Encouraging cultural sensitivity in the classroom

A teacher sat at the front of the classroom smiling at his students.
Reading time: 7.5 minutes

In today's classrooms and schools, cultural sensitivity isn't just a nice to have; it's an essential component of effective language teaching.ÌýAs educators, understanding and valuing the diverse cultures that learners bring into our schools and classrooms can bridge gaps and foster inclusive learning environments.

But why is cultural sensitivity so important, and how can we practically incorporate it into our teaching? In this post, we explore ways to help language teachers cultivate a more culturally aware and inclusive classroom.

Why is cultural sensitivity important in language education

Teaching languages, including English, involves a significant cultural component; therefore, we must proceed with mindfulness and respect.ÌýRecognizing and honoring the cultural backgrounds of our students lays the groundwork for nurturing a safe space where everybody feels seen, heard, and respected. This isn't just about avoiding misunderstandings or conflicts; it's about enriching the educational experience for all.

Language encompasses more than just vocabulary and grammar; it is a conduit of culture, identity, and worldviews. As an educator, you possess the wonderful opportunity to nurture and encourage your students, allowing each voice to soar individually while harmoniously contributing to a greater collective comprehension.

Students are better prepared for the workplace

Embracing cultural diversity within the classroom arms students with a set of skills that are invaluable in the workplace. An example can be found in ' by Bruce Nussbaum. Nussbaum explores how creativity emerges at the intersection of different cultures and experiences.

In a business context, this creativity is the driving force behind innovation and problem-solving. Students who have learned to navigate cultural nuances are adept at thinking outside the box, making them valuable assets in any professional environment.

They are more likely to approach challenges with an open mind and collaborate effectively with a diverse team, recognizing that each unique background contributes to a richer, more comprehensive perspective on work and the world.

It improves social skills

Incorporating cultural sensitivity into language education isn't just about creating a respectful classroom; it directly enhances students' social skills.

Numerous studies suggest that culturally diverse classrooms are breeding grounds for advanced social skills.ÌýOne theory that explores this concept is , which illustrates how intercultural encounters can foster individuals' cognitive growth and emotional resilience.

Bennett states that through various stages of cultural awareness, people develop from mere tolerance of difference to integration of diverse cultural viewpoints into their own life experiences.

Students can develop empathy and stronger communication abilities by understanding and appreciating cultural nuances. This knowledge empowers them to engage thoughtfully and effectively with peers from diverse backgrounds, fostering a sense of global citizenship.

Students have better emotional intelligence

Robert J. Sternberg's ''Ìýhighlights a significant research study that supports the idea that exposure to cultural diversity can enhance empathetic development. According to Sternberg, when individuals are exposed to a variety of cultures, it broadens their emotional experiences and perspectives.

By interacting with individuals from different backgrounds, students' own emotional intelligence can be greatly enhanced. This is because learning to understand and respect diverse emotional expressions and communication styles sharpens one's ability to read and respond to the feelings of others.

Moreover, it fosters emotional maturity, as individuals learn to navigate and appreciate the subtleties of human emotion in a multicultural world. Through such enriching exchanges, students in culturally diverse settings develop a more refined sense of empathy, becoming well-equipped to engage with others in a considerate, informed, and emotionally intelligent manner.

It helps their language learning

Understanding a culture deeply enriches the language acquisition process for students. When they step into the shoes of those who live and breathe the language they're learning, it becomes more than just memorizing vocabulary and grasping grammatical structures.

Students begin to notice the subtleties in conversation tones, the unspoken expressions that only those privy to the culture can interpret, and the implicit rules of language etiquette.

This discernment can be the distinguishing factor between being a functional speaker and a captivating storyteller in their new language. As students immerse themselves in cultural practices, whether through music, film, or literature, they are not just learning a language—they are learning to convey emotions and ideas just as a fluent speaker would.

It helps with classroom friendships

This new understanding helps to peel away the layers of hesitation. Engaging in activities that celebrate diversity becomes an exciting exploration, paving the way for students to break out of their shells. They're encouraged to be curious, ask questions, and share about themselves, fostering an environment where every student is a teacher and a learner in their own right.

