Rude or oblivious? - Martina McCathy
Channel: ELT Ireland
Date: 2017-05-17

Have you ever thought that your students are rude? Have you ever noticed that they sometimes say or ask for things in an inappropriate way? 
Students can develop communicative competence and grammar accuracy often quite successfully by transferring what they know from their first language. However, when the tacit rules of social interaction in one language are subconsciously applied to another, the results can be catastrophic as perceptions of politeness vary cross-culturally.
Martina explains this phenomenon and draw attention to the fact that the role of the teacher in guiding the student toward better understanding of socio-cultural norms in the target language is paramount.