MANY ROOTS, MANY VOICES

‘’You lovely girls, I love you’’

•         Does this sound like something your friend would say after a drunk night out? It probably does, but in this case it’s not your friend. These are the words an American teacher used to speak to her class in Beijing. And it didn’t work out the way she expected: the students were terrified. A teacher talking to students like this? That would have never happened if the teacher had been Chinese instead of American. 

 This example shows that when students and teachers come from different cultures, problems can arise. One of the dimensions to which the differences between teacher and student interaction can be assigned is the individualism versus collectivism dimension. Sweden for example can be seen as an individualist society. This means that individual students speak up in large groups, conflicts can be brought in the open and acquiring competence is more important than acquiring certificates. In collectivist societies however, individuals will only speak up in small groups, conflicts won’t be brought up and acquiring certificates is more important than acquiring competence. 


Another way to understand the differences between teacher and student interaction is by looking at the masculinity versus femininity dimension. In femininine societies like Sweden, teachers avoid openly praising students and students admire friendliness in teachers. In masculine societies it is the other way around. Teachers openly praise good students and students admire brilliance in teachers. When both live in different societies cultural differences appear, which makes it harder for teachers and students to understand eachother and go along. What represents a ‘’message’’ in one culture, does not necessarily means the same in the other culture. Like "you lovely girls, I love you". 
Can we call this a friendly teacher? Or is it crossing the line? There’s not one right answer to that, but it will definitely differ when you cross the boarder.

Hofstede, G. (1986). Cultural differences in teaching and learning. International Journal of intercultural relations, 10(3), 301-320.