Be aware that many peoples of the world are accustomed to offering and demonstrating great respect for those in a teaching role. Offer your learner a choice in addressing you by first name or surname. Accept the way that is most comfortable to her and do the same.
Make a point to learn and pronounce your learner’s name(s) correctly. She has pride in her name(s) and identity, as you do. Recognize and respect this. Your effort will be appreciated.
Be sensitive to current political situations when having discussions.
Be alert to cultural slurs. Be open to using your learner’s views of a discussion topic to give a personal slant. Take the time for clarification and examples when there seems to be evidence of prejudice, discrimination, stereotyping or simply a misunderstanding.
Encourage individual questions and contributions relating to cultural background. For example, after you explain a skill or metaphor, encourage your learner to offer you different skills and metaphors from her cultural context.
Be aware of different language abilities in English and take care to speak clearly and distinctly. Use examples whenever possible and encourage feedback to determine when further repetition or a better example may be required. Simply speaking more slowly can be of great help.
Be critical of resource materials. Do they represent varied points of view? Do they avoid offending minority groups? Are they accurate, well qualified and current?
Be alert to different structures in daily life. For example, when you greet, invite, praise or criticize the learner and she says “yes,” it does not always mean that she understands; it may simply signify politeness. An invitation, however casually expressed, may be taken seriously. Laughter may indicate embarrassment rather than humour. There may be initial misunderstanding of punctuality and deadlines. Respect your learner’s different holidays, eating restrictions or choice of clothing. Be aware of any specific time set aside to perform prayers and don’t schedule your tutoring session then.
Flexibility is important. You are in a position to point out the similarities and differences in any situation and in this way increase your learner’s involvement in your sessions as well as in the community.
Replace mere tolerance with serious and continued efforts to understand and accept the reality of different values and perceptions.
Handout 3.8