[Zorro Sensei]

I feel ya.

I used to have troubles myself, but now things have gotten a lot better.

Here are some things I find with my Japanese students.


- Day 1. From the very first class it is important to be strict and let your students know what you expect from them. This is true with all ages. Of course, this is difficult for you, but it is something to think about for the future.

Students don't like it when the nice teacher who lets them do anything suddenly blows up at them. They are just acting like they have always been acting, and you are suddenly not ok with that. They don't expect it, and they feel threatened.

When you establish clear rules and lines at the begining, they know what they can and cannot do. They will of course test those lines, but your reactions (yelling at them etc.) will be expected and they will perceive the situaiton as THEM going to far, and not you going to far.

You said you think they are testing you. And they are. You need to make sure that the answers to the test are always the same. Once they know the answers, they'll stop testing you, but if you give them different answers every time, they not only keep testing you, but actually get as frustrated as you.



-As for me, I don't actually yell. I just am not a yeller, and it never sounds that threatening when I do. I try to be very cheerful and happy and excited, and the kids usually feed of my energy. If they feed too much, and start getting away, I'll first try to direct them using flashcards, or by calling their names, or maybe by changing the activity a bit for new variety.

If the students still don't come back, I employ the silent treatment. I stand, quietly, and wait. I don't get upset and just breath deeply, looked relaxed, and wait. The results, from ages 5-15 are always amazing. The other advantage, is that when you yell you often lose focus and energy yourself, and so teaching from that point on becomes more difficult for you.

Usually I only have to wait 15 seconds or so... Sometimes I have had to go 2 minutes. I can think of one time when I had to probably around 5 minutes, but it still eventually did the trick. The trick is never giving up, because the strength of the silent treatment grows exponentially with time.

The message with the silent treatment is simple. "I'm here, I'm ready, and when you are ready, we will begin."

The message is also respectful to the students, because it doesn't attack them or tell them they are bad. You'll be surprised at how even the really really bad kids will eventually give up, and how other kids will feel embarrassed and run around shutting everyone up for you.



-The other technique that works really well with the youngest kids is "Clap once if you hear me, clap twice if you hear me, clap three times if you hear me."

This is an alternative to the silent treatment. It is more friendly and is more of an attention grabber than anything.

When I lose the kids attention, I say "clap once if you hear me" and any kid who hears (and myself) clap their hands once. Then I say "clap twice if you hear me" and any kids who hear and myself clap twice. I keep going until everyone is clapping.

The kids enjoy it, and it is a good way to grab their attention without yelling at them and putting a damper on the class mood or their energy.


-Be patient and don't get stressed. Sometimes there is something you can do, sometimes there isn't. Some kids are determined to be bad, unhappy, or frustrated. I had a kid who would completely refused to listen, would always do his own thing like hiding in cupboards or rolling on the floor, and played terribly with other kids (cheating and yelling). All the yelling and punishing in the world had no effect.

Don't let them ruin your classes and just ignore them completely. If they get violent or extremely distracting to other students, remove them from the class, but if they are just not listening and doing their own thing, ignore them. Often I found that they will come to feel left out and give up on being the bad kid. Most of the time they ended up joining in on the games (sometimes even having the most fun).

By not confronting them you are not giving them attention, but more importantly you are not making them feel unwelcomed or disliked. This is important, because if they feel the teacher is still friendly towards them, they won't be afraid to join the game when they are ready.

As for cheating and stuff, the other kids would watch well enough, and they would refuse to play with him when he cheated. Slowly he learned his lesson, and made the realization. The kid I'm thinking of never fully recovered from being a little ****, but he did get quite a bit better and made good progress.


-When all else fails, play a game they like. It doesn't even have to have an English focus. Just direct them into doing something you know they will enjoy.

If it is the last period on a Friday, there is so little hope. I could probably do a real productive lesson, but I know it will be a struggle to hold their attention. So I do the games they want to play. At least this way, it appears I'm still in control of the class and directing things (at least from their point of view)... even though I am really just caving in.

You can't fight their energy. If they are ready to run around, getting them to sit down and draw won't work well. If they are tired and want to sit down and draw, getting them to play a game where they run around won't work well. Be flexible and adaptable and you will have a much easier time.