What Kind of Culture Should Teaching Assistants Be Familiar with?

Abstract

Language Assistants have become an important resource for teachers in bilingual schools in Spain especially in the Madrid region. Most Language Assistants come from English speaking countries, especially from the United States. In their role as Language Assistants, they are expected to bring and share their knowledge about cultural aspects and content subjects and, at the same time, they need to share their beliefs and perspectives towards Spain and Spanish schools. Nevertheless, there is sometimes controversy around this topic as there are obvious differences and similarities between both cultures; one of them being the misconception regarding the type of culture the need to teach to students.