TESOL 103

  When I read about Attributional Tendencies I found it very interesting how each culture differs in this regard. Professor John J. Ivers from BYU-Idaho University says that “ Attributional tendencies refer to what do we attribute success, to what do we attribute our failures, and to what do we attribute the successes of others, to what do we attribute the failures of others.” The interesting thing about this is that each one of us perceives the events of our life according to the culture from which we come. For example, in the image, you can see that people who live in Europe and North America is more individualistic and for them, success comes internally due to their talents and skills, as a result, that leads them to be successful and that its faults come from an external way. On the other hand, for the people who live in Africa and Asia, success comes collectively like their family and if they are not successful it is due to them.   Each of us sees reality through the g...

  As a teacher, I have the opportunity to go to the classroom every day and be close to my students. Even though in the pandemic we have to keep our distance, many times it becomes difficult since students have questions when they carry out their activities or if we can look in their notebooks, and it has happened to me that when I approach them, many of them turn back. This leads me to wonder if the student is shy or embarrassed. I believe that everyone has their personal space and should be respected. Professor John J. Ivers from BYU-Idaho University says that we "have to be very careful [because] there is some very serious room for misinterpretation”. It is incredible how culture can dictate the distance that can exist between one person and another .   In my culture like Argentina, it is very common to be close to people, we greet each other with a kiss, hugs, we touch while we speak, and everything in other cultures is not allowed. For example, in Germany, it may seem i...

  According to the article Understanding Collectivist Cultures: “Collectivist cultures are usually contrasted with individualistic cultures. Collectivism stresses the importance of the community, while individualism is focused on the rights and concerns of each person. Where unity and selflessness are valued traits in collectivist cultures, independence and personal identity are promoted in individualistic cultures.”     From my perspective, I consider that in today's world that we are living individualism can be perceived more in people, because the sooner we become independent and achieve things by our own means and talents, the better. However, if we have this perspective we can have a negative impact in the classroom with our students since there may be a lack of communication between them or teamwork. Collectivism in contrast to individualism makes us more empathic with the other person that we think about the well-being and need of the other instead of thinking ab...

  Emotions are part of our daily life. We express them through words, body language, or facial language. There are six universal emotions like happiness, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, and Fear. However, each of us expresses emotions in different ways. Do you know that the signs and gestures of body language have different meanings according to the culture to which we belong? Professor John Ivers from BYU-I taught: “Emotional expressivity is one of the things that are more easily misunderstood than many other things in cross-cultural differences. It’s very, very easy to interpret different ranges to misinterpret differently ranges of emotional expressivity.”  He even taught that there is a scale of emotional expressiveness where we can find groups with, high tolerant expressiveness (Hispanic and middle-east Europeans), those in the middle (USA), and low tolerant expressiveness (Asian, Scandinavian) who not show their emotions in public. Being so different in term...

According to Study abroad “ Cultural misunderstanding can be the worst type of embarrassment you can possibly face. It happens when you do something totally fine to do in your culture but is offensive to others. This kind of confusion might cause you an embarrassment to good beating and probably get fired from a job. So, one thing is clear that we must be wary of cultural misunderstandings to avoid troubles. ” https://www.studyabroad.pk/news-event/most-common-cultural-misunderstandings-4448 We live in a world so varied in terms of religions, languages, ways of life, races, and cultures that it is possible that Cultural misunderstanding to occur. That is why as TESOL students we must learn that these differences exist and as teachers we must bridge that gap between our students, and provide the class with a safe place, without labels, be careful with verbal and non-verbal gestures, speak clearly. I know that things may not be easy between children and adolescents, but we have a great ...

  Since I was a child, I have been taught that time is valuable and that I should make good use of it. As    Kristof  wrote in   Time Management tips , he said. "In a polychronic culture, time is a more fluid, free-flowing thing that changes according to the situation. Often the focus will be on the task at hand rather than the timeframe of the task. On the other hand, Monochronic cultures prefer to focus on one thing at a time and without distractions or interruptions. Schedules and sticking to them are hugely important, as are previous commitments. ”  It is important is that polychromic culture value relationship between families. I consider that one of the most important things in my life is spending time with my family. Although we are all busy and we have many things to do, the family is where we find security, trust, we are forming our identity and the way we communicate with others. For this reason, time plays an important role in my life, in th...

  Have you ever traveled to another country? Were you amazed at the way they lived? Were you able to adapt to them? Did you miss your culture? These are some questions that I asked myself the day I met another country, such as the United States. I had never imagined at 17 years of age that there were people in other cultures who would do things different from mine in things that are so normal to my routine, for example. Not having a family lunch at noon, or having dinner at 6 pm. The respect of people when driving even when they stopped at every stop. I also draw my attention to the respect that their children have for the authority of the father, or that from the age of 16 adolescents begin to work even they already have their driver's license or take off their shoes when they enter the house. So I could go on naming many more things that are different in my country Argentina, and that we act differently in the face of the same activities. All this that I experienced made me remem...