8 Teaching Internationally

Overview

In this course, you have had the opportunity to explore your own cultural competency and implicit biases, interview someone from another culture, and consider how to create culturally inclusive learning communities. In this unit, we will explore more specifically the experience of teaching internationally and the role of the cross cultural teacher (hint: it includes being a learner, too). You will also develop a Personalized Learning Plan to focus on how you can prepare to engage in teaching and learning within a cross-cultural context, explore student expectations and student-teacher relationships within that context, as well as how you will adapt your teaching strategies to be culturally inclusive.

Topics

In this unit, we will explore the following topics:

1. The Role of the International Teacher
2. Preparing to Teach Internationally

Unit Learning Outcomes

When you have completed this unit you should be able to:

• Describe the role of an international teacher.
• Compare and contrast expectations and reality of teaching cross culturally.
• Develop a personal learning plan for teaching cross culturally.

Activity Checklist

Here is a checklist of learning activities you will benefit from in completing this unit. You may find it useful for planning your work.

Learning Activity

• Read and Reflect: Lingenfelter & Lingenfelter, Chapters 6-8 “Learning to Teach Cross-Culturally”
• Read Gay (2018), Chapter 7.
• Review international teaching resources online. Respond in your Reflective Journal.

Assessment

• Unit 8 Discussion: Write a one-page manifesto on “My Role as an International Teacher.”
• Assignment 4: Personalized Learning Plan: In preparation for teaching internationally or cross culturally, you will develop a personal learning plan. Building on the discussion in Lingenfelter & Lingenfelter Chapter 9, consider how you can prepare for an international or cross cultural teaching experience as a learner, in order to expand your competency and understanding of Student Expectations, Student-Teacher Relationships, and Culturally-Inclusive Teaching Strategies.

8.1 The Role of the International Teacher

The role and expectations of a teacher are informed in many significant ways by the cultural context in which teaching and learning take place. Some Asian cultures, for example, use a hierarchical model for teaching and learning, with the teacher seen as someone deserving of great respect. In contrast, students in North American schools readily question their teachers about course content, expectations and (much to the chagrin of many teachers), grades. There are similar differences in pedagogy, with many cultures focused on rote memorization of content, in contrast to a growing focus in North America on “active learning.” There are also cultural differences related to cooperation and individual learning, with some cultures prioritizing individual achievement, others the achievement of the group, and still others a mix of group work with individual assessment.

When teaching in an international context, you may be required to balance the need to adapt to the host culture with your knowledge about effective teaching and learning strategies. You will be challenged to consider the learning preferences of your students, with their desire (in some cases) for a Western education. Lingenfelter and Lingenfelter (2003) provide multiple examples of international teaching experiences. In this unit, you will read some of their writing, considering your role as an international teacher.

8.1.1 Activity: Read and Reflect

Learning Activity

Read Lingenfelter & Lingenfelter (2003), Chapter 6-8. As you read, consider the expectations you will bring to your international teaching experience. Lingenfelter and Lingenfelter (2003) argue that even our own interest in understanding cultural differences can be helpful, it can also result in an “us/them” mindset. As you read, jot down notes in your Reflective Journal in response to these questions: How might you prepare yourself to experience a teaching role different from the one familiar to you? How will understanding another culture’s expectations about the teaching role help you prepare? How can you avoid broad stereotypes in that process? To what extent do you think you should adapt to the host culture? What aspects of teaching/learning will you bring that will differ from the host culture?

As a scholarly reader, also consider the context in which Lingenfelter and Lingenfelter wrote this book in 2003. Do you think our understanding of intercultural communication and inclusivity have changed substantially since then? Are there ideas in their writing that might be communicated differently given the scholarship since publication of this book?

8.1.2 Activity: Reading

Learning Activity

Read: Gay (2018), Chapter 7 of Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice.

8.2 Preparing To Teach Internationally

Palmer (2017) argues that “good teaching comes from the identity of the teacher” (p. 10). As we have explored cultural identity and cultural inclusion in this course, it has become evident that, in the role of teaching, we will always enter the teaching experience informed by our identity – as will our students. So, as you prepare to teach abroad, I challenge you to also consider your identity as a learner – a learner not only of the subjects you will teach, and the profession of teaching itself, but also a learner of culture, of your students, of their identities, and of their aspirations, dreams, and hopes. By taking on the role of learner – of a reflective practitioner – you will be able to enter their space with a mind open enough to learn – so that you might teach.

