Celina_CP #4 (IE)

       For our third session in the CIES speaking class we got to share with the CIES students some interesting things about American school culture. I partnered up with two familiar faces this week, Sam and Eduardo. Our assignment was to review a sheet that described actions of students and teachers, and determine whether or not they were commonplace in our different cultures. For me, it was interesting to kind of reflect upon the norms set on American students. When the three of us shared our answers with each other it was surprising how similar most of the answers were. I think I just assumed that in most cultures students are supposed to respect teachers a lot more than we seem to in the U.S. For Sam, in China it really is not common for students to be placed into group work during classes. He said it was because for the most part students are individually graded and group work would really just hinder on that. As a future (possible) english teacher, this was really important for me to understand. I can't just assume that all American teaching techniques are typical elsewhere. I may very well come across a culture difference in teaching methods when I teach abroad. Overall, this was a great session and i'm really looking forward to next week!