Browsing by Author "Alhajji, Reem"

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    The Cultural Perspective of Native teachers of English in Multicultural Classrooms: An In-depth Study of the Classroom of Private Schools of Dubai
    (The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-12) Alhajji, Reem
    The following study has been conducted to assess the cultural impact in the pedagogical context. The aimed of the study, therefore, is concerned with conducting an in-depth analysis about the perspective that the native English teachers have as far as the cultural aspects of teaching a multi-cultural classroom within the UAE. The rational for the study has been explained through the identification of problems arising on account of the differences in cultural values and systems as observed among the students and the teachers. Such differences lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings, consequently affecting the quality of education adversely. The aim of the study has been attained through the descriptive analysis of the data which has been collected from the teacher by means of face-to-face in-depth interviews and observations of the classroom sessions. Open ended semi-structured questions have been used for the interview, and for the lesson observation, the researcher had adopted a passive approach. A total of 10 teachers employed within private schools of Dubai have participated in the study, and 20 classes were observed across 4 schools. The analysis of the data has revealed that unawareness of the various cultures, differences in the knowledge levels of the students, the attitudes of the parents, and the difference in independence levels of the multicultural students presents obstacles for the native teachers. In addition, the culture of the teachers contributes to difficulties in the way that the students respond in class and how receptive they are to the lessons. In an attempt to resolve such issues, the native teacher have adopted practices like modification of their teaching approach to suit the cultural demands, and making efforts to discuss about the global issues. However, such efforts are not enough to ensure that the quality of education meet the global standards, and hence recommendations for its improvement have been made. The most prominent recommendation includes proving appropriate training to the teachers so that their intercultural competence levels can be enhanced. Further, based on the limitations of the study, recommendation for the future direction of study on this topic have been made.