PiggyInClover
Member
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2012
- Member Type
- English Teacher
- Native Language
- British English
- Home Country
- UK
- Current Location
- Cyprus
Hello Teachers
I've got some difficult adult behaviour going on in one class. Any tips on improving conflicted dynamics would be much appreciated. Thanking you in advance!
Class Profile
2 students of different language levels - the middle ground is pre-int.
Main Course Objective: Speaking and Listening
Lesson Frequency: 1 hr a week
No. of Lessons completed so far: 12
Student Profiles
Student A: female, aged 48, intermediate, general learning attitude and behaviour: positive, keen, motivated, enthusiastic, polite, respectful, appreciative and responsive
Student B: female, aged 59, elementary, general learning attitude and behaviour: negative, anxious, under-confident, under-performing, mistrustful, rebellious, competitive, needy, controlling, stonewalling/silent or hostile/argumentative (towards me; not towards the other student), often refuses to participate, hypercritical, questions 'the point' of (nearly all) activities, says she doesn't have time to study, wants to quit (but doesn't).
Obviously, my difficulty is with Student B!
Techniques I have used to try and improve the situation:
Nothing works on her!
I know that sometimes a teacher has to wave a white flag and say to oneself "there's nothing more I can do", but perhaps there is something I could do that I haven't thought of yet.
And I know that students (especially adult students) have to share some responsibility for what goes on the classroom too - what they put in, they get back, etc. I am not sure that Student B knows this though! (Or cares?)
An added problem is that Student B's negativity is contagious. It creates a bad atmosphere and that's beginning to affect Student A's motivation too. Student A is a genial people-pleaser, and it's only natural that she should try to support Student B and ally with her. Result: an increasingly difficult class; not very conducive to learning.
I should also mention that I am teaching this class for free as a favour to a friend! So it's not as if they are 'wasting' money! It's entirely up to them to come or not. I could choose to terminate the class if I wanted to, but as long as they keep coming I will persevere. It would be nice if Student B just smiled once in a while!
:-(
Any helpful tips appreciated. Thanks again in advance.
Piggy in Clover
I've got some difficult adult behaviour going on in one class. Any tips on improving conflicted dynamics would be much appreciated. Thanking you in advance!
Class Profile
2 students of different language levels - the middle ground is pre-int.
Main Course Objective: Speaking and Listening
Lesson Frequency: 1 hr a week
No. of Lessons completed so far: 12
Student Profiles
Student A: female, aged 48, intermediate, general learning attitude and behaviour: positive, keen, motivated, enthusiastic, polite, respectful, appreciative and responsive
Student B: female, aged 59, elementary, general learning attitude and behaviour: negative, anxious, under-confident, under-performing, mistrustful, rebellious, competitive, needy, controlling, stonewalling/silent or hostile/argumentative (towards me; not towards the other student), often refuses to participate, hypercritical, questions 'the point' of (nearly all) activities, says she doesn't have time to study, wants to quit (but doesn't).
Obviously, my difficulty is with Student B!
Techniques I have used to try and improve the situation:
- Lots of praise and encouragement
- Bespoke materials with topics they're personally interested in (related to hobbies or lifestyle, etc.)
- Emphasis on fluency rather than accuracy
- Emphasis on lexical skills rather than grammar structures
- Language learning needs analysis questionnaires & feedback
- Identifying learning resources outside the classroom; trying to encourage autonomous learning
- Identifying emotive affects of learning
- VAK Learning style questionnaires - reinforcing individual learning styles
- Progress testing rather than performance testing
- Changing dynamics, e.g. where they sit in class/where I sit; less homework / more homework; using L1 vs total immersion; different materials - authentic vs academic; using relaxing music/candles ...
Nothing works on her!
I know that sometimes a teacher has to wave a white flag and say to oneself "there's nothing more I can do", but perhaps there is something I could do that I haven't thought of yet.
And I know that students (especially adult students) have to share some responsibility for what goes on the classroom too - what they put in, they get back, etc. I am not sure that Student B knows this though! (Or cares?)
An added problem is that Student B's negativity is contagious. It creates a bad atmosphere and that's beginning to affect Student A's motivation too. Student A is a genial people-pleaser, and it's only natural that she should try to support Student B and ally with her. Result: an increasingly difficult class; not very conducive to learning.
I should also mention that I am teaching this class for free as a favour to a friend! So it's not as if they are 'wasting' money! It's entirely up to them to come or not. I could choose to terminate the class if I wanted to, but as long as they keep coming I will persevere. It would be nice if Student B just smiled once in a while!
:-(
Any helpful tips appreciated. Thanks again in advance.
Piggy in Clover