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Hello,

I have been teaching ESL for almost 4 years, although I have been teaching in general for about 9. I have never had any huge problems with students not liking me or complaining to my supervisor about me. However, I have recently moved and have a class of all Mexican students, and this has happened a couple of times. I don't mean to say that I think it's because they're Mexican or that this is a bad thing somehow, or that all Mexican students are the same. However, I have never worked with Mexican students before now (while I have had students from Brazil, Japan, China, Korea, Poland, Russia, El Salvador, Haiti, etc) so I'm just guessing that there may be a new cultural issue that I may be having trouble understanding.

At any rate, my supervisor came to me and said that some of my students had complained to another teacher, who in turn told him that I was treating them like children. Apparently, I had been telling them they couldn't go to the bathroom. I never did that, and then he told me that often students have some other kind of issue and that they don't know how to express it exactly, so they say something else. Also, they usually don't tell the teacher they're upset with due to authority figure issues.

Anyway, I am really upset by this because I don't know exactly what happened, making it difficult for me to address it. And I have been told again that students have been complaining. So my question is: Is there something cultural I could be missing? I try to be sensitive, but I realize that I could be doing something I'm unaware of. This has distressed and confused me a lot because I love my work and have had no indication from the students themselves that they are unhappy.

If any of you have worked with Mexican students---or if you have had a similar problem with students of any national origin---I would greatly appreciate any advice you may have.

DaL

Your e-mail was very strange for me to read because I have had the same problem, in fact several semesters running. I have only had it in a "mixed" group; when there are only Latinos, I get rave reviews for my teaching. And yes, it's very strange because it appears that everything is ok, but then a complaint surfaces. I have come up with two explanations. The first was definitely my insensitivity; I was talking about issues that Mexicans and Central Americans face when they come to this country. It was perceived as my singling them out, and somehow that morphed into my discriminating against them. I think in retrospect they didn't know how to address their concerns, and one person was intent on fanning the flames. The other times I've had problems were in mixed classes where many of the students clearly had much higher levels of education. The Mexicans seemed super sensitive to this and quick to take offense at just about anything; I think it was insecurity. I have to admit I still walk on eggshells, but it's getting better as I become more aware of their feelings. I've also made a point to reach out to Mexican and Central Americans in particular. Two ways I do this are using a little Spanish in the classroom (very little) and asking who is an American. Mexicans especially appreciate this distinction, and even more that they are NORTH Americans as well.
Let me know what you think, please.

have you asked them about their expectations and experiences?

i couldnt provide any legitimate advice, since much of the context/situation is still unknown. do you speak any spanish? do you have access to someone who could translate short written spanish comments?

should my following words not be useful, please just realize that i am offering something (with limited information):

you might try asking for "exit cards" at the end of classes. ask them to write two or three sentences in their first language. ask for specific prompts, such as (and get translation or not as need be):

"Lately we have been working on ____ and ____ and _____ with activity _____, activity ______, and also _______ . Which activity is most helpful for you? Which activity do you like least? Why?"

I have students respond on 3 X 5 cards when a "semester" starts, and avoid providing (initially) any response (public or otherwise) to build confidence in the responses. Initially, I get mostly comments such as "Class is great. I really want to learn English".

Then, (easing your way in) ....at the end of a later class, you could prompt something like this:

"Language learning involves listening, talking, writing, and reading. Which is most important to you? Why?"

The idea is that, in time the prompts will grow as you and your students grow together (and perhaps due to a safe private way to give one-way feedback without complications) you will learn much about your students. some of the comments will begin to show student opinion and reveal private concerns about the way the class is going. Often with my own Mexican-immigrant students, I have found that discontent in class usually follows a certain community characteristic where one student plays the role of protecting the others and sometimes overgeneralizes the concerns of the class in general. The student "fanning the flames" of discontent may also be a student with more effective English skills.

anyway, this is just one example of a way to provide varied access for students and improve student-teacher relationships. of course, if you have myriad first languages (which you dont) or dont speak the first language of your students, lessons could be designed around the idea of the "exit cards" such that the safe, private and one-way class commentary (from students to you) might still be achieved. class activities could be symbolized rather than translated, and student responses could begin as multiple choice options in english (with opportunity to expand on the answer made obvious).

if a teacher's job is to learn their students, sometimes it takes a painful growth at finding new ways to build the relationships.

sorry to ramble. hope this helps...