I
interviewed an EAL teacher who teaches small groups of students in a rural
elementary school in southeastern Manitoba. In this community, the majority of
EAL students are German immigrants. When asked to share a cultural
misunderstanding or disconnect that has occurred in her context, she explained
the following scenario.
The
group of German immigrants in the community is very conservative and very
religious. When Christmas or Easter come near, she would desire and tend to
focus on these holidays. The purpose of introducing these holidays is to
involve students in the culture, as well as understand the different events
that occur during school hours. Because of the culture of these German
immigrants and specifically their parents, these holidays are seen as wrong and
evil. The parents go to the extent of keeping their children home from school
when special events occur in the school surrounding these holidays. Speaking of
Santa Clause or the Easter bunny, are completely off limits. As a result, these
students miss out on school-wide celebrations and the teacher has no
opportunity to explain or teach these new English speakers the cultural
relevance of these holidays.
The
main possible cause of this challenge includes the nature and personality of
the German people. In the TESL 0160 notes, we were told how wisdom and
knowledge are important and essential parts of running an ESL classroom. By
growing in knowledge about the personality of the German people we can wisely work
alongside them in such a way that exhibits honour and respect.
Germans
are known to be traditional to a fault and disciplined with few nationalities
to compare to (S.l., 2014). They are also understood to be extremely stubborn
and unfortunately rather cold in their interactions (“The Seven Personality
Traits of a German”, 1970). With understanding these personality traits, we can
understand how German immigrants may find it difficult to adapt their way of
thinking along with their traditions. They may find it a threat to their
identity by having a stranger attempt to interfere with their way of life. To
announce their opinion, they coldly withhold their child from school on these
particular days.
To
deal with this challenge requires clear communication. As talked about in many
of the TESL 0160 discussion forums, communication is a crucial part of
problem-solving. Both English-speaking countries and Germany are considered
low-context cultures. This means that they “expect messages to be explicit and
specific” (Goman, 2011). Because of this value in both Canada and Germany, it
is quite appropriate to communicate with all who are involved. This includes
the teacher, the parents and perhaps the principle or the child’s homeroom
teacher. By together discussing the challenge of holidays in our Canadian
culture, perhaps a compromise could be reached, for example, when talking about
Christmas exclude the topic of Santa and instead talk about the nativity story.
The
effects of this communication result in a deeper relationship filled with respect.
Clear communication builds rapport with both parents, as they see the teacher’s
eagerness and willingness to teach their child, and child, as they see the
relationship growing between their parents and their teacher (Brown, 2015).
Hopefully, the result would also include gaining greater cultural knowledge for
both the parents and child.
Bibliography
Brown,
D. H. (2015). Teaching by principles. White Plains, NY: Pearson
Education.
Goman,
C. K. (2011, March). Communicating Across Cultures. Retrieved April 3, 2019,
from
https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/business-communication/communicating-across-cultures
S.l.
(2014, March 12). The German personality. Retrieved April 3, 2019, from https://www.justlanded.com/english/Germany/Germany-Guide/Culture/The-German-personality
The
Seven Personality Traits of a German. (1970, January 01). Retrieved April 3,
2019, from
https://schnitzelrepublic.blogspot.com/2010/07/seven-personality-traits-of-german.html
