Teacher Discussion Forums

i teach English in a high school. one class i'm teaching is really in bad situation. i began to teach them just this term and their scores were the lowest in Grade one when i took it, and now it is also the lowest. most of the students are not interested in English at all, it's difficult for me to arouse their interest to learn English. i don't know what to do. maybe next term i will not teach them any longer, but i want to do something to change their situation of learning English even if i couldn't improve their scores. could you please give me some advice? thank you!

Hi Wangyu,

If you have control over the curriculum, there is a lot you can do, if not...

Most high school students recognise that English is the language of the Internet, western music, Hollywood. You can spice up your lessons with songs and movies to get them interested.

Set reasonable targets for them, and discuss the targets individually. I once had a class like that, and I found that out of about 35 students, I was surprised to find that five or six were actually very motivated, but had been dragged down by the majority.




my site: www.roadtogrammar.com

There isn't an easy answer to this one. We've all been in similar positions, or know of a friend who has, and not any one solution works.

But that doesn't help you, does it?!

A co-worker uses this for some of his university classes. And although you are teaching high school, there isn't THAT much difference between students who are sixteen and students who are eighteen.

1) At the beginning of the term, he gives the students a few topics to talk about. He asks them to communicate in English for as long as possible, but if they must resort to their native language, that's fine. He switches partners, then has them repeat the conversation. He asks at the end: "How long did you speak only in English today?" Most answers range around the 1-minute mark, sometimes less.

2) He continually builds their speaking ability through the term. Yes, they make grammar mistakes. Yes, they mix up vocabulary. But he wants them to get the language out, errors and all. During each lesson, he gives them conversation time, with questions based on topics of interest.

3) At the mid-term and at the end of the sixteen weeks, he asks: "How long did you speak only in English today?" Nearly always there is an improvement, even if it is up to two or three minutes of English conversation. However, because the students can measure their improvement, it adds to their confidence and interest. They can see English as a useful tool, rather than a boring subject they may never use.

Hope this helps.

Chris Cotter
www.headsupenglish.com

Have you tried just asking a simple question each day on the attendance sheet? This simple technique allows you to learn more about student interests, provides a place for students to share their ideas, and creates more of a unified classroom. You can ask "what's your favorite song/website/TV show/ electronic product/movie " every day. You can also use the sign-in sheet to reinforce course content.

Personally, I use the information to pander to student interests and push them to upgrade their interests by taking a more objective look. If they idolize a fashion model, then ask them to write a paper about the modeling industry. Push them to adopt a more academic vocabulary, etc. Tell them to use a minimum of 7 sources - including the trade publications. You just start where they are and build on their interests.

As Emerson noted years ago, "the secret of education is to respect the pupil."

Just my perspective.

[email protected]
www.compellingconversations.com

I think you have given a lot of effective advices, and i want to add one thing--we should encourage students to say, if they make mistakes in class, as a teacher, you cannot give them negative response. Every one likes to listen praise or positive resonses, so what you need to do is to give them confidence.

We agree. Often, I lead with praise and correct by example rather than explicitly correcting a students. This indirect method seems quite effective with insecure students. As you noted, students like to listen to praise.

i agree, we should encourage the students to speak out . They can express themselve freely and use the english to communicate with others. It is very important. And praise can motivate them to speak. then they can express themselves fluently. They may be interested in english.

Hi colleagues,

I've actually written a blog posting about this theme and issues related to student-centered training, it's here:

http://kalinago.blogspot.com/2008/10/pe ... aking.html

Another entry that might be of interest is on motivation:

http://kalinago.blogspot.com/2008/10/sj ... ation.html

Take care,
Karenne

Hai...

Read, read and read! Reading is the best way to improve the interest in English language.
Use simple topics about themselves and their interests.
What to read?
Newspapers, books of your interest, online articles which including news and informative topics, magazines, menus, advertising material, advertisement boards, anything you can your eyes on!

It's helpful to go out of your way and find out what interests them. For example, I try to know all Disney characters and use them as examples when teaching kindergarten. For high school students, it helps to be updated with the trending news and pop culture. For adults- current events. Once you have these knowledge on your sleeves, it would help capture their attention inside the classroom and will also make your students feel more comfortable around you.

Being a science teacher, I know how hard it can be to get your students interested in the lesson. Generally, I mould my teaching methods according to the demographics of my class ie age, grade, gender, interests etc. Recently, I had an opportunity to teach in an all girls school, so I used stories about female achievers in the field of science to get their attention. I felt that the girls needed female role models from the science field to feel connected and to feel motivated to pursue higher ed in science.

Maybe, i "ll encourage students to participate in many activities based on reading article many times. Then some useful stories and tools are heplful,here are some tips for you to arrange and motivate students better:
1、Arrange classroom seating for you to get assess to them easily.
2、Devide students into different groups and assigning specific roles to group members. If everyone has a specific job to do it is much easier for students to focus on the learning goal. 
3、Prepare relative files and audio for class and organize their data related to the project such as naming files, storing, and sharing files. 
4、Actively monitor policy is necessary. Teacher does not need to walk aroud in the classroom at present, the only thing is add the website the student can visit in advance without worrying about students distraction in class.
5、Provide specific and descriptive feedback to students as they progress through the online material, just as you would with traditional material. Integrate assessment tasks, which provide for formative and summative assessments of the tasks in the unit. 
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