Working as a Teacher of Spanish as a Foreign Language in the Middle East is not an easy job. However, it can even be more difficult if you add gender segregation: female students and male instructor. Interculturality becomes the handicap and emotions can play in your favor or against.
Intercultural climate in segregated classrooms: language, emotions and gender This paper investigates the educational climate generated by the relationship between male instructors and female students in a segregated campus. In a conservative and religious country as Qatar emotions are difficult to generate and process. Society, religion and university policies have a huge impact in its development. The main objective is to give visibility to this specific context where the fact of developing the intercultural competence generates either certain problems or very surprising reactions. Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language comes along with establishing an intercultural bridge that can make the students feel that their own culture is attacked together with their sensitivity. The methodology of this research is based on experiences, surveys and teacher’s diary. The information gathered helps the researcher to see other points of view and how the relationship between male and female instructors in this area with male and female students who study in a segregated campus is. In conclusion, the attitude and the position of the instructors in this situation is decisive. This double-edge sword can lead us to success or failure. In a nutshell, in classrooms of Spanish a Foreign Language, how the instructor is approaching his or her culture to the students when they belong to such a different country? What kind of approach is necessary to favor an intercultural and pluricultural communication with real emotions? Keywords: Interculturality, Middle East, gender, Spanish, second language acquisition
