Job Discussion Forums

[randyj]

Students speaking Chinese in class has always been a problem, of course. I was tired of browbeating students, intimidating them into speaking only English. It occurred to me that a lot of problems in this world boil down to money, so at the beginning of this term I decided to start fining the students. I paid five RMB for gold-colored piggy bank. Every class now it sits up front on the podium. I prime the pump every once in a while when I use a Chinese word, one RMB per utterance. During oral exercises, when the students are speaking in groups, sometimes I walk around rattling the coins in the piggy bank. It's more effective than my saying, "Speak English!" Every once in a while, a student might rat out a classmate, forcing them to make a contribution to the pig. If I forget to bring the pig to class, they ask where it is. I never insist a student contribute for an infraction, but I still think the technique has been moderately successful. Proceeds at the end of this term will go to either a party or a charitable cause. With the earthquake, that cause looks like a no-brainer.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Depends on the ages of your kids.

Older they get, harder it is to control them.

Try making happy/sad faces next to their names on the board.

[Lorean]

Some kids I've taught would go ape-shit if they had to part with 1 RMB...

Otherwise, this sounds like a great idea.

[mjlpsu]

This does sound like a fun idea--I especially like the idea of the money going to charity or student fun. Definitely don't think it'd work for everyone though--wouldn't be surprised if some schools would reprimand a teacher for this.