[lwinfree]

I teach ESOL to adults who receive the classes for free. Only some of the students are required to take the class in order to continue receiving their benefits, but most take the class of their own accord. For this reason, it is fairly common for students to miss a day or two from class each week as they have dr. appointments for their kids, prior engagements, etc.

Recently, the students have been showing up later and later for class. I always greet everyone with a smile and ask them about their day/weekend. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to encourage my students to come to class on time?

[bread_baker]

Your problem is so very common in American adult education!!! I have had latecomers in every class, for years. One problem is: when students pay little or nothing for a class, they don't treat it as valuable. That isn't the case with every person, but it's the case with far too many of the students.
Don't take it personally.
See how late students come, and allow for that in your lesson planning. In my case, I usually have almost everybody after 30 minutes. So I never teach any new grammar or any new activity in the first 30 minutes.
I don't repeat an activity. What I mean is: if I have a certain activity in the first 30 minutes, I don't repeat it later for the latecomers. If they miss it, they miss it.

[HUE]

Yes, I agree that this is a common problem among many students. I take a different course than Bread Baker, though. I run my classes with a slightly longer Warm Up, about fifteen minutes. Following that, we jump into the lesson proper. I present new information, practice it, and slowly move towards free(r) and free(r) activities. If students come as much as twenty or thirty minutes late, then they have missed the foundation of the lesson (target language, skills, etc.). This means they can't effectively participate in the later stages of the lesson.

In the end, I have had a few more students drop from the class. A few more students know that if they miss the essential early stages, then the later stages are a struggle. As a result, some opt not to come if they are running really late. However, the people there get a lot out of the lesson, and we can push ahead into meaningful language acquisition and use.

Hope this helps!

[alawton]

Hello,

I had this problem with adult students before too. I would usually try to plan the notes/direct instruction for right in the beginning of class. The rest of the class was for activities to practice the new grammar and vocabulary taught. Any student who missed the instructional part would feel a bit lost. This helped a little.

With these non credit type classes students are just going to be more relaxed. I usually try to plan activities that are easy for a late student to jump into. Good luck!

[Dave-B]

Most of my students show up late as well. However, it seems I take a different approach than the other comments.

Generally speaking I don't like to teach anything too serious and grammar related in the first hour of the day (My students have between 4-5 hours a day of class).

I normally read the newspaper in order to start vocabulary lessons or conversation. I like that it gets them warmed up for the day.

By the second hour, most students are there and my grammar lessons begin.

However, I would emphasize the ideas of the others that it is important to not stop class or make the punctual students feel like they are wasting time until everyone shows up. This is the key, and chatting and wasting time for 30 minutes certainly doesn't give anyone incentive to arrive on time.

[hamin]

We drop students from class if their attendance drops below 75% of the time when they should be in class. This makes a difference in attendance.

It's inexcusable for a student to come to class late, leave early, miss class, etc. We all have responsibilities and planning to meet one's responsibilities should be part of what we teach.

[sueby]

I would agree with something from everyone: 10-15 minute warm-up to give late-comers a chance to join in, then new vocab and grammar followed by activities. I also agree that it's the student's responsibility to turn up for class on time. I would suggest putting up a sign on the door of the classroom warning late-comers not to interrupt class if they arrive over 15 minutes late, or something similar.

[beschwar]

I hope this reply finds you well and in positive spirits.
#1. Stay Positive
#2. Don't Take Things Personally, AT FIRST
#3. Foster Team Play
#4. Foster Relationship Mentality
#5. Impress Upon Students the Need for One Anothers Mutual Support of Each Other
#6. Have, "THE TALK", which is a t/o conversation (have another teacher, friend, administrator; talk with the student in a motivational and supportive way, the first time around)
#7. Continue to Impress the Importance of Family Atmosphere and the Reliance Each Member Places on One Anothers Presence, on Time, and on a Regular Basis
#8. Stay Positive
#9. Force Peer Pressure
#10. Inforce Financial Penalties

Stay positive and just keep having fun. Stay interested in all, paying particularly close attention to those that seem to be uninterested back.

Go Get 'Um Tiger!!!

[kisito]

Really nothing you can do. The test is on your patience. You need to keep calm and be flexible with your lesson plans. I had a class of students like that. Their company paid for English lessons which they didn't want to take. To them it represented extra working hours. So I either had absences, late coming all the time or students who were hard to motivate. It tests your nerves.

[jakda]

You can always change your lessons to accommodate those who turn up late, but it isn't fair on the other students. Talk to them individually and explain that it affects others you, and the other students who turn up on time.

They may have reasons for turning up late, but if it is just down to lack of effort to come to class then it isn't fair. It is always harder with adults as calling parents makes a big difference. But beschar offers good advice. Keeping a good relationship within the group makes it harder for those to break the cohesion. Let them know that.