teaching - In-class, allowing students to address professor informally ('tutoyer' / 'tutear')

Supposing that Dr. A is teaching an undergraduate-level course, what would be the pros and cons for Dr. A to allow students to address himself in an "informal" manner?

By "informal" here I mean using what is employed in a number of languages for informal conversation. For example, this would be tutoyer in French or tutear in Spanish. (Hence, the question does not apply for an English-speaking classroom, but does apply for a French or Spanish-speaking one).

EDIT (clarification, thanks j91): In Spanish, French, German and other languages, the second person singular has two versions: "Tú", "Tu" and "Du" are the informal versions in Spanish, French and German, respectively, and "Usted", "vous" and "Sie" are the formal ones in the same order. "Tutear" is the act of using systematicaly the informal version and, in theory, should be avoided when speaking to a person in a position of authority.

Answer

The effects of the decision to invite your students to address you informally, and whether this is considered appropriate at all, are very culture-dependent. In general there are several trade-offs. How you balance them depends on your personal judgement. My experience is that of a German who has worked both in Germany and Austria.

Possible upsides of having the students address you in an informal manner (tutoyer/tutear/duzen) include:

• Students may be less concerned about perhaps embarrassing themselves in front of the "authority figure"; they may be more inclined to participate in class discussions and ask ("stupid") questions.



• Less perceived role conflict on your side, if you are a very junior lecturer and empathize more strongly with the student side than more senior staff.


• A more relaxed and friendly atmosphere in general

Possible downsides:

• Students may be more willing to negotiate about grades etc.; and less distance between you and the students can make it hard to say "no"


• Politely ignoring each other can be harder if you encounter students in a different social setting


• Explaining or even just giving a disappointing grade feels more personal and unpleasant when you have crossed the line between you (tu, Du) and "You" (vous, Sie).