Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Qinella]

I've got this class full of middle schoolers, and I've come to dread it. It started out as 5 students, and now has 8, and I kept hoping that the new students would help change the atmosphere in the room, but instead they quickly conformed to the norm of silence.

This is mostly a listening class. So they do two listening homework assignments, and then we review the answers in class, and do some listening exercises. Ideally, I'd be able to identify where they're having trouble by judging their responses. But when the students don't say anything at all, it's impossible for me to know what they're understanding and what they aren't.

Even when I ask a specific student if s/he understood, I got no response at all.

So I'll pull out the homework assignment, read the first question, and ask the class in general what the answer is. Nothing. Oookay. I take a look at their papers, most of them have the answer, but none will say it. So I call on a student by name. When that happens, the typical response is a look of surprise, and then their eyes get wide and they stare at the desk like "why is he talking to me????" Then, eventually, they will squeak out the answer so softly I can't hear. "Can you repeat that please? I didn't hear you." "No. ㅎㅎ"

Basically, this class is killing me. Individually, only one of the students is naturally quiet. The rest are normal, loudmouth kids outside the classroom. But in classroom for some reason, there's a code of silence, and it's driving me bananas!!

I try my best to make them feel relaxed. I smile a lot, I tell them how smart they are, I do my best to encourage speaking confidence. Sometimes I'll make a joke (like my crowd killer specialty: saying "crazy") and I'll see them start to laugh but then quickly stop and look straight down.

Some of the kids in the class look like they're depressed, or have a headache, or are tired or something. I ask those questions and they say they're fine.

I don't know.. it's my only class that's like this, and I don't do anything differently with them than the others. It's certainly not the most boring class I have. Btw, games do NOT work with this bunch. I've tried doing some games and they just sit there, afraid to do anything...

Any advice? I'm ready to strangle myself right about now.

Q.

[alabamaman]

[Juregen]

How long do you have this class?

maybe one day you should take them individually one by one, and see if they respond. In a separate room or something.

[riley]

Sorry to hear your problems Q. I'm going to take a guess that they are middle school students. I know when I was teaching that age, they could be like that. Those were the classes where I was seriously tempted to throw my pens or book against the far side of the wall.

[Hotpants]

I think a lot of classes start out with the big Silence, but USUALLY, as the students get to feel comfortable with the other students and get some confidence to speak out, the class will turn around.

Firstly, I think you should stop feeling frustrated. (Maybe easier said than done.) Some classes just don't take off because of isssues related to group dynamics - or lack of it. One class can be great, another a disaster.

These days, I tell my classes in the early stages how I expect them to answer. I will tell them directly if the responses they are giving are not satisfactory. I don't ask them 'do you understand?', I will tell them to 'give me the answer in the form of ...'. If they speak too quietly, I will tell them that I won't accept their answer until the student sitting on the opposite side of the class says they can hear that answer. Sometimes, I can see that students are actually relieved that I am telling them to speak up. They seem to feel more comfortable that someone has asked them to speak up instead of wondering if speaking in a loud voice could seem loud and funny to other students. Give small rewards for students who do good work. Also, sometimes take a break from the text book and encourage free discussion about an issue of interest to the students. You need to find out what makes them tick.

If you are getting nowhere with your smiles and polite approach, I think you should start to get tougher and tell them you are not happy with their performance. It's possible that they still won't change, but I think you should just put that down to that particular class and not blame yourself.

[jacl]

[Captain Corea]

I always make it easier for them to do the right thing than the wrong.


My thing is making them stand until they talk. 2 hours of standing will get them chatting.

[jacl]

[formerflautist]

I go off topic. Try and find things they like to talk about. Usually something will lead back to the lesson.

[Qinella]

Yeah I don't know, guys. I tried being tough with them. I can be strict as hell if I need to. All it did was make them more timid.

Does anyone have some kind of exercises or specific things they do to break through the icy wall?

There are two ways a person learns effectively:

1. Great need.
2. Fun.


The students mostly perceive no great need to learn English. Thus, the only option is fun. If I make them feel threatened, they will not learn. They may do as I tell them, sure, but my greater concern is their own benefit regarding English acquisition.

I'm thinking perhaps of starting each class with a 2-minute speaking period for each student. And if they stand there hemming and hawing, it won't count toward their total time. I can see that going drastically awry, though, with a student crumpling under pressure.

Sigh... .not sure what to do.

[formerflautist]

Ever try the human knot? It's a fun game for a small class. Have the students stand in a circle. They put out their right hands and grab a hand of a person who is not next to them. They put out their left hands and grab another person's hand (not the same person's hand.) They're now in a knot and they have figure a way to get out. I use this exercise as a way to teach under, over, next to, and around but it's also a fun way to break the ice.

[Captain Corea]

[canuckistan]

Have them read out loud with you--first as a group so as to avoid the initial feelings of "what are those alien sounds coming out of my body" and then individually once they're more comfortable/used to doing it.

[jacl]

[jacl]

Sometimes you gotta force the kids out. I once called a class of middle-schoolers a bunch of monkeys and it cleaned the situation up quite well, thank you. Not the best advice, but if the parents have one iota of info that they're not contributing/learning, they'll pull them.