Teaching in an International Classroom. There is More to it Than Language Proficiency.

When it comes to teaching in an International Classroom, proficiency in the language of instruction tends to be the key factor for most academic staff. What is often forgotten, though, is that rules of appropriateness can no longer be taken for granted in this changed social setting and that both a change in power relations and shift of professional identity of the academics might force them to leave their comfort zones and enter entirely new territory. Such an academic venture, however, seems to question the convenient one-size-fits-all approach towards teaching adopted by tertiary teachers who are frequently unaware of intercultural implications.