As the classroom transforms into a supportive space for cultural exchange, students are encouraged to reach out and connect with peers they might not have approached before. With every shared story and every collaborative project, the bonds of friendship are forged, transcending former barriers and weaving a tightly-knit community that thrives on the unique contributions of each member.

Embracing diversity in your language classroom

Wondering how to transform your language classroom into a crucible of cultural sensitivity? Here are a few simple yet significant changes you can start with today.

Get to know your students

Make an effort to learn about your students' cultural backgrounds. This gesture speaks volumes about your respect for their identity. Use icebreakers or activities that invite students from diverse backgrounds to share their traditions and norms.

This doesn't just apply to major cultural differences but also the nuanced aspects of diversity within a seemingly homogenous group of students. This research can also help you plan activities and whether they are appropriate for all students in your classes.

Fostering a community of belonging

Imagine stepping into a class where every student feels a sense of belonging and acceptance. This is the power of embedding diversity and equity into your teaching methods. This can be done by:

  • Recognizing holidays from around the world.
  • Sharing stories from varied cultures.
  • Encouraging students to express themselves in ways that honor their heritage.

These strategies are just a few ways to instill acceptance and belonging in your own classroom environment whilst learning a new language.

Incorporate multicultural content

Select texts, examples, and materials that reflect a range of cultures and experiences. Familiarity breeds comfort, but newness breeds growth. Ensure your curriculum and classroom materials reflect a world beyond the traditional English-speaking countries.

By doing so, you're offering students windows into different worlds and mirrors to see themselves reflected in the learning material.

Representation is also incredibly important in promoting diversity and inclusivity in education. We can create a more inclusive and equitable society by using materials, programs and stories that feature varied representation.

This not only ensures that everyone's voices and life experiences are heard and valued, but also helps to challenge stereotypes and foster understanding among different communities.

Foster open discussions

Encourage open discussion in the classroom around cultural norms, expressions, and idioms. When students understand the context behind language, they gain a deeper appreciation and avoid missteps that could inadvertently offend.

Use mistakes as learning opportunities

When cultural insensitivities do arise, it is important to approach them as teachable moments. Take the opportunity to guide learners with a warm and understanding attitude, providing them with the necessary knowledge, resources and context to foster a more inclusive and respectful classroom environment.

Reflect on biases

Be aware and proactive about addressing stereotypes and biases present in class discussions. Challenge your own preconceptions and lead by example. for learning helps students feel comfortable asking questions and making mistakes, which is where true growth happens.

Nurture empathy and understanding

Teach language learning as a journey of empathy. Language is not only about speaking to someone but also feeling with them. Encourage students to step into the shoes of others, fostering a spirit and culture of empathy that transcends cultural boundaries.

Respect linguistic diversity

Encourage your students to express themselves in English with pride in their respective accents. Support them in understanding that clarity and communication are the goals, not trying to remove their accent or identity. By doing so, we not only bolster their confidence but also teach the wonderful lesson of inclusivity.

Practical activities

Implementing activities and lessons that bring cultural awareness into the forefront can transform your language classroom into a vibrant community of curious minds and hearts. Here are some examples of activities you a teacher could do:

  • A simple yet effective activity is a 'cultural artifact show and tell,' where students are invited to share an item of cultural significance to them and tell its story. This encourages sharing and deep listening, shedding light on the diverse cultural backgrounds represented in the room.
  • Cultural exchange workshops, possibly with guest speakers, can offer students firsthand insight into various aspects of different cultures. These workshops can revolve around traditional dance, music, games, or cooking demonstrations, allowing students to immerse themselves in and appreciate the richness of various other cultures.
  • Having international cuisine days, where students prepare and share dishes from different countries, can be a delightful way to stimulate the senses while emphasizing the importance of cultural traditions tied to food. It's a tasty opportunity for students to express themselves and learn the stories behind international cuisines.
  • Crafting sessions for cultural storytelling allows for the narratives of different cultures to be told through the enchanting medium of stories. Storytelling connects students to diverse societies through emotional and moral threads. The storytelling could be done in the target language you're teaching.
  • A book and film club can open doors to different worlds. Curating a list of international authors and filmmakers for the club enhances language skills and cultural understanding by engaging with diverse narratives and viewpoints.

