Culturally sensitive teaching

With the first week coming up, a colleague made the very important point that we need to include a short lecture/workshop on the culural nuances of teaching English in Saudi Arabia. Most of our teachers are from the US and the UK.

As teachers, we read a lot into the way our students behave and act. Our observations may be based on experience, intuition or academic knowledge.

Saudi students can be shy, especially in situations where some of the more creative amongst us want the students to 'get physically active' or do something totally out of character in the local context.

What may seem like a non-co-operative student, may in fact have a totally valid reason for behaving the way he or she does. The teaching of culture, and managing classes in different environments is a must in this day and age. Unfortunately, to date, I have not seen any book that tackles this issue seriously. So for any of you out there with an iota of interest in this area, its an opportunity to make your contribution.