Job Discussion Forums

[nickgrace1]

Hello. I could use some advice. I have this Upper-Int group I have had for the last couple of months. I have two students in the class who are really not at that level and struggle with the work. They are both thinking of leaving the school as they are not doing so well in class but do not want to go in a suitable class. The school is telling me, understandably, that I have to change the lessons to stop them leaving.
So my question is this. What advice can you give me for this situation?
Thank you/

[spiral78]

Give them materials and tasks you will use in class in advance so they can prepare. Ideally do this discretely by email so it's not obvious to the whole class.

[nickgrace1]

[spiral78]

I hope it works for you - it was like a charm with some of my Russian students - they were extremely happy to find that there was a way to avoid being embarrassed in front of their peers and they were very diligent in their prep. They learned probably more than the students who were on level for the class.

There may be some other gems out there that I don't know of - will be interested if others chime in.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[nickgrace1]

[Keskaa]

I have similar problems with some of my students as well, and what I do is email them post-lesson revision quizzes WITH the answer keys. Then, they can check their work at home without anyone knowing. In addition, I have "tests" prepared for the next time I teach the lessons to a new group of students who may need them. My students seem to love it. Sure, it's a bit more work, but my quizzes rarely have more than 20 questions, and they don't take long to prepare.

I usually include vocabulary fill-in-the-blank with a word box, prepositions practice, again with a word box, matching phrases/collocations, or whatever it is we've been discussing. It seems to work well.

EDIT--I forgot to mention that I always give them the materials a week in advance of the lessons (it's just a perk of where I work that I can do that) so I don't have the pre-lesson preparation problem that you have. I just have the post-lesson confusion factor to deal with when students who are weaker can't grasp the materials as fast, even though they had a week to prepare.

[Phillip Schofield]

So I take it that your school doesn't have an Intermediate level classes.

Ahhh...the wonderful world of ESL. I once had a pre-intermediate student in my upper-intermediate class.
She was a lovely old woman who had been coming for years and had had some fantastic teachers, but nothing ever stuck. She was in the upper-int class simply because she had completed every other book we used at her level and just ended up going through the 'system' because there was nowhere else to put her.

I think what your school is asking you to do is unrealistic. Are they suggesting that you lower the level of your class to suit students who have been put in at the wrong level? How many other students are there in the class. If I were paying for an Upp-Int class I would expect to be getting a lesson taught at the correct level and not being held back because of 2 students of a lower ability who shouldn't even be at that level.

Mixed ability classes are an unfortunate reality of ESL schools, but personally I teach the class at the correct level and just offer a bit of individual help to anyone of a lower level. It's unfair to the rest of the class if I change my lesson for one or two students.

[nickgrace1]

Oh no there is an Intermediate Class but the students refuse to go to it as their friends are in this Upper-Int class. But I agree it is not good on the students at the level. I have been giving the student different tasks and just saying to the class one set of work is a bit easier if they struggle and the other harder, so as to split the class but not in an obvious way. I have been noticing how the adults attitudes and behaviour is a lot like the young learners.....So far the changes I have made seem to be working, but I am looking at splitting the class somehow so all the students are working at a suitable level. It is just taking some work to arrange and sort it. But we will see over time. Thank you for all your ideas they have been helpful.

[Phillip Schofield]

Ahhh...it's one of 'those'. "I don't care if I'm a complete elementary, my friends are in the advanced class and I WILL be in that class too"

I have no sympathy for them. Let them fail.
A school I worked at once had a student who lived in Canada for one year and decided that this automatically made him an Advanced level student. He was pre-int at best. Despite explaining to him that he was pre-int level, he got aggressive (What do we know about English, eh?) and demanded to be put into the Advanced class. He then complained that he couldn't understand the teacher because they were speaking with an incomprehensable accent (of course, it must be the accent and certainly not the fact that he was in a class which was far too difficult for him)
In the end he quit the class accusing the teacher of being terrible.

I am a big supporter of treating students like people and something to just take money from. I charge my students a reasonable rate and I do my best to educate them to the best of my abilities.

But when you get students like that, I say, "Milk them, exploit them, take all their money, for they are too stupid and arrogant to deserve any sympathy."

But regarding your problem, I'd just give them lots of extra homework to try and help them catch up (not that I believe it will actually work. It's something of an empty gesture. Half the time, my adults never do their homework). There may be oppertunities to go over some grammar they haven't quite understood if the rest of the class could use a bit of a refresher. There's no harm in going back over stuff with higher level students, so you could use that to help the weaker ones.
But I would keep my focus soundly on making sure the rest of the class are getting the education they deserve.

[nickgrace1]

Thank you. That helps a lot.