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Jack Walker
Joined: 23 Oct 2008
Posts: 412
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 Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 9:25 am Post subject: Stuttering student |
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In one of my company classes,I have a male student with a terrible stutter.It is difficult to know how to deal with the situation.The positive thing is that he is not afraid to speak at all and always welcomes the chance to speak.
However, sometimes it can take him up to 5 seconds to get that first syllable out and I don't know how to react while he is stuttering.I try to look through my book or look at the floor etc.I don't know what I should do because while he is stuttering,the otehr students are looking at me for my reaction.There are only 5 other students in the class.
I've had a few stutterers before,but they usually don't want to speak and have told me beforehand that they prefer just listening.
This studenst stutters while speaking Polish as well.
Any of you ever dealt with this type of situation.It is uncomfortable for me as well.
This morning it took him 11 seconds to get the word post office out. |
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Master Shake
Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 1202
Location: Colorado, USA
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| Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:06 am Post subject: |
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I've got a guy like that in one of my FCE classes. And the worst part is that he is not at all shy about volunteering the answers 
I try to let him say his piece, but I cut him off or ask someone else to speak if he's taking too long or if I sense the other students are getting bored. He doesn't seem to take it personally.
You've got to please the group as a whole.
Or, you could try a deft open-handed thwack to the back of his head when he gets stuck. Tell him it's for his own good.  |
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simon_porter00
Joined: 09 Nov 2005
Posts: 505
Location: Warsaw, Poland
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| Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:10 am Post subject: |
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| That's what I like about you shake, a follower of the sensitive approach. |
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hrvatski
Joined: 16 Nov 2008
Posts: 270
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| Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:27 am Post subject: |
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I had a moderate stutterer once in a CAE class. He was one of the few people who would voluntarily answer open questions so I let him go for it, he was a cool dude and seemed to have the respect of others in the class. Always seemed to get stuck on P's.
If your guy is talking too much though, do what you'd do to any other student - humiliate and emasculate him.
Also had a girl two years running who would blush fantastically quickly and brightly. It was a personal goal to make her blush at least 3 times per lesson and determine exactly where her blush threshold lay, as only certain situations would make her blush. |
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Jack Walker
Joined: 23 Oct 2008
Posts: 412
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| Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:59 am Post subject: |
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Yeah the "P" is a problem for this guy as well.
The thing is that he has a very good position in the company.He is in his late 20s and has to talk with foreign clients regularly.
With the Polish job market being so cut-throat and difficult to enter,especially for young people,I'm suprised he was even considerdd for the job as his extreme stuttering is obvious. |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:05 pm Post subject: |
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I've had a couple of serious stutterers in presentation classes. I have addressed the issue by asking them to plan a shorter presentation so that they can be sure to finish in the time limits. Making them aware of the importance of time in English culture might be a productive way to address their in-class performances...
Otherwise, a whack or two never hurt  |
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lundjstuart
Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 211
Location: Warsaw, Poland
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| Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:43 pm Post subject: |
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Jack,
My wife is a speech therapist here in Warsaw, if he's in Warsaw, she can help him with his stuttering!
Also, she organizes trips for people with stuttering problems, you can PM me for the info to all of this!!
Good Luck! |
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Jack Walker
Joined: 23 Oct 2008
Posts: 412
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| Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:46 pm Post subject: |
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| lundjstuart wrote: |
Jack,
My wife is a speech therapist here in Warsaw, if he's in Warsaw, she can help him with his stuttering!
Also, she organizes trips for people with stuttering problems, you can PM me for the info to all of this!!
Good Luck! |
Thanks for the offer.We are quite far from Warsaw ,but I'll pass along the info anyway!Cheers! |
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gibon
Joined: 22 Feb 2010
Posts: 40
Location: Warsaw
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| Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 12:19 am Post subject: |
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| Jack Walker wrote: |
| lundjstuart wrote: |
Jack,
My wife is a speech therapist here in Warsaw, if he's in Warsaw, she can help him with his stuttering!
Also, she organizes trips for people with stuttering problems, you can PM me for the info to all of this!!
Good Luck! |
Thanks for the offer.We are quite far from Warsaw ,but I'll pass along the info anyway!Cheers! |
He's almost certainly had plenty of speech therapy anyway - in Poland they are quite thorough about it. |
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lundjstuart
Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 211
Location: Warsaw, Poland
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| Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 6:09 am Post subject: |
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| gibon wrote: |
| Jack Walker wrote: |
| lundjstuart wrote: |
Jack,
My wife is a speech therapist here in Warsaw, if he's in Warsaw, she can help him with his stuttering!
Also, she organizes trips for people with stuttering problems, you can PM me for the info to all of this!!
Good Luck! |
Thanks for the offer.We are quite far from Warsaw ,but I'll pass along the info anyway!Cheers! |
He's almost certainly had plenty of speech therapy anyway - in Poland they are quite thorough about it. |
I think that you should know the facts before you speak! Most people are shy about it and don't fix it. Plus, it's really expensive to do it if you make around the average salary here in Poland.
