Job Discussion Forums

[MikeySaid]

It seems that I'm not good at teaching.

I got hired at a private Colegio in Mexico and came down having gone through a EFL cert program just before arriving. I had previously done some teaching in Queretaro where classroom management wasn't a problem for me, and had worked with a class and different groups of students in California where I also had no problems with classroom management.

Initially when I sent students to the office for behavior problems, I thought they would return with some kind of form to take home to mommy and daddy or something of that nature. However, they consistently came back with a note saying something to the tune of "I have spoken with him/her and s/he understands the consequences if it happens again tomorrow or Friday."

I asked for help at the school because I began feeling like I could not control the classroom and students who were sent to the office were returning unpunished and unaffected. In response, I was told that the kids had too much freedom and that I wasn't prepared enough. I prepare daily detailed lesson plans that cover everything from early finishers to kids who are below level, but I have not felt like I can get ahold of the class long enough to get through everything that needs to be done or implement strategies I would like to bring into the classroom.

I find my students (one group in particular) to be rude, disrespectful, argumentative and horribly restless.

Even simple rules like "raise your hand and wait to be called on" are ignored.

I've seen these same kids with their Spanish teacher and it's not how they behave, and now I'm feeling lost. They won't do their work, they won't listen, and they're making me feel like I shouldn't be their teacher. But, I want to have success with them, and I want them to be successful. After two months is it just plain too late? Or are their methods I can employ to get the kids quiet, working, and listening in a program that calls for a butt load of workbook assignments and not much free expression?

HELP!

[MELEE]

Hi Mikey, believe it or not, I was just wondering the other how you were getting on.

I think you've got just about the hardest type of TEFL. Just because you are having a hard time controlling snotty rich pubescent students does not mean that you are not a good English teacher. Mostly it just means your human.

I teach university students, mostly working class--usually no problems at all, but I did once have a class that was rowdy beyound control. I don't think it's too late in the semester to get mean. Slam your book down on the desk, kick your chair and scream in Spanish that from today on there are going to be some new rules. (These are the times when I miss chalk because it was great to through a new piece against the back wall where it would smash into bits). Then once you have their attention, I would tell them that today you and they--together are going to write the rules. Tell them that you were hired to teach them English and you want to do your job and you want to do it well. Ask them if they know why the adults in their lives want them to learn English. Ask they why they personally would like to learn English (songs, movies, internet, chating up tourists in the zocalo?). Ask them what grade they want to get on their final exam or when if ever they want to sit a standardized test in English. Once you've got their goals, your goals, and the school admin/their parents goals down. Move the conversation into how are you going to help them meet those goals. What activities and classroom environment will be necessary to creat an enviroment that will help them meet those goals. Take their suggestions, but this is a time when you say, "I studied Second Language Acquisition so I know we will need to do X, Y and Z," even if that is stretching the truth a bit. Then set a reward for them helping you meet those goals. Something THEY want to do with English. Like if you work well all week we'll watch 20 minutes of a movie each Friday, or do a song, or go to the computer lab (if that's feasible) something they want to do, but the admin will still see as English class. And if they DON'T behave, you have to really take this thing away.
I hope that helps. I'm interested in seeing what other advice is out there.

[dixie]

[Jetgirly]

What is the context here? Are you in a K-12 school? Or a private language school?

If you're in the public school system, I would say that your first priority should be ensuring that the work being done is actually engaging the students and they can clearly see the relevant applications of what you're doing. This could involve, as mentioned above, a discussion about future plans and long-term goals. AFTER dealing with that stuff, look at your discipline strategy. I would suggest implementing a series of in-class assignments that will be collected for marks at the end of the period and given zeroes if not completed. I know it feels sucky to do that, but it will get the students into the routine of using their class time well. Obviously, make sure you're really clear that the work has to be done by the end of the class. If you're more used to working with large projects that can be taken home, you can still use this strategy this by breaking big projects down into smaller components. When students are talking over you, I find the best thing to do is to wait silently (NEVER shout over their voices!) and give raised-eyebrow looks to the ones who actually are paying attention. Your look should say, "I can't believe you're willing to waste your time and my time while your classmates sit around being little idiots." They will usually tell their classmates to shut up. If you're finding that students are calling out answers and discussing the material over you when you're speaking, just make a point of not acknowledging what they're saying (even if it's right) and not waiting for students to raise their hands to answer questions. If you ask a question and immediately name the student you want to answer, you keep control.

BYE BYE: "Who can tell me where Hamlet is from?"
HELLO: "Where is Hamlet from, Jenny?"

Students will pay more attention when they know they could be called on at any time. This works especially well when you praise the keeners for their wonderful answers, as the slackers will lose face if their paper-airplane-making distracts them and causes them to answer incorrectly. Trust me, nobody wants to look stupid. (Obviously, you have to go easy on the slackers at first, as they won't be used to this!)

[jwbhomer]

[MikeySaid]

[saint57]

[dixie]

[KingEric]

You're being way too hard on yourself right now.

[Phil_K]

AS MELEE said this is one of the most difficult teaching propostions. I've only once taught non-adults (3 teenagers) and I hated it. I think teaching people who don't want to be taught is very frustrating. You have to decide if this is what you really want or whether you'd be better suited to teaching adults. Helping people who really want your help can be very rewarding.

[SueH]

I had a bad experience teaching a foreign language to students in an English FE (community) college. What helped was having a mentor who observed me and then told me I was a good teacher, and that that particular class were a pain in the neck. The same happened with my department head. Knowing I was not alone in my experiences was tremendously helpful and sustained my confidence.

Remember: you are not alone in your experiences!
Good luck.

edit:typo

[gaijinalways]

Hang in there. Even experienced teachers get bad classes and bad classroom situations (cramped quarters, non-functioning or nonexistent technical support, etc.).

Saint's suggestion will help and try changing things after self reflection. Start using a seating chart. I started doing that, and it makes it easier for me to know who is acting up and call on them by name as they're doing so.

Try diffferent seating arrangements, sometimes makes a difference. Is it the whole class that is not interested, or just a few students? If it's just a few, isolate them from the others.

6th grade can be hard, just before they start junior high, when most kids are annoying and uncooperative at times. Don't give up, sounds like your school has a poor support system.

[Jetgirly]

I've never had or observed success "isolating" groups of problem students. The best solution I have ever seen was when a teacher designed a seating plan using pods of four desks set at different angles, and structured the seating plan so that the disruptive students were seated as far as possible from one another NOT FACING ONE ANOTHER. This means the students may have to turn around to see the board or watch you while you're speaking, but when they are actually supposed to be doing work they can't see one another.

What is your current seating plan? How would you say your class time is broken down? Could you break an "average" class down for us into chunks like:

5 minutes homework check
15 minutes lecture
25 minutes individual work
15 minutes group discussion
10 minutes whole-class discussion
5 minutes assigning homework

I'm very interested in knowing what is actually happening.

[Teacher in Rome]

It might well be the case that other subject teachers are also having problems with this class. Can you chat to them and try and work out a strategy together for dealing with the problems? If you can co-ordinate your punishment / reward systems, you can target those kids who are out of control and work together to keep discipline.

I work in a state school and find that the department head is happy to come in and observe. Kids behave wonderfully when she's there! It also helps to reinforce to the kids how other teachers are backing you up.

Good luck!

[gaijinalways]