Don't roar at difficult students!

Olga Chekchurina, Novosibirsk, Russia

Who would ever imagine teaching difficult students? If we go to our basics, we can probably discover that one of subconscious reasons which has driven us to a teaching career, was some kind of longing for love and recognition that we probably failed to get in everyday communication. Or we have always had, but wanted more and more. A beginner teacher entering a classroom is expecting the wealth of love and recognition. "Tiny tots with their eyes of a glow…"

But it does not always happen. What happens sometimes is "They'll hate you at the beginning, but love you in the end". Who are the culprits? It's those -so-called "difficult students". It's hard to enjoy the fact they are here, when you are up to something methodologically exciting, with this breathtaking new activity borrowed from the ELT site or a book you bought yesterday. But they can teach us all something new and there is nothing more rewarding than the transformation of a troublemaker into a happy and successful, though not necessarily absolutely brilliant student.
Here go my thrillers turning into Hollywood happy endings.

As soon as I saw her I understood I was in trouble. The tiny 10 -year old girl was staring at me with that specific facial expression which probably only dentists have to enjoy all day long! No glow…Whatever question I asked, whatever activity I suggested, her reaction was pretty much the same - she was frozen with horror. She was sent to our private language school after having been the worst in English at her elite school with a pretty strict ELT syllabus, with her peers teasing her for her mistakes in English. Moreover, her state school teacher called her names. To make things worse, she was under pressure from her family for getting bad marks in English. She was definitely expecting me to carry on the same way with me. I have to confess that I had been staring at her with probably the same expression for a while before eventually she handed me in an absolutely incredible composition which I had previously asked the class to write. It was written in perfect handwriting, was full of witty ideas and had correct paragraphing. The lesson after the girl got her first excellent mark in English. I praised her lavishly and from then on I started using her writing skills to support the others. Before doing an oral retelling of a story, she wrote it down. Before presenting her oral project, she was allowed to do the same thing. The day she first put up her hand to orally answer my question addressed to the class I was incredibly happy. She had taught me how to approach withdrawn students - find the skill which they can excel at, in her case writing, and help the student use it to develop the other skills!

This was really scary. Here was my perfect 15-year old upper-intermediate class with two newcomers, boys, who turned out to be really difficult! They could not write or spell decently, they refused to answer my questions, and they did not participate in discussions and did not mix with the class. Moreover, they turned out to be nationalistic which is especially scary in Russia, where all nationalities mix and mould like in a magic Harry Potter cauldron. I "kept smiling" though I felt that I was being pushed tight up against to my teaching and personal limits. How many times did I come to regret that I never shout in class! Those lovely days when pupils were spanked and hit…Those lovely detentions…Who said corporal punishment should be a matter of the past? But I kept teaching them patiently and consistently, quietly explaining that the class was not a Roman arena and that we were not gladiators…My headaches got worse and worse when suddenly after having played a melee game they produced a pretty understandable summary of what they had to do. Their comment was sensible and well-grounded and they really enjoyed the whole thing themselves. They did not become top of the class eventually, but after a while they mixed in well with the group and stopped to being "indigestible group members" (see "Classroom Dynamics" by Jill Hadfield).
This year I started my career as a Military Institute lecturer. Having got a list of my new group I spotted a familiar name and surname on it. Could it be one of my troublemakers??????? IT WAS HIM! His English is more than decent -not only did he remember what he had learnt in our class, but also started learning for himself and is now hooked on military topics. He has now my advisor for military English which I am not good at. Our broad smiles and "eyes of a glow" convinced me that I had been right a few years ago. You should never roar at difficult students!

He is a first-year Institute student and he cannot live without his mobile. The gadget is definitely part of his body -purring, singing, playing tunes. He has done a short English course in England and his Dad has got a high-powered job. I should be happy he is here. Recently he told me he is satisfied with my teaching. The problem is I AM NOT SATISFIED WITH HIS STUDYING! He is one of those who wants whatever higher education diploma is going to fit into his Dad's business smoothly. Here he is -no coursebook, no homework, saying he hates anyone making him do what he doesn't want to. The lesson he has taught me is that at times you cannot build your teaching on those humanistic grounds of fairy-like kindness and willingness to explore the inner world of a difficult student. Sometimes it's high time to become a difficult teacher!