The list isn't exhaustive, but there may be other ways to introduce cultural sensitivity into your class, any kind of activity that showcases and introduces cultures or traditions to others in an interesting manner.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cultural sensitivity can transform our language classrooms and schools into hives of connection and understanding. It takes awareness, intention, and a nurturing heart – qualities that you, as an educator, already possess. Remember, every small step you take has an impact on the young minds you shape and the interconnected world they will navigate.

Embrace diversity, teach with sensitivity, and watch as your classroom becomes a microcosm of the world we all share – a world of vibrant cultures, languages, and stories waiting to be told and heard. By incorporating diverse narratives and viewpoints from others into our teaching, we can enhance our students' language skills and deepen their cultural understanding.

So let's continue to strive for a more inclusive and empathetic learning environment, one that celebrates differences and fosters empathy and compassion among all learners.

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    Teaching is an art form that thrives on adaptation and personalization. When dealing with language instruction, ensuring that each student is engaged and effectively learning is of paramount importance. In my experience as a teacher, I have learned that we should always teach our students rather than the coursebook or the syllabus. I think most teachers would agree with this.

    However, it may be challenging to adapt activities to cater to our learners’ needs. What does personalizing an activity mean? How can we make it more accessible to our English learners? One would think that making the answers more obvious can be the way to go. Yet, this does not really help students learn and make progress. That's where the Global Scale of English (GSE) comes in as a valuable tool for personalizing teaching activities.

    The essence of personalized learning

    Personalizing an activity in language teaching does not simply mean making the responses more obvious. Instead, it's about tailoring the exercise to elevate the student's learning experience and potential for progress. This demands an insightful approach during the preparation phase of any given lesson.

    Utilizing the GSE in language teaching

    Let’s analyze this listening activity at A2 level for a group of adults:

    Audio script example:

    Emma: Are you working on the Media project?

    Vic: Yes. I may start working on a new project in a couple of weeks, but for now I’m writing the objectives for Media. Why?

    Emma: Well, Adam wants to see the photos for the project. He needs them for the ads.

    Vic: Oh, they’ll be ready next week. OK?

    Emma: Awesome! Thanks. Any plans for the weekend?

    Vic: Well, I have to work on Saturday. We’re taking the Media pictures in the morning, but we’re just going to have fun at the beach in the afternoon.

    Emma: Nice!

    Vic: What about you? What are you doing this weekend?

    Emma: I’m going to a concert on Sunday at 3 pm.

    Vic: That sounds fun!

    Listen and write T (true) or F (false)

    1. Vic is working on a new project.

    2.Ìý Vic is working on Saturday morning.

    3. Emma is going to a concert on Sunday evening.

    GSE Descriptors

    Upon dissecting this example by the GSE descriptors, we can identify the learning objectives that align with an A2 level:

    • Can identify simple information in a short video, provided that the visual supports this information and the delivery is slow and clear. (GSE 30)

    • Can identify basic factual information in short, simple dialogues or narratives on familiar everyday topics, if spoken slowly and clearly. (GSE 32)

    • Can understand the main information in short, simple dialogues about familiar activities, if spoken slowly and clearly.Ìý(GSE 33)

    • Can identify key information (e.g., places, times) from short audio recordings if spoken slowly and clearly. (GSE 33)

    We know that learners should be given a global task first for overall listening, which is also one of the communicative objectives in the Global Scale of English:

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    Welcome to the beginning of a new year, filled with countless possibilities and exciting opportunities for learning a new language. If you're like most people, you probably have some language learning resolutions and goals you'd like to achieve this year.

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    The art of goal setting

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    Dr. Ken Beatty defines goals and explains why we should think of them as doors to open rather than fixed targets.

    Goals as doors

    My eldest son, Nathan, failed to achieve the biggest goal of his life: becoming a garbage truck driver. It's hardly surprising - he was only four years old at the time. His ambition likely dissolved once he realized that garbage trucks sometimes smell bad. Before then, he'd mostly observed them from the safety of our apartment window.

    As is the case with most people, his goals have changed. Completing his degree in international economics, hoping to work in technology startups until he forms one himself. Or maybe not. Goals evolve.

