What is my own linguistic & cultural background?

Starting in early life, children acknowledge different cultural backgrounds and get culturally influenced by their family and society, which shapes their initial understanding and development of culture and their personal cultural background. With various institutions such as kindergarten and school, children experience different cultural influences and backgrounds and apply them to their own understanding and concept. By selecting and applying the various aspects to the values known to them they are able to form their own world view. This world view strongly determines how we see and approach other people, cultures and situations. Learning about cultures and being influenced by them is a life-long learning experience which can be seen as mutually important. By exchanging ideas and concepts or talking and reflecting about personal habits we influence and therefore shape the other person as much as they shape us.

As teachers, our main goal is to accommodate the already existing diversity of cultural and language backgrounds of the students and use them as an opportunity to talk about culture (see below) and intercultural interaction. Furthermore, it is crucial to develop certain rules concerning social interaction not only with other people but other cultures such as politeness, respect, or tolerance.