 Re: Some of my students won't listen to me.
I teach 13-15 year olds in a public school in Seoul. I have about 40 kids in each class. There are some kids who have no interest at all in learning english. I try to get them involved as much as possible, but giving them special attention isn't possible in a class of 40 with 45 minute periods. So if they keep quiet and don't bother others, then I just let them be. If they're being disruptive, as a lot of them are, I just stop class. I tried being a disciplinarian but that doesn't work as they usually just say something in Korean that I don't understand to get a laugh out of their classmates. So I just started explaining to my class that I'm going to get my full 45 minutes out of them no matter what. If they want to talk, then I'll stop class until everyone is quiet and we can continue. My students get 10 minute breaks between classes that they cherish. So it's pretty effective to just continue class after the bell rings and not let them have their break until I've finished my lesson. Now, when I stop class for a few kids talking, the majority of the class screams at the offenders and we can carry on.  |