W07 Blog: Cross-Cultural Students in the Classroom

 As previously mentioned, different cultures practice social aspects in various ways.

In most of the United States we tend to be extremely informal. However, in various parts of the country, such as the South, respect of teachers, parents, etc. is practiced. Therefore, if someone from the South visited another part of the United States where saying 'yes, ma'am' is not expected, then the person may be judged or their remarks may even be viewed as sarcastic.

We have also talked about cultural expressivity. Some cultures are not very expressive in the classroom, as a form of respect to the teacher, but other cultures use body language in addition to words to fully express an answer.

Understanding your students' cultures will help you better teach and interact with your students. One student may not speak much because they were taught that respecting their elders means to only speak when spoken to and to not include additional anecdotes. While another student may appear to speak louder and more often, because in their culture they are expected to participate often and create camaraderie with both their peers and their teacher.