Tutors! , What is the most surprising cultural insight or language barrier you've encountered?
What is the most surprising cultural insight or language barrier you've encountered while teaching students from different countries, and how did you adapt your approach to help them succeed?
6 answers from our tutors
Best answer
As a tutor, I've encountered surprising cultural insights, such as Japan's gift-giving etiquette, where refusing once before accepting shows humility.
- Neelo RamorulaESL TUTOR
I would love to have those cultural insights from students who will book me
students having various cultural background have their mother tongues which directly or indirectly influence on the language they want to learn. It include the accent and some of words which are sometimes offensive etc.
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When I had the first lesson with a student from Brazil, I thought there were many similarities among our culture and I could be less formal. On the other side, the young student was annoyed by that and he explained me that in his state it is not common to give so much confidential since the beginning. As remedy I simply started to be more accurate, more “teacher” rather than colleague who teaches a language.
Once in a lesson, my student from South Korea told me that as a young person, when drinking in the presence of adult, you have to look away as you have your drink.
Living in Asia and teaching college students, both in-person and online, has opened my eyes to the variety of communication styles that exist. One unexpected cultural insight I discovered was the importance of ‘saving face’ in some Asian cultures. Many of my students were reluctant to participate in class discussions due to the fear of making mistakes and feeling embarrassed. To better support them, I focused on creating a more encouraging atmosphere by highlighting that errors are a natural part of learning. I incorporated more pair and group activities, which provided them with opportunities to practice speaking in a less intimidating environment. Furthermore, I shared my own experiences with language learning challenges to help normalize their feelings and inspire them to take risks in their speaking:)
Other student questions
Best answer
Repeat the words a lot and give a context to it, plus the picture of it. Find synonyms, make the student create sentences using the new vocab and finally of they write down a story using these new words, they won't probably forget about them easily :)
- hello everyone please help I would like to ask if how can I get students here?
Best answer
follow the guidelines, be active, and use social media to introduce your page to potential students.
