So what can you do to make the behavior of your ESL class better?
Is it even possible?
Yes, it is possible, and here are some tips:
- Don’t Ignore: I went through a period where I just ignored the bad students. These kids would misbehave, speak Chinese all the time, and talk with their friends. I figured, ‘hey, I don’t care if their parents waste money!’ Well, it didn’t work too well. The students were still bad. So instead of ignoring them, point them out. Most students hate to be singled out in class, and this will whip them into line, for awhile at least. Make them stand up, move to another chair, or write 15 lines. All will work.
- Discipline Them: Parents always told me to be more strict with my ESL students, but that never really worked. When it comes to ESL behavior, however, you’ve got to be firm. If you write student names on the board, put a tick or check next to students that are misbehaving. Maybe they’ll have to stay after class for however many minutes, write out a lot of lines, or get extra homework. I routinely gave extra homework to bad students, and sometimes they’d even do it!
- No Game/Video: Students hate this! When you’re ready to play your game at the end of class, make sure that all the ESL students with bad behavior are left out. If you can get away with putting them in the hall, that’s great. If you’re watching a video, have them turn their desk around. If you play a team game, put them on the boys/girls team or make them stand up. Anything so they get mad, and hopefully won’t misbehave again.
I hope some of these ideas work for your ESL student behavior problems. When it comes to the behavior of ESL students, you need to maintain your sanity by maintaining a disciplined ESL environment.
I’d love to hear your ideas on what works and what doesn’t in regard to