Increasing Cultural Awareness in an ESL Classroom

There are certain topics of conversation that even people who speak one language will avoid due to their cultural sensitivity. For example, in the United States, one will not generally ask another person how much money he or she makes. Also, topics of religion and politics are generally considered polite topics only when the conversants know each other well.

Depending on the cultural make up of an ESL classroom, it might be possible to do some research into the topics that are okay for discussion and those that aren't. Generally, it is advisable to steer clear of religion, politics, and gender roles in society when teaching students from several different countries. Teachers should keep these limitations in mind when designing a lesson plan.

However, because an ESL classroom does have so many different cultures represented within it, this makes for a perfect opportunity to increase cultural awareness and sensitivity for ESL students. If your classroom is in the United States or another country that sees a lot of immigration, cultural diversity awareness and sensitivity are particularly important and vital skills to learn so that students can function as seamlessly as possible within such a heterogeneous society.

To encourage students to learn more about other cultures and appreciate them, teachers might plan a multi-cultural food day where students prepare a traditional dish from their home country and give a short oral presentation to the the entire class about it. The presenting student could write a recipe for the dish and give copies out to his or her classmates as well. Students should be encouraged to ask questions to encourage impromptu dialogue in English as well.

Another idea might be to decorate the ESL classroom with pictures from different countries, or with national flags from around the world. This can create a more welcoming environment that demonstrates without words that no one culture, even that of the English-speaking country or teacher, is superior to any other represented by the students in the class.

Students could also write reports about their native country or interview other students about their home country and present the information to the class as a whole. Students from different countries can also be paired together or be put into groups for pairwork or group activities to increase their exposure to persons from different countries.