Job Discussion Forums

[zakiah25]

These questions might appear to be rather broad and general but I was wondering if other teachers would like to share their ideas/experiences in the following situations (answers can apply to any age groups taught/nationalities etc).
What do you do if .....?
1. You have reluctant learners in the class who are resisting all of your motivational attempts.
2. You have a badly behaved individual or group who cause continual class disruptions.
3. You have some students who repeatedly fail to complete set assignments or home studies.
4. You have a slow learner/s who just isn't keeping up with the group.
5. You have a group of students with an attitudinal problem and in this instance, they can't see (or don't want to) the point of learning English.
6. Students who always arrive late for class or are repeatedly absent from class.
7. Students who resort to devious means (SMS text messages etc) to cheat in exams.

Thank you in advance for any replies (if possible, could you point out any cultural influences in regard to your answers ?).

[gecko]

The following comes from my experience working in both Korea and Thailand. In answer to your questions:

1, 2, 3. Use a point system that will help you to control your students better, and some games that will help them to enjoy the class.

4. Try your best to help them, don't alienate them and suggest to you D.O.S that they be moved to a different class. Concentrate on the rest of your students, not the nicest thing to do but more practical.

5. Just make the lessons as fun as you can, get the kids to learn without knowing that they are learning. the Point system and games will easily solve this problem for you.

6. Speak to the parents if you can, if the lateness can't be helped then just ignore it. Concentrate on the rest, don't let it interupt your lesson plan. If they are late....tough titties.

7. Take the phone off them and throw it out of the window. Trust me, you will only have to do this once and no other student will dare to have a mobile that is switched on in your classroom again! As far as cheating is concerned, before the test, tell your students that if they cheat, they wil score 0%. If you see the cheating, let them finish the test, walk up to them and put a bif line through it and tell them they failed. After the class, mark it without them knowing so that you still ma judge how well they are doing. They don't need to know the real result.

[guest of Japan]

Zachiah, somehow you posted a very accurate list of what I'm dealing with right now. The only thing I'll add to it is that my average class size is 40 students, and I don't have the power to discipline (this is a very hazy rule).

Gecko, That's a nice list. I especially like the part about throwing the phone out the window, but I think that could get me fired or beaten up.

I teach in a very low level private high school in Japan, and it is the most frustrating teaching experience I've ever had.

[zakiah25]

Yes, Guest of Japan - what you mentioned is more to the point that I'm trying to get at!
We all have various means and methods "up our sleeve" from previous experiences that work in our own countries but might not be appropriate to use when teaching in a different culture.
In Oman, I know of a teacher who was fired for confiscating a mobile phone from a student and for failing that student in the exam (and this was after the teacher had given repeated warnings that mobile phones were not allowed in the examination room).
I'm interested to hear from other teachers who have adapted various means to suit the particular cultural situation in which they are working.

[Shonai Ben]

Have a class party and get them drunk.It works every time.No inhibitions when everyone drinks alcohol.We do this in Japan all the time.
Cheers.

[fluffhead]

...would that be possible in Oman?

[johnslat]

Dear zakiah25,
Well, one problem I see is that, even within the same country, even within the same workplace, methods ( and the freedom to employ them ) can differ. For example, after so long here, I make rules and do things in class that new teachers probably wouldn't ( and shouldn't ) do. On Day One of every session I hand out an " Information and Rules " sheet ( which I cleared beforehand with the Director ) which tells the students what's expected, what they can ( but mostly cannot ) do and the consequences that will ensue if they break the rules. Then we spent about 45 minutes going over the sheet. Some samples:
1. Late to class = absent ( if a student comes in after the attendance has been called, he's not late, he's absent )
2. No book or an old book with answers written in = absent
3. Absent = 0% in participation, 0% for homework
4. No make-up quizzes
5. No " men's room breaks " - no one leaves the room once class begins. If he does, he's absent.
6. If a mobile goes off, it's mine - the student can pick it up a 2:30 pm at my office ( harsher than it might seem, since on some days, class might finish for the day at 10 am or 11 am for some students ).
7. No Arabic in class - Arabic in class means a low participation grade.

