I can make a difference in my classroom by creating a classroom culture.  This would need to be explained and determined by the students--and agreed upon together.  A culture of kindness is basically what I would like to develop.

    According to the "How Stuff Works" website, New Zealand is the most polite country in the world.  It would be interesting to find out how their culture was able to create this behavior in enough of the people there, that the country benefits.  Perhaps, they have just internalized the definition of good manners for the world:  honesty, respect and consideration.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cultural Paradigms

Image
May 18, 2021; Week 5;  Cultural Paradigms      I have lived in 21 different houses; 7 different states (in the United States); 2 different countries on two  different continents; have visited all 50 states in the U.S., and over 30 different countries on 5 of the 7  continents.  In all of these places I have found many, many good people of the world.  I have learned that  "culture" is a system of behavior that helps us act in an accepted and familiar way.  Some of those ways of behavior are different from my own--but learning about them has opened up new ways of eating, new forms of speech, and perhaps even a new way of seeing the world for me.         The barbecue from the South, and the inclusive speech of "you all" became habits hard to break.  Also  the hot dishes from Minnesota, along with the custom of just being "nice" are habits I hope to always  keep.  However, the cultural differences...
Read more

Cross-Cultural Students in the Classroom

Image
Cross-Cultural Students in the Classroom  June 1, 2021.       TESOL 103 --Week 7    In a TESOL classroom, there may be many different cultures represented.  Learning about these cultures and understanding their opinion about the American classroom they are in, can expand each student's as well as the teacher's  perceptions.  This can lead to greater understanding, tolerance, and appreciation for everyone.    For example, some Asian students expressed an appreciation for the way in which disabled students were treated in the United States.  Until I learned about this appreciation, I had taken it for granted that this was how they were treated everywhere.  It is good to learn otherwise. These same Asian students were not impressed by some of the behaviors of students in the United States.  They mentioned that they were crude and inconsiderate.  I have noticed this also about some students.  However, I hav...
Read more