Family
In the western world, when we talk about family we are talking mother/father and kids. When we have a portfolio day or parents evenings at school in the west, we tend to expect mother or father to arrive at the school.
In my experience in Asia, as often as you will get parents to visit, you will get grandparents who tend to live with the nuclear family in the same house and often take care of the kids when the parents work.
I used to hold what I thought was going to be a parents breakfast once a month and more often than not it was the grandparents who arrived and discussed the school with me and not the parents at all.
So if you want to discuss a particular student often you will discuss the child with the parent and grandparent.
In Asian culture, it is important to note that the child is considered THE CHILD, and not a young adult which will have a big impact on how you think about teaching and interacting with the family.
In the western world, when we talk about family we are talking mother/father and kids. When we have a portfolio day or parents evenings at school in the west, we tend to expect mother or father to arrive at the school.
In my experience in Asia, as often as you will get parents to visit, you will get grandparents who tend to live with the nuclear family in the same house and often take care of the kids when the parents work.
I used to hold what I thought was going to be a parents breakfast once a month and more often than not it was the grandparents who arrived and discussed the school with me and not the parents at all.
So if you want to discuss a particular student often you will discuss the child with the parent and grandparent.
In Asian culture, it is important to note that the child is considered THE CHILD, and not a young adult which will have a big impact on how you think about teaching and interacting with the family.
Noise
It will be a challenge when you try to get your students to do cooperative learning for a few reasons. One is that they are so used to doing individual work that when you ask them to work in groups they think it is cheating or something like that and it is hard to get them to consider what you are asking them to do is serious work.
Secondly, once you convince them that it is important and serious the noise level will be dramatic. I think the reason for that is that many Asian languages are tonal so that you must be able to hear what the other person is saying because each word has a different meaning depending on the tone that is used.
If you are prepared for what will happen, just emphasize to the students that everyone has the right to hear which is impossible when they are talking so loudly that is sounds like an explosion! Tell them to use their "quiet voices"
It will be a challenge when you try to get your students to do cooperative learning for a few reasons. One is that they are so used to doing individual work that when you ask them to work in groups they think it is cheating or something like that and it is hard to get them to consider what you are asking them to do is serious work.
Secondly, once you convince them that it is important and serious the noise level will be dramatic. I think the reason for that is that many Asian languages are tonal so that you must be able to hear what the other person is saying because each word has a different meaning depending on the tone that is used.
If you are prepared for what will happen, just emphasize to the students that everyone has the right to hear which is impossible when they are talking so loudly that is sounds like an explosion! Tell them to use their "quiet voices"
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Personal Space
If you look closely on the picture on your right you will see the western concept of space. Westerners tend to be three feet apart when they are talking or sitting. Anything closer starts to make westerners feel uncomfortable. In the picture on the left, although there are more than two people so the pictures are not really parallel, Asians tend to "cluster" more. Unconsciously if you are a western teacher you may begin to feel somewhat overwhelmed when students tend to surround you at your desk or in the hall. You may not quite realize why you feel uncomfortable but if you think about it, it may just be the case that you feel someone is intruding on your need for space. Once you realize why you feel uncomfortable, you should start to feel comfortable again because you have this knowledge....get it?
Being Aware
One culture is not necessarily better or worse than another culture...just different. Awareness is the critical piece. The more you are aware the more you can develop your own approach and examine your own innate bias. Being aware is more than half the battle.
If you look closely on the picture on your right you will see the western concept of space. Westerners tend to be three feet apart when they are talking or sitting. Anything closer starts to make westerners feel uncomfortable. In the picture on the left, although there are more than two people so the pictures are not really parallel, Asians tend to "cluster" more. Unconsciously if you are a western teacher you may begin to feel somewhat overwhelmed when students tend to surround you at your desk or in the hall. You may not quite realize why you feel uncomfortable but if you think about it, it may just be the case that you feel someone is intruding on your need for space. Once you realize why you feel uncomfortable, you should start to feel comfortable again because you have this knowledge....get it?
Being Aware
One culture is not necessarily better or worse than another culture...just different. Awareness is the critical piece. The more you are aware the more you can develop your own approach and examine your own innate bias. Being aware is more than half the battle.
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