Job Discussion Forums

[Mike E]

I've just started teaching in China. I'm teaching college kids at a third-tier polytechnic university. Their English ranges from decent to near beginner. I knew from teaching immigrants in the US that the Chinese would be shy in class, but still, I am struggling to learn to deal with it well in the classroom.

The common scenario is: I ask the class a question. No student says anything. I ask the question again, trying to make sure I'm speaking slowly and using simple words. No one responds. I ask the question again. Nothing. I rephrase the question a bit. No one responds. At this point, I usually either answer the question myself (assuming they don't know, don't understand or don't care) or I choose a student, put the microphone in their hand, and gently insist that they answer. Sometimes they surprise me by how well they answer; sometimes they really struggle to say a few words.

In private conversations, I've been told that the first strategy is wrong -- that the students do understand but are just quietly trying to work out an answer. And that they're then frustrated when the teacher answers the question and moves on. Of course, it can be horribly painful to stand there and wait for them, because in that moment, all the students look the same. Just looking away from me and not talking. I can't tell if they are deep in thought, completely clueless, bored out of their minds, etc.

Any advice?

[7969]

Your frustration has been felt by pretty much everyone I think.

The students don't like to speak because many of them lack confidence and are terrified of making mistakes, esp. in front of their peers. That, and a fair number of them are weak when it comes to speaking - that the result of their English education up to the point where you met them. For the majority, giving a student the microphone and expecting an answer probably heightens their fear even more (you can see it in their faces) and will make it even harder for them.

In larger classes (more than 30) you need to try alternative methods that lessen their fear of speaking and increase the amount of time students get to speak in class. I suggest opening your lesson with a short lecture on a specific topic, a 10-15 minute intro to any topic, use handouts or multimedia if possible to give additional info/background, then give the students a short list of questions. Break them down into small groups (4-5) and have them discuss the questions together with one student recording their answers on paper. Visit each group, listen in, and even join the discussion for a bit. Once they've had enough time to talk over and record answers for each question ask one member from each group to discuss their findings to a particular question. This should get everyone at least saying something in the group phase and someone from each group will give an answer in front of the class as a whole. One additional point: each class usually has a small number of students that can speak relatively well. Make sure they don't all end up in the same group. This should get some decent results.

I have a small collection of topics/questions that are suitable for this activity - send me a message with your email I'll fire a couple of files your way.

[Ariadne]

Questions directed to the class in general can be tricky. The students have to learn to call out answers, even when they know them. Be sure to praise them
when they DO respond... at least with a smile. Practice with easy questions like, "What day is it today?" "What is the date today?" "Tell me about the weather." They are terrified of being wrong, so unless they really do know the answers they won't risk calling out. As they get to know you better the students will probably start responding more consistantly, but it will continue to be a challenge.

I use a mix of questions to the class and questions to individuals, whether it's Reading, Writing, or whatever. My goal for every class is to have each student speak to me (to the class really) at least once. That may not be easy if you have huge classes, but even then it can be done if you break the class in to groups and move through the groups.

Let the students know what you expect from them. Try writing it on the board so they have double verification.

Good luck. Let us know how things progress.

.

[Lobster]

Don't give them a choice and don't rely on someone just speaking up. If you can't get a response to a question addressed to the whole class, it's time to start pointing fingers at individuals and asking them. Help them along. Give them hints. Don't start answering your own questions.

RED

[Denim-Maniac]

I dont think Chinese students are especially shy...certainly not more shy than other language students. I could imagine teaching Spanish to 15 year old British teenagers would be worse. Asking questions (in Spanish) to them and expecting a volunteer to reply would be even more painful.

Of course, some students CANT answer ... but generally I would say it 'might' be the approach that is wrong rather than the students are able/willing/too nervous etc.

There is little context in your post, so if this advice is inappropriate, feel free to disgregard it.

I feel firing questions at the class is likely to work best if there is context, modelling, text and pair or group work prior to that kind of teacher led interaction. As a simple example ... (very simple for illustration only)

T - I went to a restaurant on saturday. I ate fish. I like fish. I dont like beef.

Modelled a few times, then written on the board.

T - Puts students in pairs to discuss where they went at the weekend and what they ate, following the model.

Then asks stronger pairs to share with the class, introducing their partner and what they ate etc.

If you then ask a question to another person...'what did you eat at the weekend?', they have your model, plus some practice, plus the other students' models to follow.

Much more likely to have success that way.

[Mike E]

My classes are huge (100+). With Level B students, I haven't had any luck creating groups, or even getting them to talk to each other in English. The more experienced American teacher here told me, "If you throw a fit, you can make them do it. But then they'll hate you forever."
However, the Level A students, who I've just started teaching in the last couple days, understand a bit more and seem a bit more amenable to things like group work.

[roadwalker]

100 students, especially with questionable English skills is just insane. Is it a subject course taught (lectured) in English, or is this a conversation class?

