Managing Cultural Differences in the Classroom

Jim Hamrick, English Program for Internationals

Colleges and universities bring together a mix of people from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The assortment of values that might be encountered in a classroom has the potential to cause division and hinder educational processes. Properly managed, however, those values may greatly enhance learning. Here are some tips aimed at helping you manage cultural diversity in your classroom.

• Each person in your classroom is a unique, "special" individual. The better you know your students, the more effective your instruction can be.

• Treat each student as an individual regardless of the student's cultural, ethnic, or economic background. Learn your students' names, and be sure they know your name as well.

• Take time, insofar as it is possible, to know your students as individuals.

• Avoid labeling students. Avoid even thinking about a student as a "foreigner," a "Greek," a "redneck," a "pre-med major," etc., unless the categorization will help make your instruction more effective.

• Learning is enhanced when students feel secure with the instructor, classmates and with themselves.

• Respect every student's cultural heritage and values. Require that students treat one another with the same measure of respect.

• Share your own cultural background with your students. Share cultural traits which are both positive and negative; explain how your background has enhanced and detracted from your professional development.

• When appropriate, share your own values with sensitivity.

• All cultures possess characteristics which may be perceived negatively by other cultures. Be honest about those characteristics (including those of your own culture); but avoid dwelling on the negatives which may be associated with a cultural or ethnic group. Every culture has positive characteristics which should be accentuated.

• People are usually unaware of their own culturally-determined traits and values until they have been directly exposed to other cultures. When people are exposed to other world views, they recognize the own world views and may become more sensitive to the views of others.

• Ask questions which encourage students to examine basic presuppositions found in texts, class materials, lectures, etc. As students examine the presuppositions of others, they are more likely to examine their own point of view.

• Expose your students to different points of view (both academic and social) which are different from your own.

• Remind your class that academia is a specialized sub-culture and that successful students learn to function within that culture.