10/19/2021; Week 6: Response to Difference in Emotional Expressivity

 The difference in Emotional Expressivity.

By Aranza Garza

The majority of all human beings have the same emotions when we are babies, we cry in public without caring what people might think, when we are children, our parents teach us how to behave, and both they and society start shaping our public emotions. By the time we are adults, we already know and have that part of made, but something curious happens when we visit other countries or even other states in our own country, we find out that the way we may act is not the same as others. 

We could call this Difference in Emotional Expressivity, and in the video Differences in Emotional Expressiveness, Professor Ivers explains this topic, and he gives examples of how this difference could be applied. He tells us about a study they did on a school, they showed a bloody video to a group of students, and depending on which culture they came from, their public reactions changed, but when they saw the video in private (without any of them knowing that they were being recorded) all of the students reacted similarly. This study helps us see that our culture affects even our public emotions, and depending on how people see it, this difference can cause misunderstandings. 

TESOL teachers have a hard job because usually, their classes are full of diversity and different cultures (Even if most of the students come from the same place, the culture can change), and this gives them the extra pressure of the possibility of misunderstanding their students. I think TESOL and ESL teachers need to be very open-minded and understand that some students may communicate both with words and emotions very different than others, but not because of this reason or because they are unfamiliar with their behavior makes it less valid, as a teacher you have the duty of making a safe environment for all you students, and understanding that there are differences in the emotional expressivity is part of it. 

Also, making a safe and positive environment may help your students open more and feel more comfortable expressing themselves. The results may not be immediate but in the end, these actions could help them, or make them understand better other cultures. 

Respect and love should always be important factors in a classroom.

Questions to Reflect:

• What kind of differences have you noticed in your students?
• Do you think these differences can affect the classroom or a lesson?

Answer in the comments what do you think 

REFERENCES

Difference in Emotional Expressivity, BYU Idaho, uploaded by Tim Tanner (March 12th, 2015) LINK