Often the students have basic English grammar and vocabulary (enough to recognize it if not recall it) but have little practice actually speaking, let alone in front of so many peers. Try to have an idea about what you are looking for in an answer and put up on screen or on the black board some of the possible vocabulary and/or the grammatical structure you are expecting. That seems to work for my students, usually. Sometimes it is only a crutch; that is they feel more confident to speak if they know they can look to the board if they forget a word. It also shows the ones who are using the vocabulary or structure for the first time since they work it out as they speak.

If it IS a conversation class, see if you can arrange for it to be split into two or three classes. They may not want to pay you for more classes. On the other hand, this is the beginning of the term: many or most of the non-major students may stop coming to class, leaving you with a manageable minority. Until the end of the term when all of these strangers show up for your exam!

[xiguagua]

I would always kinda trick my students into talking. Our warm up would consist of talking about the weather, and asking them a lot of questions about current things happening at school IE School food, their dormitories, their other teachers, anything interesting that happened at the school, upcoming holidays, and especially the purpose, meaning, and reason for holidays.

They are a lot more open if you're talking about something relevant to them and their lives i've found. Ask them wtf is Duanwu jie and there will be students that are happy to tell you about it. But they don't realize that it's part of their English practice. Now I know everything about every Chinese holiday.....but it's still fun to ask them about it and pretend I am clueless.

[Mike E]

Oh yes, xiguagua, that is the kind of thing I try. (The "Engage," as it was described in my TESOL course.) Trying to find some casual-seeming way to direct them toward the day's lesson.
The funny thing is that the book I am asked to teach from is basically about things foreigners hate about China... With units about dog-eating, crazy drivers and crowded streets, all that sort of thing.

Yes, roadwalker, I am teaching conversation class to 100+ students. At a school of about 6,000 students, where all the conversation classes are divided between two American teachers. At least there so far seems to be understanding from the administration that our job is quite hard.

[dean_a_jones]

I teach smaller groups of college students, usually 12 - 15, so this idea will probably work better in that type of environment. I do find that if I just ask questions, quite often no one will volunteer (or you have one or two who always will, and none of the others talk).

First, I typically provide some information on a topic, including key vocabulary (which they help generate), phrases, main ideas etc. I might then show a short video or play an audio recording (something like BBC Learning 6 minute English) which gives them a wider perspective on the subject.

I will then throw some discussion questions (maybe 10 or so) up on the screen. I usually give them 5 minutes or so to discuss them in pairs while I go around, listen to what people are saying, give them feedback, help etc. This gives them a chance to practice their answers, look up some additional vocab or words they don't know, get a little confidence.

I then select a student, but rather than asking them to answer, they pick another student and ask a question. The student answers the question, I might add a follow up or ask others for their ideas. Then the student who was asked gets to pick the next person. As they have a habit of picking the person they are sitting next to, I often make them pick boy/girl, or students on other sides of the room etc. They seem to like this more than just me picking them each time. It also helps if you have a few interesting or amusing questions thrown in.

A good site for some inspiration for discussion questions: http://www.esldiscussions.com/.

[Mike E]

[Mike E]

[Ariadne]

You are the teacher... don't give them a choice about pairs or groups, just count out and get them organized. All the '4's over by the door, '2's in the back left corner, etc. It can be horribly disorganized the first time you do it but once the students get the hang of it they can divide into groups quite quickly. You have to choose the type of group and assign them. You may have to physically lead a few to their proper spots. It might speed things up a bit to tape numbers or letters to the wall in different areas of the room. You can also assign team leaders to help the groups stay on topic and to speak English.

.

[Andrew Jordan]

Some good ideas here, here is mine.

I always when starting a new class act like I know nothing about the city/language/culture and need the students to teach me. I have done this even after living in a country for years. They love it and do not realize that they are speaking English. It's all about giving students intrensic motivation to want to talk, about a topic that intrest them. Another example is instead of asking what is your favorite food? ask them I am new here, what should I eat? (question graded for level) Now you are asking for advice, and about a problem you have instead of questions about the student that have no purpose other than speaking pratice. Even if the only purpose really is speaking pratice the student perceives it in a better light. [/quote]

[Non Sequitur]

In my exp there are a couple of steps you have to take before the impromptu Q&A.
I call these 'supported speech'.
Reading dialogues from the book in pairs gets them used to forming speech. Make sure the students come to the front of the class to do this as this helps dispel fear of being 'on show'.
Closely monitor each student and prompt where necessary - again to avoid embarrassment.
Another form of supported speech is singing and 2 or 3 western pop songs learned over a semester can be helpful.
I recall achieving a minor breakthrough with one boy who was a very reluctant speaker.
After the song at the end of class I heard him leaving while crooning to his mates 'As long as you love me babeeeeee...'
Often you have to take these small things as wins.