Thanks for the feedback Diana. The technique you described is exactly what we decided to try for this weeks lesson- he'll transcribe everything he can hear in his meetings and I'll fill in the blanks at our next class. I hope this technique will give him something a little more solid to study from. I will suggest watching movies and listening to podcasts in other accents.
My mixed level class is an adult level class (sorry, should have specified) and I am very grateful to them for teaching the lower levels what's going on in Japanese. I think I'll call upon the lower levels more often and let the more advanced cool off, since the class is geared towards lower levels anyway
Thanks for the tips!