10/14/201; Lesson 5: Response to "Cultural Miscommunication".

 As foreign/second language teachers, there is a high possibility we will teach students from different cultures at the same time. Therefore, it is indispensable to learn about these cultures to avoiding failure during the communication, in the other words, Cultural Miscommunication. Facial expressions, gestures, voice tone, linguistic expressions can have their meanings changed according to the cultural environment. Professor Ivers gave us a good example that illustrates how problematic a Cultural Miscommunication can be when he related his wife's experience. He described that she had a student from China, and as he was really smart he was chosen to be the student of the week. His photo and samples of his word would be placed in the hallway. When the student knew he cried a lot, and when his parents knew they were really injured. It happens because in the Chinese culture things do not work this way. There they do not appreciate the public recognition. Professor Ivers emphasized that those parents would be proud whether the recognition happened in a personal interview.

As we can notice, simple things can generate big misunderstandings.

These issues do not happen just among different countries. Big countries have great cultural diversity, and it can promote Cultural Miscommunication. Brazil is a perfect example of that. I teach in the State of Parana, and when we receive students from our neighbor, the State of Santa Catarina, our students were shocked to listen to them say a specific word naturally. It happens because this word is a swear-word in Parana. Then, as teachers, we need to be prepared to manage situations like that. We should know these cultural differences.

I always say to my students that teachers do not know everything. However, it is our responsibility to seek for answers and knowledge, and then to eliminate Cultural Miscommunication in our classrooms.