Teaching Different Cultures while Practicing the Language!

Teaching Different Cultures while Practicing Language!

While I was studying Foreign Languages Education in the Faculty of Education, I always asked myself if I was doing the right thing as I was not a native speaker. But when I started to experience teaching in real classrooms I convinced myself that teaching English is not about being native or non-native. It depends on the person's creativity, effort, and most importantly experience. I can also say that sometimes being non-native has some advantages!

This year in Poland, I've had lots of fun because many things were new for me and every day I was learning something new from locals. Also, I had many chances to talk about Turkey and Turkish culture and prepared lesson plans using authentic content as most of the students weren't familiar yet enthusiastic to learn. Since traveling was not an option for the classes, I decided to plan some of my lessons about my own culture including reading passages about traditional food, ceremonies, and Turkish coffee. I guess the most unforgettable part was the lesson about Turkish coffee because apart from the reading passage, at the end of the lesson I also showed them how to prepare it and students tried Turkish coffee for the first time. Too bad I don’t have photos as I was pretty busy doing it and I should also confess that I am not very skillful when it comes to preparing things! That is why I couldn’t show my students how we prepare some of the traditional foods. Fortunately, my Indian colleague Priya had some skills and showed us how to prepare Indian food and it was quite fun!

Before starting the cooking session, Priya asked guests: ''What comes first to your mind when you think about India?''. Answers included: yoga, vegetarianism, Aamir Khan and spices. After the responses, Priya and her husband talked about stereotypes about Indian people, food and culture.
While having conversations about India, Priya also introduced the ingredients and the most popular ingredients used in Indian cuisine. She showed us how to prepare naan and butter chicken. All the guests made their own naan and cooked. It was one of my most enjoyable days in Poland.

A local newspaper wrote about the Indian food event. You can also see me on the left side!