We don’t have to enter the teaching space as a learner. As Palmer (2017) writes, “Our superior power and status permit us to work this way, but they do not compel us to work this way. It is possible to teach in a manner that puts part of our fate into the hands of students, as part of their fate is in ours. Such a way of teaching yields not only more community but also more learning by drawing us more deeply into the community of truth” (p. 142). (For further reading in this area, see Palmer (2017). The Courage to Teach).

To put this idea of entering the teaching experience as a “learner,” you will prepare a Personal Learning Plan focused on how you can expand your competencies related to teaching in an intercultural context.

8.2.1 Activity: Watch, Listen, Read, Reflect

Learning Activity

Review two of the following resources (podcasts, blogs, and video). After reviewing these resources, write down your thoughts in your Reflective Journal. Consider the following writing prompts: What are the biggest challenges you anticipate when teaching internationally? How can you prepare now to mitigate those challenges (or be supported through them)? What are the biggest benefits you anticipate from an international teaching experience?

• 10 Ways that Teaching Overseas Has Changed My Life - What I Wish I Knew Before My Teaching Abroad Experiences
• https://whatkateandkrisdid.com/teaching-english-china-teacher-experiences/
• My Elt Rambles – A blog about Life and Teaching English

In your Reflective Journal, write down several expectations you had that were different from what you reviewed in these resources. How do your expectations compare/contrast with the material you reviewed?

Unit Summary

In this unit, we have focused on your role as a teacher within a cross cultural or international context, including how you can prepare for this experience, not only through technical skill and cultural understanding, but also in terms of developing appropriate expectations for this experience. Entering a cross cultural teaching experience as a learner can be an important step in preparing yourself to adapt to a new or different culture. To deepen your preparation, you will develop a Personal Learning Plan to identify practical steps you can take to learn more about student expectations and student-teacher relationships within the culture in which you will be teaching, as well as adaptations you can make to your teaching strategies in order to create culturally-inclusive learning experiences.

Checking Your Learning

Before you move on to the next unit, you may want to check to make sure that you are able to:

• Describe the role of an international teacher.
• Compare and contrast expectations and reality of teaching cross culturally.
• Develop a personal learning plan for teaching cross culturally.

Assessment

Unit 8 Discussion: My Role as an International Teacher

Review several websites that discuss the “Role of the Teacher.” A few examples are listed here, but feel free to review others within your specific context.

• Page not found | OER Africa
• https://blogs.lt.vt.edu/wejdangrad5114/2017/10/01/my-role-as-a-teacher/
• 7 Roles of a Teacher in the 21st Century | Eton Institute

Write a one-page manifesto on “My Role as an International Teacher.” You may choose to do a list, as some of these sites have provided, or a short, concise, statement or set of statements. (Be sure to cite any resources that inform your writing). You will review your International Teaching Manifesto again at the end of this course.

Assignment 4: Personalized Learning Plan (10%)

In preparation for teaching internationally or cross culturally, develop a personal learning plan. Building on the discussion in Lingenfelter & Lingenfelter Chapter 9, consider how you can prepare for an international or cross cultural teaching experience as a learner. How can you observe and identify the expectations students have, learn about patterns of relationships, and adapt your teaching strategies to be most effective?

1. Review several Personal Learning Plan templates available online. Select one that aligns well with your approach to your personal development and planning (or develop your own). Be sure the template includes these three key elements:

• Learning Goals/Outcomes
• Learning Experiences/Activities
• Learning Assessment

Ideally, the template will allow you to include three learning goals on one page.

2. Develop a Personal Learning Plan focused on three key elements of learning:
   1. Student Expectations
   2. Student-Teacher Relationships, and
   3. Culturally Inclusive Teaching Strategies.
3. For each element include:
   1. Learning Goal/Outcome: Here, develop three personal learning outcomes that describe what you hope to learn, related to the three categories. One example, “Identify five expectations students in this context may have related to the completion of written work (such as deadlines, format of submission, citation, etc.)
   2. Learning Activity: A strategy or activity you will engage in to achieve that learning goal (this could include reflective observation, interviews with students or teachers, reading, etc.). Be as specific as possible, such as “Read Lingenfelter, J.E. & Lingenfelter, S. G. (2003). Teaching cross-culturally: An incarnational model for learning and teaching” or “Interview a current teacher in the context (include name), asking these questions…
   3. Learning Assessment: How will you measure your own learning? Determine an effective way to ensure you met your learning goal. This might include a one-page written reflection, a presentation to your colleagues, or an email conversation with a teacher currently in the field in which you check your learning with the colleague.

Grading Criteria