SULTAN QABOOS UNIVERSITY
THE LANGUAGE CENTER
NEW TEACHERS’ ORIENTATION
2012/2013
Najat Al Kalbani
najat@squ.edu.om
OUTLINE

Today’s presentation focuses on the implications
of the following two points on the academic
setting at SQU:
1.
Omani society as a segregated society
2.
Omani society as a collectivist society
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OMANI CULTURE



The Omani society is segregated by gender:
Omani houses have clearly identified sections for
men and others for women.
The same principle applies to schools- girls’
schools and boys’ schools.
Teachers teaching in these schools are of the
same sex as their students.
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CONT’D


SQU is the first “gender-mixed” environment to
most of our students which is both exciting and
“crippling”!
Though SQU is defined as a “co-ed institution”,
you will see some influence of the segregation
predominant in the society:
e.g. class seating arrangements,
different entrances, hallways, computer labs,
lifts, waiting rooms…etc
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CONT’D

Omani culture as a collectivist culture: The focus
is on the group not so much on the individual
Girls tend to go to places together
 Boys may shake their classmates’ hands when
they come into the classroom- their image in
front of others
 Very expressive-Expressions such as “we miss
you teacher!”, we like you, we love you”

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CONT’D
Saving face: the fear of making mistakes
 Students may appear very direct in addressing
their teachers
e.g. “teacher, you must” or you should, “open the
door”, “switch off the AC”….etc
This is partly cultural and partly because
students are dealing with the language
component. Being polite is an added burden that
they feel they can leave out!

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NEGOTIATING MARKS
Haggling is an acceptable behavior in Omani
culture
 Some students may haggle for additional marks!
Which students tend to haggle more?
 What can you do to stop students from haggling?
explain marking criteria right from the beginning
explain your expectations of them
make them aware of their expectations. How?

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SUMMARY
The above points are not generalizations; they
are mere guidelines.
 Try to be sensitive and alert to cultural
differences.
 Be accommodating: Students may appear at
times confrontational or even rude when in fact it
all comes down to a cultural difference.

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AND FINALLY
In case you need to ask questions:
Najat Al Kalbani
Room # 2008, Ext. 2837
najat@squ.edu.om
najatsqu@gmail.com
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