10/31/2017; Lesson 08: Response to "Deep Culture in the Elementary School".

DEEP CULTURE IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

As EFL teachers, it is natural to teach some cultural characteristics to our students. Holidays, food, fashion, flags, festivals, music, and language are examples of what we usually have taught in our classrooms. However, is this enough to make our students aware that there are differences in the way that people live and see the world? No, this is not. Our students will not infer these things. We need to show them that their lifestyle is not the only one in the world.

Deep culture is this culture beyond elementary characteristics. It makes us realize why certain things happen in a different way according to their social and cultural environments. Therefore, I think it is important to start as soon as possible. Usually, students in the Elementary Classrooms are excited to learn new things, and they do not judge immediately. They accept the different easier than the older students. We can teach the diverse interpretations of gestures, manners, or levels of expressivity. We can incorporate these themes in our classes through fun activities, and always reinforcing the importance of respect for everyone. This way, our students will be prepared to think and to discuss these questions deeply in the high school.

10/26/2017; Lesson 07: Response to "Cultural & Psychology".

CULTURAL AND PSYCHOLOGY

I am Brazilian, and when I think in my own culture, I can see elements that affect people judgment. The public education system has been stereotyped as bad and the private one as good. Consequently, it reflects in the self-esteem of the students from public schools. Many times, they feel inferior when compared to the students from private schools. Even in sports competitions. They always think themselves as less smart or less capable.

 I think this happens because we have a capitalist society and people have the necessity to belong to it. They believe that money brings happiness, intelligence, and acceptance. Good examples to illustrate it are in my professional life. This year, I am working in two schools. One is near to downtown and the families have good purchasing power. Another is on the outskirts and families have lower purchasing power. The first school does not have problems with the use of uniform nor cellphones in class. On the other hand, in the second students are continuously disobeying the rules. They love to expose their cell phones and branded clothing. Many times, families do not have the essential to live inside their homes but their children have the most modern smartphone. Our capitalist culture says that it is the right.

I believe we as teachers can show to our students that things do not work this way. I like to share with them examples of other students' overcoming. Girls and boys that achieved the success through the studies and hard-working even though they being of humble origins. So, I hope to make them believe themselves and change their own future.

10/24/2017; Lesson 07: Response to "Differences in Manners".

DIFFERENCES IN MANNERS

      Professor Ivers taught us about the importance of to be aware of the cultural differences in manners around the world. We live in a globalized world, therefore there is a great chance of interact with people from other cultures where things happen in a different way. As for instance, here in Brazil most of the people greet each other with a kiss on a cheek, even if is the first time they are talking. On the other hand, Asian countries do not have similar physical contact. In some cultures, we should not keep our arms on the table during the meal, and in others, belching will be a sign that you really enjoyed the meal.

      Mary M. Mitchell describes her friend experience with differences in manners in her article "Modern Etiquette: Different cultures have different greetings" (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-etiquette-olympics-cultures/modern-etiquette-different-cultures-have-different-greetings-idUSBRE87519320120806). According to Mary, Gabi Cipollone was impressed by cultural diversity that she witnessed during the Moscow Olympic Games. Mary concluded that to Gabi it was an adventure to meet new people from other nations.

Nowadays, with all technology that we have in our hands, there are no excuses to do not try to know the people that we will interact and this way to avoid misunderstandings and disrespect to others and their culture.

10/24/2017; Lesson 07: Response to "Cross-Cultural Students in the Classroom".

CROSS-CULTURAL STUDENTS

IN THE CLASSROOM

I have been a teacher since 2010, and this is the first time I am being instigated to think about cross-cultural students in my classroom. During all these years, I believed the important was to have knowledge of what I was teaching, and how to teach it and how to control my students. I did not worry about the cultural characteristics of my students. Now I know it was a huge mistake. Here in Brazil, there are not many foreign students in our classrooms, but as a big country, we have a great cultural diversity. Our States were colonized by many different countries. Therefore, I think it is really important to know these particular characteristics to avoid misunderstandings in my classrooms.

Knowing that my Asian students do not look at my eyes when I am talking to them because in their culture it will be rude, or that African students talk louder than I am accustomed because it is their cultural heritage and not because they are angry is much better than I think they are disrespecting me.

A good environment in my classroom will depend on what I am doing to know my students better. It is not enough to know what to teach, but I must know who I am teaching.

10/21/2017; Lesson 06: Response to "Attributional Tendencies".

