Tips for Teaching Culture

Ann WintergerstJoe McVeigh

JoeMcVeigh

AnnWintergerst

Tip 1: Show how cultures may value the same thing differently

Ethnocentrism

• I’m normal – you’re different = ethnocentrism

• “our tendency to consider our own cultural practices as superior and consider other cultural practices as inferior” (Ting-Toomey 1994)– Entrepreneurs– Religion

Beliefs

• Convictions about truth or reality– Power of prayer– Alternative medicine– Possibility of humans to improve or change

lives by taking action

Values

• Our feelings about the worth, usefulness, or importance of something. Our standards or principles of what is good or right.– Constitutionally guaranteed rights– Work ethic– Importance of group membership

Attitudes

• Mental stance we take in regard to something. Also feelings or emotions.– Dislike of foreigners– Positive identification with the target language

that can increase motivation and enhance language proficiency.

Activity:Teaching culture examples

Activity 1: Cultural values clarification

Tip 2: Understand the meaning of

language in context

Understand the meaning of language in context

• Language is used differently in different contexts

• Pragmatics examines how language is used in social situations

• Intended meaning can be interpreted correctly or incorrectly in different cultural contexts.

• Context especially important part in speaking: helps identify intent of speaker

Understand the meaning of language in context

• Create an awareness of the role of pragmatics in language use.

• Take an expression that is thoughtful, polite, and courteous and then gradually make it stronger and more intense.

• Then discuss with the students under what circumstances each of these expressions might be uttered and its appropriateness.

Activity 2: Critical incidents

Critical Incidents

A critical incident offers students a brief story or vignette in which some type of cultural miscommunication takes place. Students read and discuss the incident to try to understand why the miscommunication took place and how it could have been prevented.

Critical Incidents

Steps:• Prepare copies of the critical incidents. • Divide students in small groups.• Distribute the handouts to the students. Tell them how

many incidents you want them to discuss.• Direct the students to read the incidents one at a time

and to work together to answer the questions at the top of the handout.

• As a class, discuss the critical incidents, the solutions from each group, and the area of cultural conflict described.

Critical Incidents

Take two minutes to read one of the critical incidents on page 3 of the handout. With the person next to you, discuss how the misunderstanding could have been prevented.

Critical Incidents

• Possible interpretations:

• Critical Incident 1 Appropriate forms of address in one culture may not be considered acceptable in another.

• Critical Incident 2 In English, some expressions are not to be taken literally. Antonella made the mistake of thinking that her professor had issued an invitation when he had not.

Tip 3: Surround students with stimuli from the target culture

Surround students with stimuli from the target culture

• Consider the needs of students with different learning styles and multiple intelligences

• Use posters, paintings, drawings, photographs, bulletin boards, or realia

• Newspapers, magazines, TV shows, films, songs, food

• Decorate your classroom

Activity 3: A picture is worth a

thousand words

A picture is worth a thousand words

• Bring to class a large set of pictures or posters• Ask simple questions. Have students answer.• Direct students to ask questions of each other.• Focus attention on elements of cultural

significance.• Ask students to write a brief descriptive essay

about their favorite.• Alternative: bring in smaller pictures and have

students discuss them.

Tip 4: Build awareness of social identity and roles

Build awareness of social identity and roles

• Social identity: the things we have in common with others in our cultural group and how others see us.

• Social roles are the cultural expectations of how people in a social position are to behave

• Social identity is linked to – roles – physical features– memberships

• We add to social identity by learning about our traditions, language, religion, genealogy, and social structures.

Build awareness of social identity and roles

• Social identity is complex because we belong to multiple groups

• Teachers use role play to help students analyze and recognize what social identity is.

Activity 4: Role play

Role play

• Make copies of the handout for the activity for the class.

• Explain the concept of a role play. • Form groups and assign roles. Ask students to imagine

what the character is like based on social identity and role. They might invent the name and age of the character, where the person is from, and what the person looks like.

• Give the class time to practice. Walk around and provide feedback and help as needed.

• Have students act out their role plays in front of the class.

• To finish the activity, debrief the class on their experience.

Role play: Who are you?ROLE PLAY 1 Character AYou are a doctor and a professional expert in your field. You need to see many

patients each day, so you are in a hurry. You think that your patient just has a cold.

Character BYou are an elementary school teacher. Your throat has been bothering you for

many days and you think it might be serious. You would like to have a closer examination. The doctor seems to be in a hurry and doesn’t seem to want to give you more time.

ROLE PLAY 2Character AYou are a teenage boy or girl. You have stayed out later than you were

supposed to, and you are a bit afraid that your parents will be upset. You have just arrived home.

Character BYou are the father. You have been worried about your son or daughter, and you

are upset by his or her disrespect of your rules about what time to come home.

Tip 5: Understand the

functions of non-verbal behavior

Types of nonverbal communication

• Vocalics

• Kinesics

• Oclesics

• Space

• Time

• Gesture

Functions of nonverbal behavior

• Reflect our identity

• Expressing emotions and attitudes

• Conversation management

• Forming impressions and creating interpersonal attraction– Ting-Toomey (1999)

Activity 5: Stop or go?

Stop or go?

• Introduce topic: conversation management• List possible cues: intent gaze, look past

over shoulder, enthusiastic sounds, unenthusiastic sounds, tap hand, avoid eye contact

• Choose volunteer & role play. Get students to guess cue and meaning.

• Pairs read a dialog while practicing cues• Debrief

Tip 6: Investigate how teacher andlearner expectations vary

across cultures

Investigate how teacher and learner expectations vary across cultures

• What is a “good” student?• Help students understand the cultural assumptions and

norms of the educational setting in which they are studying.

