TESOL 103

  Culture and Psychology-Week 7-6/4/22 Culture presents many different beliefs. The belief about what we should grow up to become based on our gender, economic status, station, and so on shapes us more than we might like to think. In the United States, the sky is the limit and really, you can go further than that if you want. But in other cultures, there may be things in tradition or social obligations that may tether us to a certain outcome. This isn't necessarily a bad thing unless our culture is holding us back from our full potential. What is our full potential? Only the Lord knows and it isn't for any one of us to tell someone else what they should and should not make of themselves.  Now I said that in the United States any dream is open, which is only mostly true. Yes, we are an open society and like to think that anyone can do what they want. The fact is, there are subcultures within our grand culture that says otherwise. As an example, women are told to be anything they

  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