The last day's...

Here are my beloved and tall students :-)

Dear all,

It has been a long and busy month.
I've experienced a lot of cultural differences and it would be difficult to explain it all here.
But the most important is the Danish 'secret law' of humility.
Danish people cant's show off or be too proud!
If someone is too proud he will not be well considered by his classmates or friends.
If I am proud of my work, or lesson, I just have to keep it for myself.
It is also something I have to be careful about in the classroom. I can't say to a student that he is wonderful and that his work was super. I have to stay positive but I can't says to the other students: "look at him, he work was brilliant, you should do the same!"

Something else is that everything is based on trust. The teacher trusts his students, he believes in them and he doesn't control them systematically. You can also find places where you pay for your coffee and then you go and help yourself, but anybody could walk in take a cup of coffee and go away. The Danish people don't do that! I feel extremely save here, People let there bags alone to throw something into the trash and they are not afraid of being stolen.

I did experience a 'culture clash' when I first heard a student say to me that he knew what to write in his essay but that he was to lazzy to work now. The student went on with playing and I smiled because I knew it is normal here for a student to say this to his teacher. Still, it was
strange.

I tried to ask as many questions as I could to avoid making 'cultural mistakes' I observed a lot before acting and when I didn't know what to do, I just did the same as my neighbour.

I think a language is part of the culture. I have given a lesson about sayings and expressions in french and in danish, I have learner a lot about their culture just through saying and I realised how important it was to explain the culture linked with the language you teach. Otherwise it is like teaching a death language.