 Re: Is it okay to speak the students' native language in class?
In the Korean school where I taught, I was known for my Green, Yellow and Red cards system. These students loved football so much so they easily understood the cards.
A green card meant the student was using English fully and led to special privileges for the student during English lessons.
A yellow card meant 'warning' - the student was using the mother tongue unnecessarily. Two 'yellow cards' during the same lesson led to a 'red'
A red card meant 'bad' and led to a special difficult English homework for the student and a loss of all classroom privileges.
It worked like magic. It killed unnecessary and distracting comments using the mother tongue during lessons. The smart ones soon started making noise and the same comments in English. The others realized that making noise in English was ok and did everything to enjoy the privilege. It was just fun. |