Job Discussion Forums

[BigZen]

Hi All,
I saw the recent post about controlling a rowdy class and this one is of a similar theme. I am a 49 years. The juku I teach at is owned and run by a really nice woman. I teach three classes; the first is with a little girl who is 5 and she basically just wants to play. The second class is the one that is giving me a lot of greif. 6 kids (5 boys and 1 girl). Ages range from 7-10. The girl is not a problem since she always listens to me, brings her book, does what I ask of her. There are two boys who cause lots of problems. They never have their books with them, so they always ask me, or one of the Japanese staff to make a photocopy of the pages in the book. They'll knock their pencil cases off the desk, rock in their chairs, grab personal belongings of mine when they have not been given my permission to...

I have been teaching there since April. For the past 4 classes I have given up trying to use the textbook with all three classes since they just want to play games. The two "problem" students in the class just disrupt the class and are very disrespectful. I try my best to explain and discipline when needed in Japanese, but often to no avail. The kids in this class, and the other two classes remind me all time that I am not Suzy, the young female teacher they had before.

The owner of the school told me before if the boys act up to send them outside to stand as a punishment. I have asked the owner and the other Japanese staff member to come into the class to read them the riot act. It kind of helps, but I just am at a loss since my Japanese is not good enough to explain things as best as I would like to...The textbooks are sound in my opinion. The classes are 50-minutes. I need help.

I feel like an old man in the class. I do have a master's degree in TEFL, teaching degree from a US univesity, so I am qualified to teach. Unfortunately, there is no work at the post-secondary level in this small rural area, so the juku is all I can get, along with 5 hours/week at a local college. I am frustrated. I can understand the position of the owner of the juku, that it's a business an you need to keep the customers happy....But I kind of wish the parents of the kids in my classes knew how they behave, and that if they don't want to be there, then maybe they should be enrolled in ballet, swimming classes.



BigZen

[Glenski]

Believe me, I feel for you! Experiences like that are a main reason I (older than you) choose not to teach such students.

They may already be taking ballet, kendo, or other classes, so it doesn't matter. Mama and Daddy want them to learn English. Same thing is happening all over the country because of the recent mandatory English courses that started in 5th and 6th grade elementary schools this year. Parents want to keep up with or stay ahead of the Joneses.

I hope someone can give you advice. I honestly cannot except to ask whether you truly can contact the parents in some way to explain their kids' behaviors. The juku probably wants to keep paying customers, but they also need to see things your way.

BTW, how did "teacher Suzy" teach those classes? Anything you can do to imitate her style?

Good luck.

[BigZen]

Hi Glenski,

Thanks for the quick and informative reply.

No, I unfortunately don't know what my younger, cuter predecessor did. Actually the owner did tell me a few of the things the previous teacher did like play 'go fish' and other games...Thanks for the understanding and support!!!

BZ

[scooby doo]

You have my sympathies too.

Actually, unless one has training and experience in teaching very young learners, it can be a huge challenge. Technically, you aren't qualified in this situation. I hate to tell you this, but since there are no instant solutions you will need a gradual strategy in order to begin seeing a difference in the lessons. It may take some time as well as effort and things could get worse before they get better. I certainly wouldn't blame you if you wanted to stop.

If however you remain committed, here are a couple of things you can do immediately. Hopefully this will give you some relief..

Set rules and consequences.
Choose rules you want them to follow (a maximum of 3 for small kids!) like 'speak quietly' or 'sit in your chair', etc. Convey your rules through mime, line drawings on the board, illustrated posters (they can help make them..). Display the rules at every lesson and each time someone breaks the rules. It's very important to be consistent.

Introduce a system of rewards for good behavior and consequences for negative behavior. No need for anything elaborate. A list of the kids' names on the board (at each lesson) with 3 stars beside their names. Work well, get a star. Break a rule, lose a star. Collect a certain number of stars and get a small prize. Lose all your stars? stand outside for 10 minutes.

After choosing your rules and reward system, the main thing is to keep it simple and be consistent and assertive at every opportunity. I know these kids seem like brats now but remember, there is no excuse for disruptive and disrespectful behavior (other than a bio-chemical one) and ultimately it is up to the educator to enforce these standards.

Here's a link to give you more ideas and tips...
http://edition.tefl.net/category/articles/yl-articles/

Engage
Certainly your job is not to entertain the kids as such, but boredom will no doubt lead to disruptive behavior. You mentioned that the class has kids aged 7 -10. A mixed level group can be harder to control. Perhaps the materials are not challenging for some of the students? Indeed photocopied worksheets can quickly kill interest. Try this site for resources that are a little more attractive and can be modified for different levels of ability. www.mes-english.com/ [/b]

Good luck bigzen

[OneJoelFifty]

I don't have a lot of teaching experience but can mention the reward system and how you might apply it from what's done in my JHS. In every English class I teach the kids have a grid sheet with a row for each lesson. They write in the date and weather. Then there's a box where they get a stamp for having done their preparation, one for the main lesson theme, and a larger one at the end for stickers/stamps they earn from participating in the class. In the case of my school, the stickers and stamps are counted up and contribute to marks at the end of the term/year, which admittedly gives them more weight.

You could very easily keep one of these sheets on file for your students and let them have it with them at their desks every class, rewarding for whatever you want as you see fit. Then you could set special rewards for certain milestones, say for reaching 10 'good behaviour' stickers, or for bringing your book in five times in a row, and give small treats. It might even be sufficient that the stickers on the sheet are reward enough to get the troublesome students to make more of an effort.

[BigZen]

Dear scooby doo & OneJoelFifty'

Thanks for your replies and all the great advice and ideas. It's nice to know that I am not alone as a teacher struggling with kids. I really appreciate the support and will try some of the ideas you both suggested.

BZ

[bry0000000]

Hey Big Zen,

Man, I feel your pain. My first ESL job was as a kindergarten instructor in South Korea. Like you, I had to teach all classes by myself, and at first it was a nightmare.

I personally found that if you can find the right balance between being a "cool" teacher and a teacher that the kids respect, they're more apt to listen to you in class. Obviously, you can't be too "cool" or else they'll just think you're one of their friends and won't listen to you, but I found that if they like you and respect you enough, they'll listen to you.

One of the things I used to do is play with the kids during lunch. Being that you're at a Juku, you probably can't do that. But you can probably sneak in a quick English game if the class is being good altogether. I found kindergarten students love hangman (depending on their English level), but Simon Says works pretty well too.

I think the bit of advice given above about being consistent with punishment and rewards is spot on. Kids that age react to consistency the best.

With the pencil case thing (my kids used to break their pencils on purpose), you're gonna have to get a bit creative. Taking away rewards and such sometimes works, but you're always gonna have a bratty kid or two who will refuse to listen no matter what.

Anyway, I hope some of this helps. Teaching young children is a challenge, but I have very fond memories of my younger students, and I'm sure you will too once you get this discipline thing down. Best of luck, and keep us posted on how you're doing!

[evolving81]

I taught a class of adults in a university English program last semester and I still had some who would come to class without the textbook. I never thought to make photocopies for them. When I was a student you went to class with all of your materials.