Job Discussion Forums

[Sashadroogie]

A thorny issue for most teachers, especially newer ones. However, as I remember when I first started out, I was reliably informed that complaints from students are the number one problem teachers face. This was borne out, as I have seen many instances of teachers coming a cropper because of this, as I am sure we all have. Yet, surprisingly, there doesn't seem to be too much on this issue on the forum - at least my searches didn't reveal much.

So, how about a thread devoted to it? Perhaps a country-by-country low-down on what students typically complain about, how to deal with it, avoid it etc. Or any other related stories.

To get the ball rolling, in Russia students are fairly relaxed about most things. They'll tolerate poor classroom equipment, dull course books, poorly managed classes and all the rest. But they usually will not stand for a teacher who gives lessons 'without structure'. This basically means the lesson must have grammar input. Lots of it. And you had better be able to answer tricky questions. This appears to me to be the most frequent complaint about teachers here.

They are not too worried about what you may think. They are open about Russia's history, communism, the Cold War, religion, even, if you know your class, rather risque sexual topics. Few topics upset them at all, except alcoholism and problems in the Caucuses - those are taboo.

So 'structure' is the key. To avoid complaints, know your grammar. If a surprise question is thrown out at you, defer it till another class and mug up on it, fast.

Anybody else have any input?

[tttompatz]

In east and south east Asia: kiss - kif

Keep it simple, keep it fun.

.

[Glenski]

Here in Japan, I've had the experience (and so have colleagues) that needs some heads-up for the teacher, so as not to get caught up in problems.

It may come to pass that in a conversation school, staff will report to you that "students" have mentioned something troubling about the course. Students, plural. Pin down the staff, and often you will find that it is, in fact, only one student who has complained.

Point this out firmly but politely to the staff. They usually knuckle under and concede that it doesn't merit a lot of attention.

Haven't heard much, if anything, about students complaining in regular academia here. The point in uni classes is to get the standard feedback survey done by the uni, so you have points to go on your promotion records. It won't be much, but better than nothing. Plus, it shows you care to ask.

[fluffyhamster]

When I've had complaints, it's been due to one of three things:

1) inexperience (not much that can really be done about it at that moment in time! And as much the employer's fault really)

2) lack of sufficient or appropriate preparation (tiredness and/or laziness, in other words), leading to one "winging it", improvising

3) taking "risks", e.g. doing a slightly too-ambitious activity, or something that was IMHO harmless and amusing, but apparently a bit too edgy for some (e.g. "Where's...the hamster? Yup, if you look closely at the picture I've drawn, you can see that it's that small feet-up shape cooking in the microwave"-style of thing)

If one is honest, one always knows when 2) is going on, but it's harder to know with 3), and it's not always possible to err on the side of caution (if only because to do so would become incredibly staid and boring).

There is of course a 4th category, which is when an employer's approach or demands are completely mismatched to your style of teaching, but in those situations (if you somehow keep finding yourself in them) it's usually the employer rather than the student who gets on your case.

[Tudor]

[artemisia]

Leaving aside the possibility that the teacher really is a crashing bore, I associate this type of complaint most of all with Asian students. In particular, Asian students who lack drive, an ability to entertain themselves, maturity (regardless of age) and independent learning skills seem to be the ones most caught up in teacher �neediness�. I sometimes wonder if this requirement is not so much to do with being entertained, but rather more to do with not wanting to have their learning shortcomings exposed (to themselves, that is).

In most teaching situations, TEFL or otherwise, reputation can be a key point. The longer you work in a place the more likely it is that students will already know something about you before they join your class and that often sets the tone right from the beginning. What you can do or try out as an established teacher will most likely be far more readily accepted than if you feel the need to prove yourself. Continuity is often an issue with language teaching.

Students who are serious about their studies want to feel their teacher cares about their progress. I�ve heard complaints about teachers who don�t demonstrate this. Preparation, humour, being able to answer questions effectively and being warm all seem to go a long way with many of the nationalities I�ve come across.

[naturegirl321]

In Peru, they tend to go to the director. It's usually about too much homework, ie any homework. Though if you get younger students, their parents complain about too little homework, so you give them some, then they say it's too much. Can't win. How do you deal with it? I guess it's personal. I still give homework, but give graded assignments (like graded readers) so that the lower students have easier assignments. I allow THEM to choose which level of assignment they want so that they / parents don't accuse me of puttin their child is a low level.

Here in Asia, in my particular situation, students complain about too much home (seems to be a pattern) but more than that, it's about grades. They must get an A plus. Not just an A, but an A plus. For their effort. They tried hard so that should get that plus. It impacts their scholarships, ability to live in a good dorm, and ability to get a job, most likely at Samsung. I guess a plus give you a 4.5 instead of a 4.0 for their GPA.

So how do I deal with it? I take the easy way out. I teach engineers, semi conductor engineers, systems engineers, chemists, biologist, etc. They're science and math guys for the most part, so I give the max pluses that I can for As and Bs. I also tell them ahead of time reasons why they cannot submit a grievance about their grades. Some reasons are.
I did my best effort.
I had high grades (sorry, we must grade on a curve)
My parents will be disappointed
I came to every class
I will lose my scholarship
I will have to live in a bad dorm.
etc.

If you head off the bad grievances, then you usually end up with just a couple. Most are students that didn't read the reasons why not to submit a grievance. To date, 2 years, I've yet to change a student's grade that I hadn't already planned on changing already. I always leave a couple Bs that can be bumped up to As and Cs to Bs, just in case I make a mistake. Ironically those students on the border don't complain for the most part.