– appropriate classroom behavior– importance of group vs. individual– behavior of the teacher in international contexts – importance of class attendance– appropriate level of effort for a student– expectations of silence– nonverbal behavior – formality and informality in roles of teachers and students

• Academic integrity

Academic integrity

• Explain the reasons for rules regarding academic integrity. Discuss the reasoning behind citation conventions

• Include definitions of cheating and plagiarism. Explain institutional policies and clarify what your own response will be to infractions.

• Explain what kinds of collaboration are and are not acceptable in your course.

• Explicitly teach documentation and paraphrasing conventions in the classroom.

• Ask to see assignments and papers at various stages of development.

• Use software (for example, Turnitin) that checks for plagiarism.

Activity 6: Establish classroom behavior norms

Expectations for classroom behavior, participation, and academic integrity

• Consider your educational context and your own ideas about teaching. These will inform the way in which you conduct this activity.

• Based on your own experience and values, make a list of potentially problematic student behaviors.

• Then consider the behaviors that follow and add to the list. Write down your policy and what you intend to do if students fail to adhere to your policy.

Establish classroom behavior norms

Expectations for classroom behavior, participation, and academic integrity

Potential Problem1. A student consistently arrives late to class2. A student doesn’t pay attention during class.3. A student talks to other students and distracts them instead of paying

attention4. A student fails to complete homework assignments.5. A student presents written work that is clearly not his or her own6. A student is consistently quiet and does not participate in spoken

activities in the classroom. Your Policy and Responses• During the first weeks of your course, present students with your written

expectations for behavior. Indicate what you will do if students fail to follow the guidelines. Make it clear if any of these behaviors will have an impact on student grades for the course or will result in other disciplinary actions.

Tip 7: Examine your own cultural style

Examine your own cultural style

• We possess both a cultural style and a communication style.

• When considering communication styles, Peterson (2004) outlines a number of areas that vary from culture to culture: direct/indirect, level of formality, vocal indicators, conversation flow, nonverbal communication, eye contact, and physical distance.

• When considering cultural styles, Peterson (2004) offers eleven traits or competencies that are crucial to dealing successfully with people from other cultures:

Activity 7: Cultural style questionnaire

• Cultural self-awareness: Our own experiences with other cultures• Cultural awareness of others: Knowledge about the differences

among people, countries, and cultures• Cultural sensitivity: Respect and acceptance of other cultures• Cross-cultural communication skills: Verbal and nonverbal

behaviors that are necessary to communicate across cultures• Tolerance for ambiguity: The ability to live with uncertainty• Flexibility: The ability to adjust to other ways of doing things based on

the new culture’s practices • Open-mindedness: Understanding that there may be more than one

“right” way of doing things• Humility: The ability to consider the needs of others before our own• Empathy: The ability to put ourselves in the shoes of another to help

us understand the other person’s point of view • An outgoing personality: Someone who likes to talk with and be with

other people• Self-reliance: The ability to depend on ourselves and to act

independently

Examining cultural styles

•List the cultural competencies from Peterson on the board.•Answer any questions students may have on the vocabulary or concepts.

•Ask students to fill in the chart on the handout. Make sure students understand how the rating system works.

•To finish this activity ask volunteers to share some of their answers with the class.

• Cultural awareness of others: Knowledge about the differences among people, countries, and cultures

• Cultural sensitivity: Respect and acceptance of other cultures• Cross-cultural communication skills: Verbal and nonverbal

behaviors that are necessary to communicate across cultures• Tolerance for ambiguity: The ability to live with uncertainty• Flexibility: The ability to adjust to other ways of doing things based on

the new culture’s practices • Open-mindedness: Understanding that there may be more than one

“right” way of doing things• Humility: The ability to consider the needs of others before our own• Empathy: The ability to put ourselves in the shoes of another to help

us understand the other person’s point of view • An outgoing personality: Someone who likes to talk with and be with

other people• Self-reliance: The ability to depend on ourselves and to act

independently

Tip 8: Introduce concepts of social responsibility, ethics, and human rights

• A story from Jamaica and Haiti

• What is the goal of our teaching? More than just words.

• Connection between language, culture, ethnic/racial difference.

• Education is not neutral. (Nieto 2002) Questions about equity and social justice are at the core of education

• Need to go above and beyond basics of language and culture to develop respect and empathy

Activity 8: Thinking peace, doing peace

Thinking peace / Doing peace

• Select 4-5 photos that depict war and violence. Ask students: Why? How to prevent?

• Brainstorm ideas when hearing the word “peace”

• Discussion: How to define peace? Think of time you experienced peace. What can you do to contribute to peace at a local level?

Questions&

Discussion

Activities © 2011 Pearson Longman.

Permission granted to copy for classroom use.

Copies of PowerPoint slides and handout with bibliography available at:

www.joemcveigh.org/resources

Available online at Pearson Longman

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ISBN-13:978-0-13-245822-1

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Photo CreditsThe following photos used under a Creative Commons

Attribution license and found on flickr

Colorful Indian women “M Copy”Bracelet “The Chaine Maille Lady Anderson”Refrigerator magnets Joshua BarnetWoman listening Anton SavaraPicture frame J. D. HancockShoe shine “carboila”Role play on stage Nishanth JoisNonverbal communication David GoehringMagnifying glass Casey FleserColored lights on floor “Ishrona”Green leaves Miyuki UtadaQuestion mark Ethan LoftonThank you flower Joanne Q. Escober

Thank you !

Ann & Joe

www.joemcveigh.org