ATTRIBUTIONAL TENDENCIES

Attributions are conclusions that people use to justify events or behaviors. They can be Internal or External. Internal attributions relate the consequences of some behavior or event to personal factors. For example, if a student gets an A on a test, he/she will conclude that it happens because he/she studied hard and consequently, he/she deserves this grade. External attributions relate the consequences of same behavior or event to situational factors. For example, if a student gets an A on a test, he/she will conclude that it happened because he/she had great teachers, consequently, his/her teachers deserve the merit.

Cultures can influence attributional tendencies. People from individualist cultures tend to show internal attributions on their success and external attributions on their failures. On the other hand, people from collectivist cultures tend to demonstrate external attributions on success situations and internal attributions on failure ones.

Knowing these differences can help us avoid wrong judgments. Sometimes, a low grade of students in a test is justified by the pressure that they suffer at home, even by themselves, and not because they did not study.

Keeping these attributional tendencies in mind, as teachers, we can help our students the best way to deal with their success and failures without harming people around them.

10/21/2017; Lesson 06: Response to "Personal Space Differences".

PERSONAL SPACE DIFFERENCES

In general, we can define personal space as the space of air that we need around us to feel comfortable with other. It can be subjective, but there are similarities in each culture. According to Amanda Erikson, in The Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/04/24/how-close-is-too-close-depends-on-where-you-live/?utm_term=.16859cae377a), some researchers sort the world into "contact cultures" (South America, the Middle East, Southern Europe) and "non-contact cultures" (Northern Europe, North America, Asia). In the first one, people have less difficulty with proximity. There are more visual and physical contacts among people. On the other hand, in the second one, people avoid visual and physical contacts. They do not like to have their personal space violated. Therefore, it is always important to observe the body language of others to not cause misunderstandings. And in extreme cases, like crowded environments, these characteristics can be neutralized temporarily.

As a rule, Brazilians are known as warm people. There are visual and physical contacts like hugs and kisses on the cheek, even in strange people. However, in the South region, people have a heritage of Northern Europe, and consequently, we are seen as cold, or even rude people. Two months ago, I went a doctor and I felt really uncomfortable when he greeted with a kiss on my cheek. Next week, I am going to see the same doctor and I am suffering since now because I will greet him with a kiss. He is not wrong, neither I am. We just have different points of view about personal space limits.

In our ESL/EFL classrooms, we probably will be faced with both kinds of students, and we will know what is going on. For that reason, it will be important to try to find a balance. Students and teachers must respect each other and their particularities. And whenever possible, teachers should bring these topics to the classrooms, and this way students could learn why certain attitudes differ among them. Many times, my Northeastern students think that I am an unfriendly teacher because to them it is normal to talk close and touch the other person during conversation, but to me, it is too much. Fortunately, I am working on my own perceptions and I hope do not scare my dear students anymore.

10/19/2017; Lesson 06: Response to "Individualism vs. Collectivism".

INDIVIDUALISM vs. COLLECTIVISM

AND EFL/ESL CLASSROOMS

Studying a little bit about individualist and collectivist cultures makes me think how challenging can be to be a teacher. It is not just to know what to teach, and how to assess the students' knowledge. It is a mission. Students are complex creatures living in a complicated world, and we, the teachers, need to help them to survive.

When we analyze the individualist and collectivist cultures we can learn important differences. Countries where individualism is predominant, values as self-sufficiency, self-determination, self-competence, self-direction, self-reliance, and self-responsibility are encouraged. Children are heard and their opinions are considered, and students are encouraged to be creative. On the other hand, countries where collectivism is predominant, students are encouraged to memorize information and to study to get high scores. Citizens are a part of a whole. Success is attributed to all, as well as failure.

Professor Ivers exemplified the situation above through the story of the Japanese baseball players. They were all punished for a car accident because the driver was drunk. And after that, their parents and coach publicly apologized to the community. In an individualist country, the driver would be the only one punished.

Individualist and collectivist characteristics can cause misunderstanding in our classrooms. For example, if an Oriental student did not look at me while I was talking to him/her, I would consider it disrespect. However, now I know that Oriental students show respect for elderly not looking in the eyes during the conversation. This knowledge is as important to teachers as to other students. As teachers, we must show these differences to our students and connect them to other realities.

How can we manage individualistic and collectivistic characteristics in our EFL/ESL classroom?

I believe respect and knowledge can help teachers involve all students in a successful teaching-learning process. Teachers must know these differences, teach and respect them.