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Whether you are a teacher or a business person living and/or working in a foreign country it is very important to support cultural diversity, which means that you are sensitive to the regional, country and cultural differences of the country you are in. It is also very important to develop strong intercultural communication skills if you want to be an effective in the country you are working in. In a classroom environment, the tone at the onset of the class is set by the leader, who is the teacher. A teacher needs to be well versed in the country she operates in, understanding the cultural heritage of the country, the religion, the language and the current state of the political climate. It also includes the appearance, communication, and the behavior whilst teaching in the classroom. All of these factors help her to sensitive to the environment she will help create to support a learning environment for her students. For example, if a teacher was teaching in South Korea and wanted to have name tags made for each of their students, providing a red marker to the students to write their names would be completely unacceptable, because in South Korea, only the names of dead people are written in red ink. Giving praise to students is a very positive thing to do in the classroom, especially in South Korea, where students appreciate being recognized for their success, whilst at the same time, criticizing or making fun of a student in South Korea can be very inappropriate due to the Asian concept of “saving face.” A student who “loses face” through a harsh criticism or being made fun of, loses respect amongst their peers, and this means that their social standing, dignity and honor are at risk, so teachers should avoid criticizing or making fun of students in a classroom in South Korea. A teacher needs to be sensitive to the cultural diversity in her classroom and this means that her students should not all be lumped into one bucket. Getting to know her students at an individual level is still the most effective way to build a relationship based on trust, which is at the root of learning. So, yes cultural identity is key, but the individual is also key and when you have both of these then you can build a curriculum that supports a great learning environment. A teacher needs to make her curriculum relevant and engaging. Knowing more about the background of the students she is teaching will allow for devising such a curriculum. For example if she is going to incorporate arts & crafts into the curriculum for Young Learners, frequently teachers defer to the well-known artists in the West but what if she was to select a lesser known artist from a country that one of her students represents, this could have a great effect of giving the student pride in their heritage as well as allowing other students in the classroom to learn more about that student’s cultural background. Overall, a teacher needs to reflect on her own cultural biases and ensure that she overcomes any pre-determined thoughts about the students she may be teaching. She needs to utilize the community around her to learn more about the local culture and customs. Tapping into the learning community, other teachers and/or parents will help support that effort. Last, allowing students to have choice, allowing them to express themselves, keeping the classroom environment relaxed and creating a space where students feel safe to learn is the surest way to success!