But then, I've been here so long ( and have accumulated so much " wasta " ) that I can do stuff other, newer teachers might get in trouble for - at the very least, they'd probably get really poor student evaluations, which, for them, could be bad news. I think, though, that it's essential you " lay down the law " on Day 1 and then make sure you " follow through " - no exceptions ( well, if a student has a note from a doctor, I might let him go to the men's room ), no favoritism. Then, after the rules have been given and talked about ( I always explain WHY I have the rule ) you can be a " nice guy/gal ", within those parameters.
Regards,
John

[Shonai Ben]

Whoa!John your rules are tough imo.It may work for you,which is great,but for me I use a more subtle approach.I don't want to come across as the bad @ss teacher with an attitude.To each his own,I guess.
Cheers.

[johnslat]

Dear Shonaei Ben
He who starts off as a bad a** can then lighten up as the session goes on. But he who starts off as a good a** may run into many troubles. However, each has to work out what works best for him/her.
Regards,
John

[Shonai Ben]

Yes I agree with you ,but I would rather come across as a good @ss with an understanding temperment than an absolute tolitarian who declares the rules be followed as such and there be no exceptions.This is just my teaching style,no disregard to yours.We all have our own style of teaching and that is actually good imo,otherwise teachers would become very boring and robot-like.
Cheers.

[scot47]

Mobiles are still number one problem in Saudi Arabia. Students cannot bear to be parted from their mobile or have it switched off.

Oafish behaviour - which I have seen in other countries. What is this idea that you have to be electronically connected with the rest of the world at all times ?

[johnslat]

Dear Shonaei Ben,
Absolute totalitarian? Moi? Why, I'm just a cuddly benevolent despot. Would you believe I actually let my students vote on some matters, which may well be the only time in their lives they ever get to exercise that democratic privilege here? But seriously, my reason for being " absolute " is, once you set a precedent - mark one student present, for example, when he was late - the dam then bursts, and all the other students feel ( and rightly so ) that you're being unfair. That " late = absent rule " by the way, is not my invention. It's the policy of my employer, the IPA. But its enforcement is jeopardized by teachers who too laxly enforce it ( that also makes it much harder on those of us who do ). Actually, how other teachers here conduct themselves in their classrooms is no concern of mine - except when their behavior makes my job more difficult. But were I in your specific situation, I might well act very differently, as perhaps you might if you were in mine.
Regards,
John

[Shonai Ben]

John:
I understand where you are coming from.Too bad we have to follow rules that are already set up before we even enter the classroom to teach.I for one like to set up my own rules and have my own set of criteria when I enter a classroom.Damn the establishment,I say.It's my class and I will damn well teach it the way that I want to.
Guess that explains why most of my classes are privates,not "official" classrooms.

[Stephen Jones]

Dear John,
i suspect you are just applying the rules already set down. It's easier where we are because there's no student assessment. In my experience student assessments in Saudi reward teachers who a0 let the class out early b) never actually expect any work and most importantly c) Leak all the exam questions before the exam.

At anothe place in Saudi I worked I actually saw teachers rubbing out students' wrong answers and replacing them with correct ones to up the grades.

Incidetnally your rules are almost the same as ours. At the moment we're even tougher on mobiles. We're supposed to give them to the Director who keeps them for ten days. So you can never actually have a meeting with him any more because he's surrounded with students trying to get their mobiles back.

[johnslat]

Dear Stephen,
Well, actually it's a mixture. The " no late / only absent " rule and the " old book with the answers in it " rule ( which =s absent ) are the IPA's. But the no men's room rule ( I tell the students - Look, you have 24 hours of class a week; I have 30. You're all young; I'm 60. I DON'T leave to go to the men's room during class, so you're not going to, either ), the mobile phone rule and the " no Arabic in class " rule are my own. The " no make-up quizzes " rule is also mine, but then, I give 4 quizzes ( and drop the lowest grade ) whereas most other teachers give only 3 or even 2. Regarding student assessment, we get to see ours after each session. It would seem that my rather harsh rules don't affect my assessments much. Oh, there are always one or two students ( out of about 25 ) that are, shall we say, less than complimentary about my abilities. But over the years my student assessments have been among the best. So, maybe the students don't mind the rules all that much - as long as you explain the reasoning and apply the rules equally and fairly to all.
regards,
John