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[Jizzo T. Clown]

I have a few students who always fall asleep in class without fail (they're all Japanese). I've tried almost everything...calling attention to them, asking them why, threatening to send them home, asking them to answer the questions I asked while they were asleep, letting them stay asleep until their class leaves and the next class enters...

Nothing seems to work. This is really frustrating. I tell students that nothing is more disrespectful, as I take this behavior personally. Does anyone have experience with this type of student? Is it a cultural thing?Should I just ignore them and let them fail the course?

What can I do?

(and please avoid taking potshots)

[guangho]

Can't you put them on the spot by waking them up and asking questions or making them do oral exercises? I would imagine that the loss of face may be enough to motivate them next time around.

[Glenski]

What kind of school do you teach at, Jizzo? And, where?

I'm in Japan and see sleepers in my high school class constantly. Japanese teachers do little about it, but native teachers usually wake them up.

First, I suggest you contact their parents and/or videotape them.

Of course, you could always try to change your lesson plans to involve more stand-up and move-around activities.

Then, if parents have not effect on the kids, let them sleep and flunk them. They will have wasted their parents' money.

[Stosskraft]

Not sure about the age group, but its difficult to put your head down and have a nap with no desk.

[Jizzo T. Clown]

Thanks for replying. I teach in a university intensive prgram in the U.S., so all of my students are 18-19 years old. There's no calling their parents, but I suppose I could go to the Japanese advisor. They don't seem too worried about losing face--they're much more disrespectful than any Japanese students I taught in Japan.

[Cdaniels]

If they aren't snoring or disturbing the class in any other way, let them sleep! I think some of this is a kind of delayed-adolescent behavior after years of strict discipline! Right now they know you can't to much. I used to stay in my dorm room and sleep through classes in college. I would guess your students don't have other places to sleep, or the cultural variation might be that they show up at all, rather than skipping class outright.

[Otterman Ollie]

A few lads used to do it here on a regular basis ,I used to ignore it most of the time the usual excuse was that they were feeling a bit Moby Dick so I let it slide until I found out that they sit up till 4 or 5 in the morning watching mucky vids .
So I wandered over when the head went down and he was bo peep got a bottle of water and dribbled a drop or two on his head ,when he came to I told him the whole bottle would go over him next time .I only had to do it once .

[Joachim]

Wake them up and make them stand for the rest of the class, and if they attempt to sit, send them out. Be firm!

or if you're feeling really sadistic, you could make them sing an English song alone - but in Japan I fear you'd just get a flat refusal....

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Hi Jizzo T

[Jizzo T. Clown]