How to Approach Teaching Students of Different Nationalities and the Problems that May Arise
Becoming an English teacher can present many great opportunities, among such may be learning the skill of navigating issues and culturally sensitive situations unique to instructing students with a wide array of nationalities. Much of this skill comes from learned experience but a teacher who has had proper training and time for adequate research can steer though these issues with greater ease.
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This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Brynn G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.
Linguistic Issues
Putting aside cultural matters for the moment, the strictly linguistic issues that may come to fruition in a multi-national classroom are plentiful. The most obvious being the differences in mother tongue between the students, which can be a blessing and a curse for the instructor. On the positive side, it frequently gives the students no other choice but to converse in English. A drawback, vast differences in pronunciation issues that can come from having so many students with different lingual backgrounds. Some students will inevitably have different challenges than others and to combat this the instructor will need to find a good balance of pair-work, choral drilling and one-on-one assessments to ensure that the class moves along at the same pace. Another linguistic issue that one may encounter is how the teacher conducts and communicates the class. Without the linked mother tongue to communicate in if the need arises, for example, if a student doesn't understand the activity at hand, students may become confused and intimidated by the work. Therefore, an instructor should take special care to be very clear in their dictation and approachable for any questions that might come up. If the students can't ask each other for help and are to intimidated to ask the instructor they can become easily disheartened and will not increase incomprehension.
Also Read: Do I need a passport to teach English abroad?
Cultural Signs
Linguistic issues aren't the only problems that a teacher may encounter, however. With every nationality present in the class come a whole host of cultural issues and stigmas, political sensitivities, religious differences, and moral ambiguities. A good teacher should be adaptive and hyper-aware of problems that could stem from any insensitivity to these topics. For example, when choosing topics for discussions or role-plays some are better off avoided in such diverse classrooms, military service can be a touchy subject, as can one's wealth, medical conditions or the morality of others. A teacher would not want to accidentally instigate a political fight or assign favoritism to a specific religion, doing so can not only distract from the lesson but could damage rapport or discourage future participation. All of this, of course, would rely on the teacher's discretion, they would ideally have a good grasp on the student's cultures and with research could root-out any hot topics to avoid or subjects that could make the class uncomfortable. Just because a topic might be appropriate for an Indian student who practices Hinduism doesn't does mean it will be appropriate for a Muslim student from Yemen or a Japanese student, or a Venezuelan.
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This is just a brief look into a few issues that an instructor could come across, but in reality, there are many more and frequently one might not be able to foresee them until they are right in front of them. In this instance, as in all of the teaching, one of the most important skills to have is the ability to be flexible and adjust. Every class will be as different as with students within it, and a good teacher should be able to read the room and cater to the student's diverse needs, both linguistically and culturally.
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