    Researchers and teachers have known for decades that goals are vitally important motivations in general education and language learning. After examining 800+ studies, Hattie (2009) identified goals as among the most powerful instructional interventions for improving student success.

    The basic message is that goals are good. However, other researchers (Rowe, Mazzotti, Ingram, & Lee, 2017) suggest that teachers have trouble embedding them in lessons.

    Part of the problem might be in finding a way to visualize goals. Goals are often pictured as archery targets or soccer nets, but a more useful metaphor is a door. When we have a goal, we may not fully understand it until we enter into the goal, as if it were a room, inevitably finding choices of other doors leading off in other directions.

    Understanding where goals come from

    Before we start to set goals for our students, it's important that we have a degree of self-awareness and understand where our own attitudes and ideas come from.

    As teachers, we tend to resemble the people who inspired us most. Our own teachers, good and bad, shape our attitudes toward teaching and language-learning goals.

    Who was your favorite teacher? In my case, my all-time favorite teacher was Mr. Chiga, who, in 1970, taught me Grade 7 and was about to retire. He was a Renaissance man. Short and tough with fingers like cigars, he would occasionally lead us from the playground up two flights of stairs to our classroom… walking on his hands. Yet these same hands were delicate enough for his hobby of making violins, a fact I only learned later, because, unlike me, Mr. Chiga was modest.

    Mr. Chiga loved literature and taught us Greek and Roman history with a sense of joy that has never left me. One would think that his educational goals would be a perfect foundation for my own. Perhaps. But a quick check on the timeline shows that if he was about to retire in 1970, he was probably born in 1905 and likely graduated from teachers' college around 1925.

    It's ironic that although my Ph.D. is in the area of computer-assisted language learning, my favorite teacher began his career two years before the invention of the television, and, moreover, all his teachers would have been born in the 1800s.

    It's a long story to make a short point: as teachers, we need to reflect on where our teaching and learning goals come from and question them. We also need to avoid those things that our least favorite teachers did.

    Setting goals

    Are the goals we set for our students sometimes too low? Undoubtedly.

    As a Grade 11 student, my only ambition in life was to take a two-year photo technician course. My counselor discouraged me, saying I wasn't academic enough and suggested a job at the wood mill instead. In a sense, he closed a door.

    I switched schools where another favorite teacher, Mr. Ferguson, patiently kept me after school for six weeks, teaching me how to write essays and, by extension, how to think. He dangled the motivation of a university education before me and set me on my path there. And that was a door opened.

    So what's the lesson here? More than just knowing where goals come from, we also need to be aware of the power of goal setting and how it can drastically alter a particular student's life trajectory.

    Closing doors, rather than opening them, often stunts growth and limits possibilities. It can even lead to students forming life-long assumptions about themselves that just aren't true - "I'm no good at math," "I'm not cut out for independent travel", etc. Opening doors, however, can bring our students entirely new perspectives on life.

    Expecting goals to change

    When it comes to changing goals, there are a number of factors to take into account, including forming a better sense of self. We might start off with many ambitions but we measure ourselves against the realities of our skill sets and modify our goals.

    For example, a student who experiences a lot of success in learning English is more likely to consider careers that require it. Teachers, too, are more likely to offer direction: "You write very well. Have you considered a career in journalism?"

    Today, countless jobs require a second language or provide better promotion opportunities for students who speak two or more languages. Yet, students oriented toward employment opportunities may have difficulty understanding the long-term advantages of learning a second language if specific jobs are not on their radar.

    This leads to two questions:

    • What goals should we help students set for themselves?
    • And how should teachers suggest them?

    Many goals are based on the educational standards that govern our profession. The Global Scale of English (GSE), in particular, is helpful to both textbook writers and teachers in identifying language goals and provides teachers with detailed steps to achieve them.

    But beyond such standards are those two magic ingredients that teachers share with language learners: joy and motivation.

    Teachers spread joy in learning by example, making language learning engaging and pleasurable. Teachers also motivate students by helping them identify personal goals, giving them reasons why language proficiency is not just worthwhile in general but is perhaps one key to future success.

    It might even lead to a job driving a garbage truck.