Dealing With An Unruly Foreign Language Student

by Rease Kirchner

Teaching certainly has its ups and downs. Teaching a foreign language can be especially difficult because of all the extra obstacles, the biggest one being the age of the students. No matter how many studies show that young children learn foreign languages faster and more effectively, the reality is that most people don’t start studying until their preteens. I have taught both Spanish and English to students as young as 3 and as old as 55.  I am not the most patient person in the world, quite the opposite, actually. You’d think I would have stayed clear of teaching due to this serious personality flaw, but I have a soft spot for kids and a passion for languages. Of course, that doesn’t mean I didn’t have moments when I wanted to snap. I learned how to cope, so here’s some tips on dealing with your unruly students effectively.

Situation #1

Your student is whining that you give too much homework.

What you want to do: Go on a rant about how kids these days are so lazy and never want to improve themselves then tell them about how you happily did your homework with a inkwell by candlelight and other stuff that just sounds like boring old person crap to your student.

What you should do: Redefine homework. Give them something that doesn’t bore them to tears every once and a while. Sometimes you have to give them standard worksheets and verb conjugations, but you need to mix it up. Dig up a cheesy soap opera or sitcom in the foreign language and have them watch it. They’ll roll their eyes and pretend like they hate it, but secretly they’ll think it is funny and enjoy it much more than worksheets. You can do the same thing with songs.

Situation #2

Your student’s pronunciation sounds like someone on nitrous oxide trying to spit out a few words before they pass out.

What you want to do: Cringe every time they speak, roll your eyes and force them to hear how they sound to you.

What you should do: Think back to when you first started and remember how hard it was. Remember, as we get older, we begin to lose the ability to learn unfamiliar sounds. Be patient and get creative. Look for songs and poems for your student to memorize. With a given rhythm it will be much easier for your student to practice the pronunciation and it won’t feel so excruciating for the student or for you.

Situation #3

Your student is giving you all kinds of sass about how useless your class is.

What you want to do: Slap them. Tell them they are ungrateful and force them to understand that the class is incredibly important.

What you should do: First off, avoid admitting you want to slap a student, as I just did. After you swallow that urge, take a deep breath and look at the class through their eyes. Make it real for them. If they think they’ll never use the language, find a situation when they would. Put them in a situation when people are giving him directions in a foreign language, or kids are telling a joke they doesn’t understand, or show them a picture of a super attractive person who might flirt with them without them being able to understand their words. You are not going to win this kid over with phrases about the weather, find something they might actually want to talk about. If you are not bound by a school board, try teaching them some phrases they wouldn’t normally learn in class. You know, the bad stuff that everyone wants to learn.

Situation #4

Your student is completely unmotivated to do anything at all.

What you want to do: Grab them by the shoulders and shake them until they care.

What you should do: Figure out what that kid needs from you. Every student is different, but they all need some form of motivation. I have used a lot of different methods. Some kids will do anything for a sticker on a sticker chart that leads to a prize box. Others scoff at stickers but would kill for points towards a pack of baseball cards. Perhaps you have a class with a competitive side, so put them against each other in a game. Above all, always have candy.

Make it Real

The best part about teaching a foreign language is that you have so many opportunities to apply it to the real world. Language is how we communicate, so the possibilities are really endless. You have to figure out how to motivate your student to improve their language skills. Maybe it’s through music, movies, and TV. Some kids will want to read love poems, others will want to play a game. Whatever it is, it’s your job to find it. Trust me, once you get through to them, it will all be worth it.

Rease Kirchner a staff writer/Travel Adviser for Travelated. She is a US citizen currently living the ex-pat life in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is bilingual and an experienced traveler. She loves gaining and sharing knowledge of local cultures, customs and adventure. Her blog Mi Vida en Buenos Aires documents her life as a foreigner.