Job Discussion Forums

[John Hall]

I teach a lot of "intensive" English courses in which students cannot lose their concentration. I actually spend quite a bit of time looking at my students to see who is paying attention, and who is not. My rule is that whoever is not paying attention gets the next question from me. This seems to work.

Concentration, as a skill, is obviously an important part of listening comprehension. However, it is also useful in other areas, such as doing the TOEFL and other timed exams, etc.

Since concentration is such an important aspect of the language learning process, I wonder if it is a "teachable" skill. And if so, how can it be taught or improved? Is there any literature anyone can recommend on this topic?

[Guy Courchesne]

I find it less a skill to be taught than one to be practiced. I've run pronunciation/listening exercises where the aim is not to listen for gist but for a single feature, such as a particular word or sound. I've done the same drill using pictures, and concentrating on a single element - a color for example. This is a warmup exercise to something else.

My thought is that students (and people in general) try too hard to concentrate on or to absorb it all. I like to use these drills to sharpen not only the students' minds, but my own from time to time. Deciding that today, I'm going to make an effort to notice smells, and write them down as I go about my day, or to concentrate on the color blue, for example.

For a bit of a read that's out in left field, try "Don't Think of Purple Spotted Oranges" by Martin Shervington.

[Jetgirly]

In my B.Ed program we're taught that we can't expect our students to concentrate unless we're teaching in a way that totally engages them.

[John Hall]

I certainly believe in engaging students, and do it in the classroom as much as possible. However, I think that teachers should make their classes interesting/engaging/entertaining only to a certain extent. Sometimes I have to teach stuff that isn't interesting, such as legal English. There is a certain way in which it is the student's responsibility to pay attention in class, and I think some students, especially first year university students, just do not really know how to do that. They may have the motivation to pay attention very carefully, but may not have the "know-how."

Maybe I should rephrase the question: how can students improve their ability to pay attention?

If any of you have tried to learn a foreign language yourself, you know that one of the difficult things is to stay focused on people who are using so many words in that foreign lanauge that you do not know when they speak to you.

[lozwich]

What an excellent post! And considering I've just come from a class full of distracted teens, very timely!

Any ideas for working with the little darlings and helping their concentration?

[gaijinalways]

One thing that all of us are probably aware of is that we need to mix up what we do in the classroom, so that students don't get too complacent and bored. Putting new spins on things also helps to keep us fresh as well, so that we don't get too complacent as well.

Depending on your classroom situation, try and keep some activities more 'active' so that students have less a chance of losing their attention span, sleeping, etc. Getting students to come to the board, change partners/groups, etc. will help with with maintaining some alertness for most students. Focusing our attention on various elements of language is a diffficult task, and of course we can help students by trying to highlight certain aspects of language.

But some aspects of attention are physical (adequate sleep, eating enough, etc.), and we have to work with what we have. We can prod our students, but we can't always keep them awake.

Trying to get students to relax is another related issue, and showing students that we know and understand their situation is important, too. Too much stress, and students will experience anxiety, too little stimulation and students will get complacent and not pay attention. It's a difficult balancing act, and one all of us try to deal with.

[Jizzo T. Clown]

If you're teaching conversational English, then yes, it is of utmost importance to keep the students interested / entertained.

What I've found is that the further you get away from teaching English as a hobby / way to keep one's mind active / something to do while one's husband is away on business / a way to get your kids into the *right* middle school or to keep enrollment up, the more "boring" the classes become.

I'm all for keeping the all-important affective filter low, but it's too easy to blame the teacher if the students fall asleep.

When I was an undergrad, some professors did have a special talent for making the subject matter readily accessible to those of us who had no interest in it before. Most gave long monologues and expected the students to learn the information on their own. It's my opinion that it's not always the teacher's responsibility to make class interesting--different people have different ideas of what *interesting* is. If I dance around like a monkey, some may find it amusing, but many wouldn't take me seriously as a teacher.

[dmb]

Motivation(intrisic and extrinsic) is key. If students aren't motivated they aren't going to be concentrating too hard.

[John Hall]

We have covered a number of points here about concentration: motivation, physical factors (sleep, food consumption), teacher's ability to be interesting vs. students' responsibility to pay attention, etc., all of which are important aspects of concentration. However, I think that many of my students are motivated to study English, but, in a sense, don't know how to apply themselves in the classroom or in doing their homework. Part of this may be because they have never studied anything "intensively" before.

Perhaps discipline is what they lack, and perhaps this is one of the most important aspects of concentrating well. I guess that I try to teach this by showing them how they should study, even how they should act in class (no speaking in Spanish, even when talking to a friend, etc.). And yes, there are consequences for not paying attention in class. If a student yawns in class, I will get them to do the next task, embarrassing them slightly if they aren't aware of what that task is. I try to keep them on their toes. Admittedly, this method sometimes creates a bit of hostility on the part of the students, so I have learned not to be entirely relentless. But I keep on doing it this way because it seems to work.

At the end of their university studies, my students need to pass something called the ELASH (English Language Assessment System for Hispanics) exam, which includes a fast-paced listening section. Students have to listen to the audiotrack of a CD and answer questions. My university required me to take the exam and even I blew some of the questions in the listening section, so obviously the students need to have super-intense concentration skills in order to be able to do well on it. I think that my classroom management strategies help them practice for this.

Anyhow, I am just posting this to see what kind of feedback about my methods I can get from some of you. Are any of you in a similar teaching situation as I am in? If so, what works for you in the classroom?

[gaijinalways]

I sometimes have also used that method, but it really depends on the student, as some students are really sleeping or just can't answer the questions even when they have been 'paying attention' (some big level differences in some of my classes).

As to how they should act in class, in Japan many students at the university age literally have no idea and tend to persist in displaying uncooperative behaviour. I'm not sure if my job is teaching discipline, but I suppose I could dust off my whip !

[stillnosheep]

errr, what was the question?

[John Hall]

I'll rephrase the question then: what can I do in the classroom to improve my students' concentration?

[Jizzo T. Clown]

I find that staring menacingly at the student not paying attention until they notice works. I also have a yardstick that makes a nice *snap!* when I hit it on the whiteboard (or on the student's desk).

[coffeedrinker]

I don't have any specific tips to offer, except to say that sometimes I think it is more effective to acknowledge that the class is long. the students are human and you realize they are trying. Concentration is essential, I agree, and while calling on daydreamers IS effictive sometimes, I think an uncomfortable atmosphere can harm learning more than a lack of concentration sometimes.

I don't mean to direct this at the original poster, but just at the situation in general - because it is definitely an issue in efl, and especially with, say, adults who have been working all day and then go to class til 9:30 at night.

[John Hall]