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travelingfool
Joined: 10 Mar 2008 Location: Parents' basement
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 1:17 am Post subject: Adult students with bad attitudes |
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Do you think that some adult students come to class simply to taunt the foreign teacher? The reason I am asking is that I had a string of really nasty adult students with horrible attitudes. I tried all different kinds of lessons, topics, and activities but nothing worked. I am a pretty easy going person and get along with everyone, but these students really drove me to the edge. If they are going to be nasty and not care about learning, what are they doing there in the first place? |
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buymybook
Joined: 21 Feb 2005 Location: Telluride
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 2:28 am Post subject: |
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What kind of trouble did you have with them? Did your employer tell you of these problems. If so, it all may not be true? How long have you been working there, is it time for your raise? Don't tell me, your students are older than you, they think they can push younger folks around, especially foreigners. They might be feeling pressure of being let go at work, are they bankers(Citibank)? |
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ChinaBoy
Joined: 17 Feb 2007
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 4:22 am Post subject: |
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I had this once in China. Trying to get some conversation going in class. The a-hole kept saying "People in China don't do that" to EVERYTHING. Smoking, drinking, dating teachers, ANYTHING.
Their boss might have forced them to take some English classes and they don't want to be there. Or maybe they hate your race and want to spy on you so they can tell everyone bad things about you. Who knows what's up.
Not sure if going to the boss would solve anything. They're paying students, and if they're not happy with you, maybe you're the fault (in the eyes of the boss or the students). Whether or not that's true, they might think it. |
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NightSky
Joined: 19 Apr 2005
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 5:03 am Post subject: |
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in my experience K-adults can be just as bad with competition and oneupmanship as their kiddy counterparts. which is to say, especially if you have a bigger class, you will notice lots of jostling depending on what level they perceive themselves to be at compared to the others. some may feel that the only way they can stand out is to be an asshole. I sympathize.
I had a student who, while I don't know if he was deliberately trying to be offensive, regularly offended me. he would say stuff like he didn't believe in interracial relationships when he knew I was in one. he would preface every statement of his with "Korean people think" even if I gently reminded him he should only speak for himself. when class was unexpectedly cancelled (not by me) he demanded to know why I didn't tell him and when I explained it was a scheduling mistake on the part of my manager he yelled "your mistake! your mistake!" nothing really huge I guess but just stuff like that. |
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cdninkorea

Joined: 27 Jan 2006 Location: Seoul
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 5:32 am Post subject: |
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The overwhelming majority of my adult students are great, but yeah, there are a few I have issues with.
Nothing too serious, but once in a while there'll be an older man who sits back, arms crossed and legs extended, with a look of boredom on his face, no matter what the activity.
This semester, for the first time, I have a young woman, around 20 years old, who is giving an attitude- she sits with her arms crossed and a bored look on her face all the time.
Yes, these people could have problems with me because there's something wrong with my lessons, but consider: there are very few cases of this, and it seems to be a problem with them no matter what the lesson.
All in all though, adults are better than children (I speak only for myself on this- I know lots of people prefer children). |
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NightSky
Joined: 19 Apr 2005
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 6:46 am Post subject: |
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oh, I forgot one...I love it when they check their watches and don't even try to do it in a subtle manner.
(yeah, I did that too...when I was in highschool. ) |
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yingwenlaoshi

Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Location: ... location, location!
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 7:39 am Post subject: |
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IIILALALAIII wrote: |
yingwenlaoshi wrote: |
You know you're really off to a good start when the student asks questions like "Are you going to be teaching us blah, blah, blah?" or "Can I make a suggestion?"
See ya fkn later, asshole. |
i feel sorry for you boy. |
Oh, do you? That really fkg breaks my heart. |
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caniff
Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Location: All over the map
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 9:27 am Post subject: |
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I recently picked up some classes at Samsung. There was one or two of the folks that I thought might have attitude problems (could somewhat see it in the eyes as opposed to anything they said), but now everything's good with all of them (two classes totalling 24 students).
Those one or two know me now, and I no longer detect any problem - actually quite the opposite. One thing that helped was going out for dinner and drinks (at the students' suggestion), as they are more relaxed not only with me but also with the other people in their class.
Having a fun night out with your adult classes will make everything better, in my experience. |
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travelingfool
Joined: 10 Mar 2008 Location: Parents' basement
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 10:46 am Post subject: |
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All of these students were all over 30 and most were male though there were a couple of females that were pretty bad. I should point out that the vast majority of students are great to work with but unfortunately the nastiness of the the small minority practically offsets the niceness of the others.
Unfortunately in this profit driven, customer is king environment, throwing the offending students out on their arses is out of the question. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 11:12 am Post subject: |
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Quote: |
Having a fun night out with your adult classes will make everything better, in my experience. |
I agree. This is an almost fool-proof method of improving class atmosphere. It also helps enormously to have a lot of pair work activities at the beginning of a term where the students change partners often so they meet and get comfortable with the other students.
But there is also the fact that some people are just complete dorks and there isn't a thing to be done about it but endure until they move on. |
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Robot_Teacher
Joined: 18 Feb 2009 Location: Robotting Around the World
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 2:58 pm Post subject: |
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I would state on day 1 or on any day that bringing a good attitude is a must. If not bringing a good attitude, please don't come, but take the day off to think about what's going wrong and how to correct your problem without bringing others into something they don't deserve to be affected by your issue. If disrespectful to teacher or fellow students, you'll be asked to leave. Since it's my classroom and I'm the one in charge, age, seniority, job position, rank, etc, are irrelevant.
Like kids, adults have to live within a set of rules and guidelines too. Just becuase I paid a large sum of money (rather borrowed it) to go to a school such as uni, doesn't give me a right to be disrespectful to the staff. They'll kick you out of uni and you'll fail if you're disrespectful or disruptive. This is common sense to the point, college professors don't need to even say it in most classes. |
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linky123
Joined: 12 Feb 2009
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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Most Korean adults with bad attitude have issues. Either they are constantly suffer from being stepped on from work or inferiority complex from a foreigner. The best way to deal with them is to consider them as a job. Whether you like it or not, teaching adults at a private institute is considered a service industry. Like most service industry, you must cater toward the needs of the client.
If they are rude to you, be nice.
If they offend you, be nice.
If they insult you, be nice.
If they complain, find out the cause of their complaint and try to resolve them.
After all your efforts, there is a time to not to be nice and you come down upon time like nothing else. When they are showing bad attitude, their main objective is to bring out the worst in you. Don't play by their hand but consider your job as professionally as possible. When you do that, a lot of Korean in the class and outside of the class with begin to respect you. Like any other work place, you have to earn you respect. Just because you are a foreigner and speak English, you are not entitled to be worshipped over.
Last edited by linky123 on Tue Mar 03, 2009 3:40 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Easter Clark

Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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If an adult is being an ass I call them out on it every time. "Are you bored? You know, if you are bored it means you are a boring person. You're not boring, are you?" or "Why do you try to answer every question? The other students also paid a lot of money to attend. Right guys?" or "You DO know that it's rude to say ____ in English, right?"
Once you address the elephant in the room the problem usually disappears.
Oh, and having a solid lesson plan and explaining why you are doing each activity usually stops any problems before they start. |
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spyro25
Joined: 23 Nov 2004
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 3:44 pm Post subject: |
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best trick with a rude student is to correct EVERY SINGLE MISTAKE they make. include articles, incorrect word stress, incorrect intonation, punctuation if they do any writing, misuse of the 'be' verb, failure to get plurals right and so on. most students have a bad attitude because they either think
a) they are better than everyone else
b) they better than YOU
once you point out EVERY SINGLE MISTAKE they make in class (and let everyone else off to improve their fluency) they will quickly get the idea and either smarten up or quit the course. works every time for me - and the other students will be grateful for it! |
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martinpil
Joined: 03 Dec 2008
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 4:55 pm Post subject: |
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Easter Clark wrote: |
If an adult is being an ass I call them out on it every time. "Are you bored? You know, if you are bored it means you are a boring person. You're not boring, are you?" or "Why do you try to answer every question? The other students also paid a lot of money to attend. Right guys?" or "You DO know that it's rude to say ____ in English, right?"
Once you address the elephant in the room the problem usually disappears.
Oh, and having a solid lesson plan and explaining why you are doing each activity usually stops any problems before they start. |
Why be rude to students? That's a form of abuse. Don't do it! Be a better teacher instead |
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