Culture is always present in a language classroom.

It shapes the way people greet one another, make requests, disagree, show respect and interpret behaviour. It also influences how teachers understand learners and how learners understand one another.

Sabrina Bhar’s workshop explored how teachers can make this cultural dimension more visible and more purposeful. Her central message was that culture does not need to be taught as a separate topic. It can be woven into grammar, vocabulary, speaking, reading and everyday classroom interaction.

That makes it closely connected to Teaching Artistry.

Teaching Artistry is not only about creativity or engaging activities. It is also about how teachers notice, interpret and respond to the people in front of them.

Culture is more than food and festivals

When we hear the word culture, we often think first of food, traditions, clothes or celebrations. These can be useful starting points, but culture also appears in everyday communication.

How direct should a request be?

How much eye contact is appropriate?

How do people show respect?

What counts as polite disagreement?

These questions matter because teachers can easily interpret behaviour through their own expectations.

Imagine a learner saying:

“Give me the answer.”

A teacher might immediately hear this as rude. But there may be other possibilities. The learner may have limited English, may be translating directly from another language, or may simply be unaware of how the phrase sounds in English.

The important question is not whether one interpretation is correct. It is whether the teacher is willing to pause and consider other possibilities.

That shift from judgement to curiosity is central to Teaching Artistry.

Teaching as interpretation

Teachers are always interpreting what happens in the classroom.

A learner is silent.

Someone speaks very directly.

A student avoids eye contact.

Another dominates a group discussion.

The artistic teacher does not simply react. They notice, reflect and choose how to respond.

This does not mean ignoring inappropriate behaviour. It means recognising that our own assumptions are also part of the classroom.

Teaching Artistry involves becoming more aware of those assumptions so that we have more choices in how we respond.

Culture as exploration

One useful way to approach culture is through a process of experience, comparison, analysis, reflection and action.

Learners encounter a practice, compare it with their own experience, explore similarities and differences, reflect on what those differences might mean, and consider how they might respond.

The aim is not to decide which culture is better.

It is to deepen understanding.

This creates interesting possibilities for language teaching. A menu, message, video clip, advert, train ticket or social-media post can all become starting points for cultural exploration.

The key is in the questions we ask.

What seems familiar?

What is different?

Why might people do this?

What assumptions are we making?

Could there be more than one appropriate way to behave?

Connection through culture

Sabrina also shared an activity based on food traditions.

Learners did not simply describe dishes. They talked about what those foods meant in their lives: celebrations, family traditions and important occasions.

This created something richer than vocabulary practice.

Learners discovered that although the dishes might be different, the human meanings behind them were often similar: belonging, celebration, hospitality and memory.

This is where cultural exploration connects particularly strongly with Teaching Artistry.

Language becomes a way of discovering other people.

Avoiding stereotypes

Cultural comparison can also be risky if it leads to generalisations such as “People in this country always…” or “In that culture they…”

Teachers can help by encouraging more careful language:

“In my experience…”

“In my family…”

“Some people I know…”

“I have noticed that…”

This keeps the focus on experience rather than stereotype.

The goal is not to make learners experts on one another’s cultures. It is to help them become more curious, more reflective and more careful about what they assume.

Teaching Artistry and teacher presence

Teacher presence is not only about confidence or charisma.

It is also about stance.

Are we curious?

Are we willing to reconsider our first interpretation?

Can we create space for different experiences?

Can we compare without judging?

Can we help learners stay open to uncertainty?

These choices shape how a classroom feels.

Bringing culture into the language classroom is therefore not simply about adding extra content.

It is about becoming more attentive to the human beings already present.

And that is part of the artistry of teaching.