Problems facing educators

2010-03-22 - Steve Brooks

The new teacher on his first day in a classroom abroad; he introduces himself, tells the students where he comes from, and then asks them what kind of picture they have of his country.

Silence…

Eventually the new teacher asks one of the students for his opinion. Again, silence; but this time accompanied by a silent resentment that the teacher has picked him out for special treatment; a resentment, furthermore, shared by all his other classmates. First impressions count, and this new teacher must now overcome a certain residual hostility next time he comes to take that class.

What went wrong? Did the teacher make a mistake? Well, yes and no. His approach may have been perfectly appropriate for a classroom in England or America. But in a culture where students are not encouraged to ask questions, and where their opinion on anything has never been canvassed before, perhaps his approach needed to be modified.

This scenario is typical of some of the problems facing educators in a foreign country. In this case the students had very different expectations regarding the role of the teacher. The teacher was expected to dispense information, not engage the students in a dialogue.

What, then, can the teacher do? To understand these kinds of cultural nuances needs time, patience and a willingness to learn with an open mind. Not much help, perhaps, to our unfortunate teacher trying to plan his next lesson with that very same class tomorrow morning! In the meantime, he must seek out advice from other teachers who have faced these cross-cultural dilemmas, and then work out for himself where to go from there.

These are the kinds of challenges that face a teacher venturing out abroad for the first time. No-one should underestimate the problems involved. On the other hand, there are many rewards too. Eventually our new teacher will come to an accommodation with local norms. He will understand how to work with his students’ very different styles of learning and study, but will at the same time try to introduce his students to new modes of independent and creative thought. In this way, through teaching, he will gain an education himself into how other peoples and cultures see the world.

Qualifications for teaching abroad vary. Some countries will accept teachers armed with only an English teaching certificate. Others require a university degree and some prior teaching experience.