Assignment # 3: Share a 500-word report about a situation when a cultural misunderstanding or disconnect created an obstacle to learning in the classroom.
The following report is based on a true incident that happened in an ESL classroom.
Assignment # 3: Community Task
Jenny Carmona
TESL 160 – Transitioning to The Classroom
Assignment # 3: Community Task
Context and Challenge
Multi-level classroom with CLB levels ranging between 1- 4
in a government-funded program in an elementary School – Community
Based EAL classes with childcare. The classroom consisted of 18 students from
various cultural backgrounds. Most of the students were CLB 4.
The Challenge:
An incident happened between two cultural groups; Iraqi
and Indian female students. The teacher tells that all her female students
got along really well in the classroom, but the unfortunate incident was due
to a cultural and custom belief.
During the break, on a regular class day, two Iraqi women
"accosted" an Indian lady without being hostile or anything. The
two Iraqi women grabbed the Indian woman’s belly area and proceeded to tell
her, "You are SOOO.... fat!"
The Indian woman began to cry, which sent the Iraqi women into
confusion, and the whole class was in an uproar.
*According to the Indian female student, in the Indian
culture, grabbing parts of a woman’s belly or saying such remark, is taken
“very offensively.”
When the teacher realized there was a problem and moved
towards the situation, the two Iraqi women tried to explain that they did not
mean to offend the Indian lady and that in the Iraqi culture that gesture and
remark is a good thing.
Suggestion and Rationale
In my opinion, the incident is significantly important to
be addressed right away. My suggestion
would be to stop the lesson for a moment and talk about the differences in
cultures and the real intentions behind the Iraqi women, which was what the
ESL teacher did. Brown and Lee in Teaching by Principles, pp 295 -296, list
two principles: Unplanned Teaching and Teaching Under Adverse Circumstances.
Both of these principles call for the teachers’ judgment and decision to make
changes in their lessons. I truly believe that this situation calls for a
teachable moment in the classroom, and also the incident could be used as a platform
to teach further about the differences between cultures and practices in
Canada - what’s considered appropriate and inappropriate?
Another essential factor to consider in a situation like
this is that the role of the teacher is to keep her opinions and points of
view to him/herself and be as neutral as possible. The teacher is there to
serve as a mediator and transmit fairness and make his/her students feel
valuable and respected.
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References:
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D. P., EAL Instructor, Newcomer
Reception Facilitator, RETSD.
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Brown, D.
& Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by Principles: An
Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy (4th ed).
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Susan Verner, Busy Teacher, Classroom
Conflicts, How to Smooth Over a Cultural Clash, Retrieved from https://busyteacher.org/5972-classroom-conflicts-how-to-smooth-over-cultural.html
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Blurred
Lines: Cross-Cultural Communication Tips For The ESL Classroom https://www.fluentu.com/blog/educator-english/communication-in-the-language-classroom/
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6 Ways Teachers Can Foster Cultural Awareness
In The Classroom https://www.huffpost.com/entry/6-ways-teachers-can-foste_b_6294328