Challenges of Education in a Multicultural Environment

The problems often encountered by teachers and students in these case can be:

• Problems of communication breakdowns between staff and students because of poor foreign language ability and pronunciation of the English language used within the school.
• Cultural differences between students or between the student and the teacher (what is common and normal in one culture it is not acceptable in another).
• The lack of knowledge of different cultures, which leads to misunderstandings concerning students’ manners.

Lecturer needs to be open to other cultures and to try to familiarize the students with the differences between the patterns of behavior of the representatives of various nationalities, sub-cultures, etc.

The role of the teacher is vital because the teacher is the person who builds the atmosphere during the class. Teacher must be prepared to effectively facilitate learning for every individual student, no matter how culturally similar or different they are. As an educator, it is important to have a dual responsibility to engage in a critical and continual process to examine how the socializations and biases inform my teaching and thus affect the educational experiences of the students. Teachers have a responsibility to themselves to examine the lenses through which they understand the people and happenings around them. Only when they have a sense for how their own perceptions are developed in relation to their life experiences they will begin to understand the world and effectively navigate their relationships with the people around them.

To be an effective and successful teacher means that we must be in a constant process of self-examination and transformation in order to fit the needs and also be on the same track with the trends. Also far of a great importance are the transformation of schools and schooling. Student-centered pedagogy is an important task that teachers should take into account.

Students’ experiences and opinions must be brought to the center of the classroom, making learning active, interactive, relevant, and engaging. Traditional teaching approaches and pedagogical models should remain to the past. All aspects of teaching and learning in schools must be focused and dedicated to the students. The accent should be placed on critical thinking, learning skills, and deep social awareness. Pedagogy must provide all students with the opportunity to reach a certain level of maturity. All curricula must be analyzed and even transformed and everything to be presented from diverse perspectives, corners and views.

All in all we can conclude that teaching may be very difficult and at the same time enjoyable and attractive. The problems, the challenges and all the difficulties it brings may have a great contribute and inflict in the personal and professional growth of the teachers that deal with this environment. Among the positive things and the advantages that may result from it are the self-preparation, capability, skills, proficiency and the experience that adds values to the curriculum of the teacher and prepares him to reach an international level in every means of his or her persona. The relation between culture and language is very strong and it is hard to exist divided from one another. So, this makes important culture in teaching English in order to make students have a clearer picture and better understanding toward many things.