Cultural differences in the ERM classroom

‘Empathy is at the heart of cross-cultural education... However, when working with refugee and migrant learners from different parts of the world, there are social dilemmas we need to resolve – how we deal with authority, how an individual behaves in a group, how people are motivated and how we deal with uncertainty.’

When we were creating our course, Core Skills in Teaching English to Refugees and Migrants, we had the great pleasure of speaking with cross-cultural expert, author, consultant and founder of Connect2Us, Jan-Vincent Meertens, whose words are quoted above.

Jan-Vincent highlighted the many potential differences in cultural perspectives between ERM teachers and their students. Here are just a few of the points he made:

• British (or Dutch) culture is quite egalitarian, whereas many refugees come from countries such as Afghanistan, Sudan, and Syria which have more hierarchical cultures and where the teacher is a much more authoritarian figure.

• The teacher-student dynamic therefore plays out in very different ways in the classroom, including how we address each other, how we ask and answer questions, the idea of student-centred learning, and what a ‘good’ lesson looks like.

• Some cultures are much more competitive and reward-focused than others. This impacts on what motivates students and therefore on classroom activities and lesson planning.

• A high level of uncertainty avoidance means some cultures want more structure than others. Being open to ambiguity is common in many English language classrooms – answer a question with a question for example – but this will be uncomfortable for some.

ERM students may not be used to their teacher’s style of education. Their cognitive approach may be significantly different. While culture is learnt, it goes deep. And one approach is not necessarily better than another.

As an ERM teacher, it’s important to do the work to understand these differences and the impact you have on your students.

We explore intercultural competence in the ERM classroom in the course and include a video of our conversation with Jan-Vincent. It’s full of fascinating insights that may make you re-evaluate how you teach.

For more details here, visit the course page.

To join the next course in September, book here.