DIVERSITY AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN LANGUAGE TEACHING When I was a beginner teacher, I struggled with some expressions my students asked about. You know, the "How do you say this in English?" thing. Back then, I didn't know any better; I sometimes said, "I don't know!" or "Let me look it up, and I'll give an answer next time", even though when I thought to myself and asked myself about the equivalent in English, I couldn't find any. At first, I thought the problem was in me, and I was sure that if I did enough research, I would no longer face those problems. In my country, Algeria, in North Africa, and all over the Arab world (if not in other cultures as well, let me know in the comments), after someone finishes eating, we use an expression that translates to "I hope this food nourishes your body" or "to your good health" (the second translation is quite literal), but what I noticed was; I watch American movies and TV shows all the time, and I've never heard anyone say anything to anyone who's done with lunch or breakfast, but saying that this expression doesn't exist or this practice isn't common in western societies felt wrong, it made me feel less competent. When teaching English to speakers of other languages, it's very important to be familiar with their culture and background; this helps you bridge the gap between you and your students. If you understand where they're coming from, you can guide them better, and it will help explain that sometimes the answer is that there's no answer. So, now when my students ask me a similar question, I explain to them that in English-speaking countries, when someone is done eating, they say "nothing" to them. I also explain that it's a cultural difference, and if they want to use it, they can use it as it is, and explain that this is what we say in our country and what it translates to.