Break the Wall: Intercultural Challenges in the Middle East to Teach Spanish as a Foreign Language

Abstract

This paper investigates the needs of teachers of Spanish have while teaching the language while maintaining and emphasizing the sociocultural, intercultural and religious components. The research will attempt to shed light on offering a performance guide with materials and examples of different nature (songs, videos, textbooks, literary fragments). The paper will also provide a comparison between how to work with similar factors from different perspectives while taking into account the religious and emotional aspects. In order to achieve these aims the method used is based on a synergy of experiences, shared knowledge, culture clash and double perspective the European and the Middle Eastern perspectives. There is an increasing demand for Spanish language instructors’ in the Middle East. This increase together with beneficial work conditions for foreigners make The Middle East an attractive land to spread linguistics knowledge as a language instructor. However, there is an observable lack of cultural information, in terms of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in such a conservative culture, in addition to lack of knowledge of the social protocols in the Middle East. The absence of such essential information may result in misunderstandings and even complaints from both parties in this exchange. It is imperative that senior academics offer a sort of “lifeline” for the upcoming teachers, mainly European or Asian, who might consider working in this area. In a nutshell, in a classroom where the instructor is non-Muslim, what needs to be taken into account in order not to offend the cultural sensitivity of the students? How can the Spanish language instructor create a learning environment where the students do not feel culturally attacked?