Gibon, go to the supermarket and listen to the cashiers, they all have speech therapy problems and horrible teeth! |
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Master Shake
Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 1202
Location: Colorado, USA
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| Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 7:34 am Post subject: |
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| lundjstuart wrote: |
| Gibon, go to the supermarket and listen to the cashiers, they all have speech therapy problems and horrible teeth! |
...if you can get them to speak to you at all, in any language. |
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gibon
Joined: 22 Feb 2010
Posts: 40
Location: Warsaw
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| Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 5:52 pm Post subject: |
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| lundjstuart wrote: |
| I think that you should know the facts before you speak! |
I do. I've worked with speech therapists for twenty years, ten of them in Poland
| lundjstuart wrote: |
| Most people are shy about it and don't fix it. Plus, it's really expensive to do it if you make around the average salary here in Poland. |
Like other healthcare treatments it is offered free as part of the NFZ in Poland, also private therapists (if they fulfill certain conditions) are refundable against ZUS. Also children with speech issues receive appropriate therapy while at school. If it is still an issue in adulthood, it doesn't mean they haven't received all possible therapy.
| lundjstuart wrote: |
| Gibon, go to the supermarket and listen to the cashiers, they all have speech therapy problems and horrible teeth! |
Hmm. I think you're going to the wrong supermarket. Though having said that, there's a lady in my local shop with a full beard.
If she was my student, I wouldn't mention it. I would also be careful about giving people advice concerning speech defects. They are already aware of the problem, and somebody with a good job should have enough about them to arrange treatment if it is likely to be effective and be already aware if it is not. This is a situation for maximum tact. |
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lundjstuart
Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 211
Location: Warsaw, Poland
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| Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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| gibon wrote: |
I do. I've worked with speech therapists for twenty years, ten of them in Poland |
I'm glad that you were a secretary for 20 years!
| gibon wrote: |
Like other healthcare treatments it is offered free as part of the NFZ in Poland, also private therapists (if they fulfill certain conditions) are refundable against ZUS. Also children with speech issues receive appropriate therapy while at school. If it is still an issue in adulthood, it doesn't mean they haven't received all possible therapy. |
The therapy that NFZ provides is below par, most commonly they will have lessons every 3 weeks if they are lucky! In order for them to improve, they need it at least twice a week! You have to have a company for it to be deductible (not refundable) from your ZUS payment!
Hmm. I think you're going to the wrong supermarket. Though having said that, there's a lady in my local shop with a full beard.[/quote]
My local shop in Ursynow and in Real~, they hire the ones that will work for 2k zl brutto a month!
| gibon wrote: |
| If she was my student, I wouldn't mention it. I would also be careful about giving people advice concerning speech defects. They are already aware of the problem, and somebody with a good job should have enough about them to arrange treatment if it is likely to be effective and be already aware if it is not. This is a situation for maximum tact. |
Instead of trying to fix the problem, tell them to go to The University of Warsaw and ask for Dr. Szamburski, he's an expert in the field of stuttering. I've been to a camp that he was because I was teaching English at the same camp.
You can PM me for his number! |
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gibon
Joined: 22 Feb 2010
Posts: 40
Location: Warsaw
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| Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 2:26 am Post subject: |
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| lundjstuart wrote: |
| I'm glad that you were a secretary for 20 years! |
What do you mean exactly? I haven't worked as a secretary. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
| lundjstuart wrote: |
| The therapy that NFZ provides is below par |
In Poland, logopaedia is among the best in Europe.
| lundjstuart wrote: |
| You have to have a company for it to be deductible (not refundable) from your ZUS payment! |
That is simply untrue. Like other therapies it is refundable through the NFZ.
| lundjstuart wrote: |
| My local shop in Ursynow and in Real~, they hire the ones that will work for 2k zl brutto a month! |
That's the going rate for a supermarket cashier in Poland - plenty of people here work for that amount or less - it doesn't devalue them or their skills; it simply reflects economic and social realities.
| lundjstuart wrote: |
| Instead of trying to fix the problem, tell them to go to The University of Warsaw and ask for Dr. Szamburski, |
You mean Krzysiek?
| lundjstuart wrote: |
| I've been to a camp that he was because I was teaching English at the same camp. You can PM me for his number! |
Right, a summer camp. Wow! If the person in question really needs the advice of a 20-something entry-level tefl teacher to resolve long-standing medical issues, they would do better to get a free referral from their doctor to the area speech therapy team.
I repeat, a speech defect in an adult student needs maximum tact from a teacher's point of view. Don't assume they haven't already addressed the issue and dealt with it all their life! Better respect the person for not only living with it day-to-day, but also taking foreign language lessons. |
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lundjstuart
Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 211
Location: Warsaw, Poland
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| Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 9:24 am Post subject: |
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| gibon wrote: |
What do you mean exactly? I haven't worked as a secretary. Not that there's anything wrong with that. |
You just said that you've worked with them, not a specific job. You could have been the cleaning lady but I went with a more honorable job just for you 
| gibon wrote: |
In Poland, logopaedia is among the best in Europe. |
Is that why all of the Politicians have speech therapy problems? Striking!!
| gibon wrote: |
That is simply untrue. Like other therapies it is refundable through the NFZ. |
Why would ZUS give you money back? I've never seen it, they take, take, take and when you want to take some, they tell you to f|_|ck off!
| gibon wrote: |
| You mean Krzysiek? |
Yes, I have a lot of respect for him and I will never call him by his first name, even after he told me to call him by it.
| lundjstuart wrote: |
| I've been to a camp that he was because I was teaching English at the same camp. You can PM me for his number! |
| gibon wrote: |
| Right, a summer camp. Wow! If the person in question really needs the advice of a 20-something entry-level tefl teacher to resolve long-standing medical issues, they would do better to get a free referral from their doctor to the area speech therapy team. |
The camp was for speech therapy, I was there just in case the parents would like to have English lessons. My wife is the organizer of them and I go for the free holiday!
And just what I need, an old grumpy person telling other people what to do!!
I don't know how old you think I am, but why would I be in my 20's? |
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