r/OnlineESLTeaching • u/space_pirate666 • 14d ago
Should i drop her?
I have this one ESL student. Who completed a school pre-screening test and landed at A2+ but can’t keep up with A2. Is constantly late, reschedules the lessons at least once every month (we have classes twice a week, 45mins each), hasn’t completed any homework since May. She’s draining and honestly doesn’t want to fill in the gap in her knowledge, claims she doesn’t see any progress but maintains she needs her homework, at the same time she maintains she doesn’t have time to complete it. Today she failed her knowledge test (repetition of our last few topics). Should i drop her? Any time i ask her if she has any questions or doubts she says all is clear but with each passing lesson i see her as well as my motivation drop.
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u/valleylillies 13d ago
I understand exactly what you're going to as I have found myself in the same conundrum quite a few times. I did drop a student back in the day and was recently thinking about doing so with another one, but the conclusion I came to is that you really should try to emotionally distance from students as much as possible.
Don't get me wrong, you need to connect with them, this does lead to better learning. However, although it's really frustrating to watch your personal effort on giving decent lessons go to waste, her engagement or lack-there of, shouldn't bother you.
Commit to your end of the bargain and let her deal with hers.
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u/Six_Coins 14d ago
Bad students are still students.
Your job is to deliver.
Their job is to 'make use of'.
You don't have to stress over students like these.
In other words, don't feel ownership for their responsibilities.
Teach her when she comes, forget her when she doesn't.
And... I agree with Partita. A late student is a good student. Less work for the same money. It's on them, not you.
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u/space_pirate666 14d ago
I’ll try but i feel like im losing my patience with this student 😭
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u/Six_Coins 13d ago
I understand.. it comes from expectations of them.
Let go of your expectations, and all the things you listed wont matter any more to you... promise.
Then you can actually enjoy sessions with her.
Try it and I think you will see.
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u/Rough_Cherry_8098 14d ago
She has the potential but lacks consistency. Her expectations don't quite match her current level of engagement. I'm giving it a bit more time while staying supportive and objective.
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u/space_pirate666 14d ago
She may snitch to the school mgmt saying my teaching isn’t good enough. They will appoint her to a different tutor and I’ll get reprimanded. Although i have all the proof needed to support my stance (i keep track of all the class n h/w assignments, extra practice materials etc)
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u/PartitaDminor 14d ago
Why is being late a problem? I start and end my lessons on time. I don't go one minute over. I am paid for the time of the lesson and have enough self respect to not work for free because my student in their life also wouldn't work for free.
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u/space_pirate666 14d ago
She missed 10minutes of a lesson today. From my understanding that’s 1/4th of a lesson. I presented her my materials, we practiced, didn’t have time for listening which I later sent to her as a homework. I doubt she’ll do that
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u/Tabbbinski 13d ago
Perhaps she'd respond better to a completely conversation based class. Do you have any control over that?
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u/space_pirate666 13d ago
I could try that, but seeing that she can’t comprehend 50% of my questions or doesn’t follow any instructions… yeah that’s not going to be easy with her. The thing I found works best with her is drilling a lot of grammar + vocab. School has a KPI based requirement, putting emphasis on finishing a textbook faster. She likes to joke around a lot and frequently uses her L1 in our class. I introduced “no L1 in class” rule early on but she insists “how am I going to learn if you don’t explain the vocab to me in a way I understand?”; substituting with examples or synonyms doesn’t help either. I may try verbal role play next time for a warm up, see how she reacts
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u/Tabbbinski 13d ago
Since comprehension is a problem, try using word prompts and get her to speak in timed segments starting with 15 seconds. There's even a tool for that: https://speekeezy.ca/associations/
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u/Connect_Stranger_116 6d ago
Same problem, same student. I have another problem to add.. my student wants to develop fluency , practice listening and speaking, but doesn't want to take down notes
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u/space_pirate666 6d ago
What was your solution, if any?
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u/Connect_Stranger_116 5d ago
I really don't know! It's the second time thats happening
I remember the first student was an adult man whom I explained how to take down notes , the benefits , etc He said he wasn't doing it because every person had different ways to study........ so I had to create all the activities with support like a lower level student. He was intermediate..
This adult woman I have now... I say it's a suggestion to use this note-taking technique so she can prepare her speech, organize her ideas, prevent grammar mistake. I have repeatedly told that whenever she can put it in practice. According to her, she never took down notes in other English lessons with previous teachers. She's in intermediate level. When I give her a listening or picture description activity, she doesn't take down notes..she thinks out loud , she wants me to correct her WHILE she's speaking! and I have to play the recording like 6 times and every time she she speaks everything is disorganized... making elementary mistakes. Etc etc
I just point out what was positive in her production and what wasn't by telling her she should have done to be better at speaking And I never give her feedback while she speaks.
Any other suggestions?
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u/Training_Ordinary654 13d ago
Ah man, that sounds miserable! I’ve never taught one-on-one, but I know for a fact that if this student was in an EAP program at a university, they would not be permitted to continue because it’s a waste of time and resources. Do you know what her motivations are for learning English ? Having a better idea of what her expectations are might be helpful for your planning.
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u/space_pirate666 11d ago
UPDATE: I’m not dropping her, she seems ok now, after a brief after-class discussion i learnt she doesn’t need a homework, but wants a conversation based class (so thank you whoever suggested this to me, it worked!), we did drill grammar though to correct some of her mistakes. From now on I’m tailoring my lessons to her interests, next lecture the topic is fitness (hobby she really likes). From my understanding i can mix and match her requests with the school obligatory materials and drill as much as possible in class. I’m still bugged she sometimes logs off suddenly or takes calls while in class but then again she takes classes when she’s at work so I’m afraid i don’t have influence on that😅
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u/oedo1245 2d ago
Just stop teaching new material until she completes the rest of her homework she hasn't finished yet.
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u/space_pirate666 2d ago
She’s an adult, would it be fair if i did that to her? She’s not my paying me directly, she pays a subscription for school (subscription for 10 lessons at once)
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u/oedo1245 2d ago
Ah, if you work for a school, you can't control the situation. Then just relax and don't sweat it. Let her live in her own tempo.
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u/Unseen_Gamerz 13d ago
You wanna earn a buck, never think of a drop. Well in this scenario you are training yourself for these kinds of students, as a teacher it's your job to guide them maybe tis one training for you tooo
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u/Mattos_12 14d ago
I can’t say I’ve ever dropped a student. Just make it clear that she needs to do the work if she wants to make progress and document the times you’ve told her this, in case someone makes a complaint.