Cultural Miscommunication 5.24

Miscommunication...

It is a BIG deal. 

It can cause wars, murders and many terrible things, but let's not talk about those.

Mainly,

It can cause difficult situations or simple misunderstandings. 

Here is a compilation of HSBC Ads about Culture that are amusing but simple misunderstandings.

Teaching English to those of different cultures can be challenging.

The first and foremost problem faced in teaching is the 'Language' itself. Both teachers and learners face limitations in different ways in dealing with language. The content of the class can also be a challenge. Last but not least, culture shock can be a severe obstacle in gaining the desired goal. Some other challenges that are related to language are:

Native English speaking teachers-

Speed, accent, tone, pronunciation, and pitch can be a challenge for the learners in not being able to understand, or not following what the teacher is saying. 

Stereotyping, on the teachers and the learners part. 

Non-native speaking teachers-

Sometimes students think that non native English speaking teachers do not know much.

The Learners-

They sometimes face language shock, they experience doubt and possible confusion when using English. They are under pressure of accuracy and such.

Culture Shock-

A person can experience considerable amount of stress and anxiety when they are living in a different culture with different values from their own. It's all new and the new culture may not view some things or values the same as they are used too.

We should not push students to learn, instead try to pull them in and support them within their learning. Students will rise to our expectations if we provide them with the path. That path, consists of all the things we say and do in order to help our students learn.