CULTURE IN ADULT ESL
Teachers being culturally aware of their students has great benefits. Teachers are better prepared to help the specific needs of each student. Teachers can also use cultural aspects as a conversation topic to help students feel more appreciated and to help students engage in conversation.
Disclaimer: Excluding the fun facts, the cultural features were distinguished by the Hofstede Country Comparison Tool, the Cultural Atlas, and the Commisceo Global. Each of these cultural features are generalizations. A student of a certain country or culture may not relate to each characteristic or practice every tradition that is commonly seen in their culture. This feature intends to guide ESL teachers in understanding commonalities within a culture in order to best support students’ needs.
MEXICO
1. Most popular language: Spanish
“Hola” (Hello), “¿Qué tal?” (What’s up?) or “¿Cómo estás?” (How are you?).
- Further reading: “10 Common Challenges Spanish Speakers Have When Learning English”
2. Greetings and communication: A firm handshake with a smile is the appropriate greeting in most situations. Once people become acquainted, Mexicans often prefer to embrace as a greeting. Direct eye contact is appreciated during a conversation.
3. Collectivist or Individualist: Collectivist society - People belong ‘in groups’ that take care of them in exchange for loyalty. The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group.
4. Masculine or Feminine: Masculine society - Masculine countries people “live in order to work” and are success driven.
Fun fact: Mexico introduced the world to many popular foods such as: chocolate, avocado, tomato, vanilla, courgette (zucchini), and various beans and chillies.
CHINA
1. Most popular language: Standard Chinese, Mandarin
- “Ni hao” (Hello) and “Xie xie” (Thank you)
- Note: The Chinese writing is done from top to bottom in small symbols or signs, called 'characters' where the average Chinese adult usually knows about 8,000 different characters.
- Further reading: “5 Problems for Chinese Speakers of English”
2. Greetings and gestures: A light handshake is the appropriate greeting in casual settings. In formal situations, people bow slightly or nod politely to greet one another formally. Always greet those that are older than you first.
Note: Silence is important in Chinese communication. Pausing before giving a response indicates that someone has applied appropriate thought and consideration to the question.
3. Collectivist or Individualist: Collectivist society - China has one of the most collectivist cultures in the world. However, economic growth and increased financial independence is giving rise to more individualistic attitudes.
4. Masculine or Feminine: Masculine society - Masculine countries people “live in order to work” and are success driven. Chinese students can care very much about their grades and exam scores.
Fun fact: China has the largest population in the world; Table tennis, or ping pong, is the national sport of China.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
1. Most popular language: Spanish
“Hola” (Hello), “¿Qué tal?” (What’s up?) or “¿Cómo estás?” (How are you?).
Further reading: “10 Common Challenges Spanish Speakers Have When Learning English”
2. Greetings and gestures: A firm handshake with a smile and direct eye contact is the appropriate greeting in most situations.
3. Collectivist or Individualist: Collectivist society - The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group.
4. Masculine or Feminine: Masculine society - Behavior in school, work, and play are based on the shared values that people should “strive to be the best they can be” and that “the winner takes all”.
Fun fact: Baseball is the number one sport and pastime. Many players in the U.S. leagues are from the Dominican Republic.
VIETNAM
1. Most popular language: Vietnamese
“Xin chào” (Hello), “Cảm ơn bạn” (Thank you)
The Vietnamese language has different tones with each syllable. In writing, Vietnamese uses the Roman alphabet with accents to show the tones.
Further reading: “Common Mistakes of Vietnamese Learners of English”
2. Greetings and gestures: Greet a group in order of age, oldest is first acknowledged. Bowing the head while shaking hands indicates respect. People usually only hug to greet their relatives or very close friends.
Note: Avoid public displays of affection. Avoid touching someone’s head or shoulders. Avoid pointing at people and things with your index finger. These are considered disrespectful.
3. Collectivist or Individualist: Collectivist society - The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group.
4. Masculine or Feminine: Feminine society - In Feminine countries the focus is on “working in order to live”, managers strive for consensus, people value equality, solidarity and quality in their working lives.
Fun fact: Vietnam is home to the world’s largest cave, Son Doong; The Lunar New Year, called Tet, is one of the most important events of the year.
PHILIPPINES
1. Most popular language: Filipino, mainly the Tagalog dialect
“Kamusta” (Hello), “Salamat” (Thank you)
Further reading: “Pronunciation Problems of Students in the Philippines”
2. Greetings and gestures: The common gesture used to greet is known as ‘mano’, often referred to as ‘bless’ in English. Mano is performed as a sign of respect towards elders and as a way of accepting a blessing from the elder.
Note: If the person you are greeting is older than you but within the same generation, it is expected that you will refer to that person as 'kuya' for males and 'ate' for females. These terms do not have direct translations into English.
3. Collectivist or Individualist: Collectivist society - The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group. Filipinos generally feel a strong sense of pride towards their group and will celebrate their pride through sharing stories or facts about their family.
4. Masculine or Feminine: Masculine society - Behaviour in school, work, and play are based on the shared values that people should “strive to be the best they can be” and that “the winner takes all”.
Fun fact: The Philippines is one of the largest suppliers of nurses worldwide; Karaoke and singing is an important part of the Filipino culture.
