Name : Adam Amirul Hakim

Student ID : 2010510039
Class : B6BIR
Subject : Cross Cultural Understanding (Mid-Term test)

The title of the article: Teaching English in a Cross-cultural Context: Challenges and
Directions

The important part of the article:

Challenges

Teaching English in a cross cultural context raises a number of challenges. Though we can
successfully generalize and predict certain student thought, emotion and behavior patterns, there
will always be exceptions to any rules we might formulate. The first and foremost problem faced
in teaching English in a cross-cultural context is the ‘Language’ itself. Both teachers and learners
face some limitations in different ways, dealing with language. The content of the language class
can also be the issue of challenge. Last but not the least, culture shock is a severe obstacle in
gaining desired goal.

1. My explanation about the important part above.

In the journal I chose entitled Teaching English in Cross-Cultural Contexts: Challenges and
Directions, the part of the journal that I think is important is on the challenges of teaching
English in cross-cultural contexts which pose a number of challenges. A number of these
challenges arise because there are three important aspects, namely, firstly because of the
language itself, in this case the language in question is English, secondly, because of the
content of the language, and thirdly, because of culture shock which is a serious obstacle. which
is often found in many countries such as Indonesia which easily experience culture shock. The
first aspect is that challenges arise because of the English language itself, why can this happen?
First, because in language teaching, there is such a thing as a native English speaking teacher.
In learning and teaching English, students tend to easily experience difficulties and challenges
if there is a teacher who is a native. This limit arises from various factors such as the speed at
which the native teacher speaks English. Students who are just learning or who have been
learning English for a long time but do not often differentiate their ability to listen to a native
teacher will have difficulty understanding their language lessons. As a non-indigenous person,
students will certainly have difficulty understanding the language because their brain's ability
is mostly used to learn their own language, not the language of other nations. Problems with
accent, tone, tone can also be a barrier for students to learn English. Of course, in English,
there are many different accents, tones, and pronunciations that can be difficult for students.
Just imagine, in this world there are so many accents and pronunciations in English. Starting
from American accent, tone and pronunciation, British accent, tone and pronunciation,
Singapore accent, tone and pronunciation, access, tone and pronunciation in Australia to even
English accent, tone and pronunciation in India. We can take the example of American and
British accents that differ in the pronunciation of the letter R. In American accents, the mention
of R is still included or can still be heard, whereas in British, the mention of the letter R cannot
be heard at all or the mention of the letter R is completely omitted. This is what makes students
find it difficult to learn English, coupled with the speed of the native teacher when they are
speaking. Sometimes there are also native teachers who cannot understand the condition of
their students when they cannot follow the learning properly according to the expectations of
the native teacher. Then, there was a study conducted by Luke Prodomou in 1992 which stated
that students had stereotypes. The stereotype is that most students want a native English teacher
to know their native language and be able to understand about their local culture before
teaching English. Furthermore, the existence of non-native teachers can also raise challenges
for students in learning English. Sometimes, they think that non-native English teachers don't
understand much of the material or linguistics in English. In fact, sometimes there are students
who think critically so they dare to ask non-native teachers about their lack of understanding
in digesting the material presented by their teacher. In this regard, Rampton has asserted that
linguistic expertise is more important than ever regarding native and non-native teachers.
Finally, it is the students themselves who can cause challenges in learning English. They often
experience doubts and confusion when using English. Because they are less practical in
speaking, they often experience many pauses when speaking English.
Next, the content of English taught in class can also be a problem in learning the language. A
person's anxiety and stress can arise when they cannot find something they normally do every
 day in their life. For example, in an English class, the teacher explains western culture that
conflicts with the students' culture. Sometimes these students cannot deal with these problems
properly so that stress and anxiety arise when they are learning English.
Next, culture shock. A person can experience culture shock if he sees cultures and norms that
conflict with the culture and norms he has. This is caused by cognitive dissonance and
disconfirmed expectations. Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person's cognition is different
from the world around him which has other cognition. Disconfirmed expectations when we
live in others also give a feeling of uncertainty, anxiety, and stress.
2. My comment to the issue
My first comment on the challenges of teaching English in cross-cultural contexts is that the
language factor itself is indeed in learning the language students must experience problems.
Moreover, if the language is associated with culture, indeed, language and culture are a unified
whole that cannot be separated. The first problem that arises in this language factor is native
English speaking teachers. The existence of native teachers in learning English has been a
debate for a long time. Of course, there are those who agree and those who disagree. Those
who agree argue that if there is a native teacher in an English class it will make it easier for
students to learn the language because they are taught directly by native speakers of that
language. They only see the benefits without seeing the negative side, such as students having
difficulty listening to explanations from native teachers who are so quick and only use English
so students don't understand what the native teacher has said. In this case, native English
teachers must first understand the language and culture of their students before teaching
