5/18/2021; Week 5: “Culture Differences Concerning Time”

 

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 the way I organize myself, plan my activities, and I know that if I use it properly I can get many useful experiences. In my house, arriving on time was always a priority. If we had an appointment we had to arrive ten minutes earlier, it was better to wait than to arrive after hours since my parents considered it bad manners with that habit. I know that being punctual is part of my culture.

I know that each culture perceives time in different ways, and it is important that as future TESOL teachers, we respect what each of our students brings to the classroom. What for us could be significant the way to manage time for another maybe not. That you can see how we are spending our time and how important relationships are in our life.