KOREA, SOUTH
1. Most popular language: Korean
“여보세요” pronounced Yeoboseyo (Hello), “감사합니다” pronounced Gamsahabnida (Thank you)
Further reading: “English Pronunciation Difficulties by Korean Students”
2. Greetings and gestures: It is common to greet with a casual bow and/or handshake. A South Korean’s priority of saving face and politeness means that they will seldom give a flat ‘no’ or negative response, even when they don’t agree with you.
3. Collectivist or Individualist: Collectivity society - The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group.
4. Masculine or Feminine: Feminine society - In Feminine countries the focus is on “working in order to live”, managers strive for consensus, people value equality, solidarity and quality in their working lives.
Fun fact: Taekwondo is the national sport of South Korea; It is mandatory for all males to enlist in the military between the ages 18 and 28.
EL SALVADOR
1. Most popular language: Spanish
“Hola” (Hello), “¿Qué tal?” (What’s up?) or “¿Cómo estás?” (How are you?).
Salvadorans use voseo like Argentineans and Uruguayans (they use “vos” as the second person pronoun instead of “tu”).
Further reading: "Reasons Why Pronunciation is More Difficult for Adults than Children in El Salvador"
2. Greetings and gestures: Men shake hands with other men and with women, although they wait for the woman to extend her hand. Salvadoran women often pat each other on the right forearm or shoulder, rather than shake hands.
3. Collectivist or Individualist: Collectivist society - The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group. Family is sacred.
4. Masculine or Feminine: Feminine society - In Feminine countries the focus is on “working in order to live.” The El Salvadorians do not boast about their achievements. Instead they enhance their character through hard work and diligence and show their competitiveness by letting the results speak for themselves.
Fun fact: El Salvador is known as the Land of Volcanoes; The national dish is pupusa, thick corn tortillas stuffed with fillings such as cheese or refried beans.
GUATEMALA
1. Most popular language: Spanish
“Hola” (Hello), “¿Qué tal?” (What’s up?) or “¿Cómo estás?” (How are you?).
Note: In Guatemala, there are also over 20 Mayan dialects spoken.
Further reading: “10 Common Challenges Spanish Speakers Have When Learning English”
2. Greetings and gestures: Women greet one another, and men, with air kisses, while men greet one another with firm handshakes. Titles are important when addressing someone.
3. Collectivist or Individualist: Collectivist society - Based on the Hofstede, Guatemala has the lowest score on the scale, making it the most collectivist culture in the world. The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group.
Note: Communication is indirect and the harmony of the group has to be maintained, open conflicts are avoided.
4. Masculine or Feminine: Feminine society - In Feminine countries the focus is on “working in order to live.” Leisure time is important for Guatemalans, it is the time when the whole family, clan and friends come together to enjoy life.
Fun fact: The first chocolate bar was invented by the Mayans in Guatemala; The motto of Guatemala is “Libre Crezca Fecundo” or “Grow Free and Fertile” in English.
CUBA
1. Most popular language: Spanish
“Hola” (Hello), “¿Qué tal?” (What’s up?) or “¿Cómo estás?” (How are you?).
Note: Cuban Spanish derives from traditional Castilian Spanish from Spain
Further reading: 20 Things to Know About Teaching English to Spanish Speakers
2. Greetings and gestures: Handshakes with direct eye contact is a common greeting. Friends, family and close acquaintances usually share a light kiss on the cheek.
Note: Cubans often are louder and more expressive when communicating.
3. Collectivist or Individualist: Collectivist society - The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group. Cubans share pride in their country’s independence.
4. Masculine or Feminine: Feminine society - In Feminine countries the focus is on “working in order to live”, managers strive for consensus, people value equality, solidarity and quality in their working lives. For Cuba, this is mainly because of communism.
Fun fact: Cuba has one of the highest literacy rates in the world; Playing dominoes is a popular pastime for Cubans.
HAITI
1. Most popular language: French and Creole
French: “Bonjour” (Hello), “Merci” (Thank you); and Haitian Creole: “Ki jan ou ye?” (How are you?)
Further reading: "8 Insider Tips for Teaching English to French Speakers"
Further Reading: "Unique Challenges of Teaching French/Haitian Creole-Speaking English Language Learners"
2. Greetings and gestures: Handshakes with direct eye contact is a common greeting. Friends, family and close acquaintances usually share a light kiss on the cheek.
Note: Haitians tend to be indirect in communication.
3. Collectivist or Individualist: Collectivist society - The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group. Family is very important for Haitians.
4. Masculine or Feminine: Feminine society - In Feminine countries the focus is on “working in order to live”, managers strive for consensus, people value equality, solidarity and quality in their working lives.
Fun fact: Voodoo is an official religion in Haiti; The Carnival of Haiti (called “Mardi Gras” or “Kanaval” in Creole) is one of the biggest events in the country. Haiti's Carnival involves parades, costumes, local music and dancing in the streets to herald holy season.
"8 Cultural Differences between Native Speakers and English Learners"
This video is a descriptive explanation of important cultural differences between native speakers, typically from the Western world, and ESL learners, typically from the Eastern world. Cultural explanations help teachers understand the way culturally diverse students think and behave.
