WEEK 7 - CROSS-CULTURAL STUDENTS IN THE CLASSROOM

 

Ceará is a state in Brazil located in the northeastern part of the country. Due to a governmental agreement, some university students came to Caxias do Sul to know the culture of the south. On the first days, they were upset because gaucho students were disrespectful and insulted them to go back to Ceará. Cruel words such as "you are lazy people, and the south feed your state." Our professor had heard the rude comments and brought those students to take part in our class the entire week. By doing so, gauchos and cearences compared both cultures and learned from each other. Fortunately, our professor was smart enough to see they had important things to teach us. We found out that cearenses enjoy singing their typical songs and dress in their typical clothes as gauchos do. They sang, danced, and laughed all the time at recess. They always talked to each other happily if the professor was not in class, but if he was there, everybody was in silence. Even though they were noisy people outside the classroom, they never disrespected the professor, and they never arrived late in class either, different from some gauchos in Caxias do Sul. We recognize that they are expressive and very dynamic, so students from the south began respecting students from the northeastern region.

That was an experience between two states from the same country. Now, imagine the same situation with foreigners. According to Mr.  Ivers, “outsiders can sometimes see the real culture better than insiders can.” Based on his experiences and interviews with foreigners, Mr. Ivers taught what Asians see as they study in American universities. They are impressed with the American educational system, how the disabled are treated and have privileges. Classes provide students “opportunity for asking questions, engaging in critical thinking, and participating in a dialog with the professor”. Students and professors have a good relationship. Students can talk to their instructors, and visit them in their offices without being intimidated. I was speechless by hearing Mr. Ivers read the Asians’ answers. For sure, my comprehension of cross-cultural understanding expanded. I have never thought that a student couldn’t ask or participate in a dialog with the professor.

What about the Asians’ feelings about American students? They consider American students rude and disrespectful to their teachers. They talk to each other while the teacher is teaching. They pack up their things while the teacher is still talking; they all leave the room before the teacher ends the content, or they don’t allow the teacher to complete his or her point. And the weirdest thing is that a teacher apologizes when arriving late, but American students don’t do that. 

We need to consider that different cultures will lead people to measure behavior according to what they live. Most of the time, what seems disrespectful for Asians is not impolite for Americans. It will depend on the culture where people come from. Yes, people usually judge others by their paradigms. Therefore, as ESL teachers, we must comprehend the foreigners will act by their cultural rules, and we can't put on them a label according to our paradigms.