Job Discussion Forums

[maszia]

Just wondering... If you need to discipline your students for whatever reason, do you do it in English, or in their language? If you have a low level class who don't really understand much English yet, and you don't actually speak their language, what do you do?
This doesn't actually apply to me at the moment because I do speak Spanish, and apart from two of my classes, my pupils mostly speak English well enough to understand me without my having to resort to Spanish. My contract here ends in December though, and I just might find myself working in a country where I don't speak the language, and I just know they'll give me a kindergarten class!

[shmooj]

personally I don't think classroom discipline has much to do with language. It has a great deal to do with presence and tone of voice and body language. Get those right and you could be speaking ancient Gaelic for all the students knew. They'll get the message loud and clear...

[Chris_Crossley]

I have been fortunate in that I have not had to do much disciplining in the three years that I have been teaching youngsters in China, yet, whenever the need has arisen, I have found that a short, sharp shout of "HEY!" (which everyone understands irrespective of L1) followed by appropriate body language (e.g., folding one's arms, a stern face, pointing to the door) combine to make the message clear that the student's (or students') behaviour is unacceptable.

Using words, either in your own L1 or in the students' L1, usually ends up in the students giggling disrespectfully at an expat teacher, so a different tactic may be needed.

It would help all teachers if the rules regarding classroom behaviour and discipline were to be explained to the students in their L1 at the beginning of their first class so that they cannot have any excuses whatsoever for not knowing what will happen if they should step out of line. Rules of discipline should also be written down and sent to parents (or, better still, e-mailed), plus an English copy provided for the teachers. Both copies should be on display on a school noticeboard for everyone to see. This creates a good impression on parents of prospective young learners at private schools.

[dyak]

[Guy Courchesne]

Good points there. Setting out rules and expectation at the beginning of a term with a new group of students is great to have a source to refer back to. Consistency is key on the teacher's part.

I find that engagement is the best discipline. Boredom seems to be a common form of distraction or bad behavior in the class.