English. This is to make it easier to collaborate in learning English which has its own culture
and mother tongue and the cultures of different students. If the native teacher is able to
collaborate in English with the mother tongue of the students and their culture, good teaching
and learning activities will be created. The existence of non-native teachers can also be an
obstacle in teaching and learning activities in English classes. Most critical students doubt the
abilities of non-native teachers. They assume that non-native teachers have not mastered the
materials in English. In this case, non-native teachers must improve their English skills so they
can master English linguistics. As a student, you should not judge non-native teachers at will.
The teacher must be respected and then if the explanation of the material that has been
delivered by the teacher is still not clear, you may ask politely and not seem to corner him.
 Then, as students, sometimes they experience culture shock when learning English. They
experience doubts and confusion when using English. They are afraid of being wrong when
they speak English. It happened because of the lack of speaking practice. As good students,
they should be confident when speaking English and not be afraid of making mistakes, because
mistakes are one of the learning activities. If wrong, can consult their teacher. Or they can also
practice with a mirror if they are still afraid of dealing with other people. If you're brave, you
can practice with your friends. This aims to hone their English skills, especially in speaking.
The second challenge is about the content of the lesson itself. Sometimes the teacher explains
that English lessons are entered with cultural elements that are contrary to the cultural elements
of the students. Students who are unable to adapt to these conditions tend to compare their own
culture with the culture of other races such as the western race. Conditions like this should be
overcome. Here the role of the L2 language teacher is very important. They can explain from
the start before starting the lesson by brainstorming students about the lesson to be delivered,
in this case about culture. They can explain from the start that the purpose of this learning
activity is to respect other cultures, not to compare. The teacher will explain to students that
this is a world that consists of many different tribes, races, ethnicities and cultures.
For the third challenge is the existence of culture shock. Regarding culture shock, this cannot
be avoided because surely all people will experience it if there is a culture or activity that is
different from other communities. This can be overcome by counseling by teachers to their
students about the culture of certain countries, for example western countries like England. It
was commonplace that there it was customary to call the elder by his own name. This is
intended so that students understand this condition in advance so that when they meet it directly
they do not experience culture shock.
3. My idea related to integrating CCU in ELT as an English teacher
English is the most widely used language in the world so that cross-cultural introduction in
teaching and learning English is very applicable. This cross-cultural introduction does not aim
to influence other cultures to follow their culture or feel superior, but to introduce that the
world has many different cultures from different countries. This cross-cultural recognition and
integration aims to respect intercultural mutual respect in order to create conditions for a
knowledgeable society. To integrate cross-cultural understanding in English in teaching
English can be done in many ways. One is the teacher's job to make connections. It doesn't
matter how many styles the teacher has in teaching English, but the most important thing in
integrating cross-cultural understanding in teaching English is making connections. Teachers
bring new things that will teach their students by making connections with the existing
information base and existing skills. It aims to make thinking to build and expand students'
knowledge of culture through assimilation and assimilation. Then, support in learning cross-
cultural understanding in teaching English can be done by the way the teacher makes learning
methods like what will be applied in the class. Choosing the right method will certainly make
it easier for students to understand how to integrate CCU into ELT. The teacher must also
make the class full of interaction between the teacher and students and students and students.
This aims to train students' communication skills and mentality when dealing with other people
with a variety of different cultural backgrounds. For native teachers, in teaching they can lower
their voice when delivering subject matter. This is to give students time to digest what the
teacher is saying. Then both native and non-native teachers can perfect their English when
delivering material and should avoid using jargon, slang and idioms. The teacher can also give
orders to students to repeat what he said and what material he has taught. Furthermore, to
eliminate stereotypes when learning a language across cultures. First, avoid and be wary of
using words, images, and situations that could refer to certain racial groups. This is done to
avoid the feelings of other groups. Second, avoid the qualities of certain races. This is also to
avoid insulting other races. Third, avoid mentioning other people by their race except for things
that really must be mentioned by race. Fourth, be aware of the possible negative impact of
using color symbols such as black magic that can be felt by other people. Fifth, avoid using
language that has questions that refer to certain races, such as disadvantaged cultures. As a
teacher, you can use a multicultural approach in choosing content or materials in English that
will be applied in class. The material can contain comparisons between the students' culture
and other cultures. Comparing here is not to bring each other down, but to realize that through
multicultural education, students discover that all cultures from many races in the world have
made very meaningful contributions to civilization. Finally, to eliminate the culture shock that
occurs in students, teachers can give important advice, namely communicating with each other
is important. Communication with other people from across cultures is aimed at overcoming
and negotiating the differences that exist. For teachers, this can also be used as a means to
brainstorm with others to find ways to remove barriers to communication.