Last preparations before the start

In the run up to the start of the international class this year, we had a preparatory meeting today with a great number of lecturers who will be teaching part of the programme. It was good to share with each other who was going to teach what over the next 3 months. All in all, there will be around 30 staff members who have taken up the challenge to teach in English.
In the past months it was stimulating to see and hear that so many had responded positively to our appeal to give a few lessons to the coming group of international students. A group (by the way) that has steadily grown over the last few years. When the school of social work joined forces with the social of education a number of years ago, we started out with a small (but highly motivated) group of 7 or 8 students. Since then the numbers have only grown and grown and this year we are expecting around 30 students, although we're still not 100 % sure of the exact number of students turning up.
During this preparatory session we discussed a number of issues, among which: what to expect when teaching in an international classroom. As a teacher / lecturer you are a role model to the students, but students with different cultural backgrounds have had different role models in their respective countries where their teachers employed different styles of teaching. When students are used to one teaching style and their teacher uses a different one, the result can be confusion, dissatisfaction, or cause other problems. This preparatory meeting was also meant to develop awareness of different teaching styles and how they differ from one culture to another.
Generally speaking, many lecturers do not realise that the more casual and accessible approach of Dutch teachers in classroom sessions is completely different compared to the teaching styles in countries like Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Turkey, to name just a few.
For example, when students in their own home education system are primarily taught using a more authoritarian style they may be reluctant to participate in group or pair activities because of fear of making mistakes, or because of the unfamiliarity with the procedures. Students like most people feel uncomfortable with the unknown.
Into our international class will come students of differing cultural
backgrounds and academic histories, bringing with them certain experiences,
attitudes, expectations and preconceptions which constitute their own individual
cultural characteristics. It's then up to the teacher to make sure that the way things are done in the classroom are clearly introduced, explained and clarified when questions arise. It was Geert Hofstede who suggested that there are 2 possible strategies to cope with the perplexities of cross-cultural learning situations: 1. teach the teacher how to teach, and 2. teach the learner how to learn.
He proposed that the focus of the teacher's training should be on learning about his / her own culture: getting intellectually and emotionally accustomed to the fact that in other societies, people learn in different ways.
Here's the presentation I gave:

Preparatory meeting lecturers International Class

View more presentations from Anja S.

A few hours after the meeting I came across this webpage, succinctly stating a few common issues in international classrooms, a tip !