TESOL 103

  Differences in Manners-Week 7-6/2/22 The differences in manners from culture to culture are probably one of the most fascinating topics. My daughter came home from work tonight and she mentioned that a table didn't tip her. I immediately asked if they were from another culture such as Korea or Japan. Emphatically, she said NO. If those nontippers had been from those countries, it would not have been an insult, because in their custom tipping is not used. But in America, it is expected. If you do not tip, the waitress gets paid very little and it is a sign that the customer was not satisfied with the meal or service.  One can see that manners can vary greatly from one country or culture to another. This is no different when it comes to the classroom. Our students are brought up in different cultures and those cultures will be displayed in school, whether on purpose or not. Having different manners in a classroom is not a problem as long as everyone understands what the expectation

  Cross-Cultural Students in the Classroom -Week 7-5/30/22 Cross-culture is probably one of the only sure things that will happen in an American classroom. As I have taught for the last 5 years, the diversity of the classroom has amplified. I enjoy watching a multitude of cultures spread across the room which helps us learn more about the world and about ourselves.  In our public school systems, we try very hard as teachers and staff to be considerate of other cultures and beliefs. Many times we think we are doing a great job, but then are surprised that some things we thought were concerns were actually cross-culture attributes that we had not recognized. Some forms of what we thought was bad behavior, lack of interest, or shyness, were actually cross-culture behavior and we were labeling our students. I live in the Western part of the United States and we are usually not very dynamic people. We speak in fairly calm voices and tons and don't get excited in our speaking as much as

  Attributional Tendencies-Week 6-5/28/22 Attributional tendencies are an interesting concept that we all use often in our lives. Are we to blame for our successes and failures or are other circumstances or people around us to blame? In our culture, no matter what culture that might be, there is a tendency to lean one way or the other. If you succeed in obtaining a good career, is it because you worked hard and earned it, or is it because others set you up for success by helping you along the way? If you didn't get the career you wanted, is it because you were lazy or dumb, or was it because you were born into poverty and that set you up for failure? What we don't realize is that depending on the circumstance, the answer could go either way or be somewhere in the middle. Often though, we only see it one way or the other and that can be dangerous or just untrue.  In America, we often give our successes to ourselves, while in Japan, they give the successes to others. But when the

  Individualism vs Collectivism-Week 6-5/28/22 What is better, what is right, Individualism or Collectivism? That question can take us down many roads and the war on this topic has been fought for many years. It is time to drop the war and figure out how to live side by side. As you can see from the map above, a large part of the world is more of the collective mindset as shown by the red. The other part of the world, in yellow, is the individual societies. As a teacher, I see multiple different viewpoints from my students, because they come from different cultural backgrounds. Some bring with them the collective view, while others bring the individual view. In a classroom, we tend to be more of a collective unit, working as a group to learn and help each other obtain the desired learning outcomes. This can look like a class being rewarded or punished together for behavior. sometimes it is broken down into smaller collectives and rewards are based on groups of students sitting at table

 Personal Space Differences-5/24/22 Have you ever had someone come up to you and immediately you felt the need to step back because they were closer than you felt comfortable? This is due to the fact that we each have personal space distances that we are used to. For those of us who live in westernized countries, that space is larger than those in Asian countries. In America, for instance, we like about 18 inches between us and another person while talking, while in Japan, they prefer only 10 inches. When people get too close to another person's space, you will start to see things occur. First, the person will try to take a step back. and avoid eye contact. If that doesn't work, that person may feel threatened, possibly thinking there is a sexual advance or a dangerous threat being made. That is why understanding a person's cultural space is so important. Those from more familiar or close space boundaries may get labeled as too familiar and intruding, while those with furth

  Individualism vs. Collectivism In a world where every country aspires to be the at the top in their school system, we see the best and the worst immerge. In America, the dream of the politician is to have test scores that rival that of China, and yet, we never come close. What is it we are missing? In the article "The Myth of Chinese Super Schools" the author, Diane Ravitch, points out that we are missing a billion-dollar fraud industry, pushing children to attend school from 6:30am till 10:30pm, and only allowing those who pass the exams to become a part of the ruling class. This is how we need to change our country to become like the great testing nation of China. Of course, becoming like China will be no easy feat, we need to make sure to squash individualism and creativity, but that seems like a fair sacrifice to become the best testing nation. Don't worry, we will surely make it up in Nobel Peace prizes and industrial inventions just like China has in the last 50 y