Job Discussion Forums

[Justin Trullinger]

[Perpetual Traveller]

And for those who don't there's the option of writing the whole work in caps so that you can substitute a lower case L in place of the i: Moby DlCK. If you need an O there is always the zero, strangely enough just those two letters make a whole lot of *beep*ed words enterable (well it's a word now ).

PT

[gaijinalways]

I teach at universities in Japan, and yes, I find these students annoying too. I generally disregard them and mark them lower, as they are hardly participating. Some of the teachers mark them absent.

As to activities, survey your students. I have had classes talk about SMAP, manga related story lines, ads and manners in Japan versus your home country. You can do drawing as long as it it related to learning vocabulary (I play a form of pictionary in class, the students really enjoy doing it). Also get them to talk about where they are from, and if you really want to have fun, make one of the sleepers teach with your notes!

Once last thing to help us help you, what level are most of your students?

[Cdaniels]

C0ckney rhyming slang- I don't know how they can understand eachother! Is there a special C0ckney sign language too? Actually, don't answer that!

[Jizzo T. Clown]

[Willy_In_Japan]

Depending on your authority in the class, I would do the following.

Wake them up and tell them that if they fall asleep again in class that next class they wont have a chair. Then follow through with the threat. make them stand the whole next class.......return the chair the next class....repeat if necessary.

[merlin]

Wait a minute, everyone!
University undergrad courses?

Come on. None of the other faculty bother them if they sleep through lectures. Part of the Freshman university experience is learning that as an adult it's not anyone's responsibility but your own to learn. If they haven't learned that basic truth of adult life then an "F" at the end of the course will be your contribution to their education.

Let them sleep and record it in your gradebook in case they complain about their failing grade at the end of the term.

[Sweetsee]

Words of wisdom.
Right on Merlin!

[Jizzo T. Clown]

Agreed. Leave it to merlin to state what obviously needs to be done (not that any other pieces of advice weren't good or anything!).

[merlin]

Thanks
Just to make sure: you did offer them mid-term consultations and did all the appropriate paperwork for students performing poorly at mid-term, I hope. Otherwise you might have to let them squeak by with a D.

[carnac]

I have a collection of aluminum foil "snowballs" I keep on my desk prominently displayed, and tell them the first day that if they get caught sleeping they will get one in the head! Or two, or three. After the first one gets hit, and the class roars with laughter, everyone gets the idea and fights like hell to stay awake.
On the other hand, I usually try to plan lessons so that there is more active participation, calling regularly on sleepier students, keeping them "up".
Do outrageous things! Change your position! Move everyone around! Take the sleepy student and have them teach a lesson in something while you observe from the back of the room. ("If you know so much that you can sleep, then you should be teaching") The loss of face guarantees it won't happen again, and the entire class loves it and learns a lesson.
I also have a small custom-made battery-powered beeper that I give to the person sitting closest to the habitual nodder-off. When the target starts dozing, the beeper-holder gleefully puts the device next to the person's ear and BEEEEEEPs them awake.
I think the trick is to never do the same thing all the time - keep them guessing, and be outrageous sometimes. They learn to pay attention.

[IreneM]

hey there,

just thought i would suggest something-
maybe some how incorperating movement of some type into class... whether they get up every once in a while to write on the board or even if you incorperate some type of game, activities?

how old are the students?

if they are sleeping, they arent listening, or learning, so they must be failing. bring the issue up to their parents...

haha i like the suggestion of taking their desk away. my teacher in highshool did that to someone and made them stand the whole time. that mght work?

[Deconstructor]

Top ten reasons why students are sleeping in your class?

1. They can only dream of speaking English fluently.

2. Boredom: They don't understand a word you say in class.

3. Boredom: They don't understand a word they say to each other in class.

4. They went to a karaoke bar the night before and couldn't sing a single English song.

5. They're dreaming of their favourite exam.

6. They're dreaming of an English class. This way, they can take two at the same time.

7. Grammar coma.

8. They�re dreaming of not being Japanese.

9. They�re dreaming of teaching Japanese to Anglophones and getting medieval on their asses.

10. They�re not asleep; they�re just being unresponsive as usual.

[Guy Courchesne]

[Deconstructor]