EduCareer StaffBlog"Rinjin Blog" | "EduCareer"Supporting your career in English teaching in the Japanese school system

Frustrations with Language Learning

2010/12/14

What causes frustrations with language learning? Even the most motivated students can become frustrated when they aren't progressing as fast as they've hoped, and less-motivated students can view any struggle as a good reason to quit.

Instill in your students the philosophy that all words are good words, and all progress is good progress. Some students feel that academic English is the only thing worth studying, or just because they've improved in communication, if it doesn't affect their test score it doesn't matter. Be sure to praise students for any improvement, be it a new slang word they picked up or better listening skills.

Change your game plan. If you usually teach game-based lessons and the students are restless, try writing activities. If you usually teach reading, show a movie. Mixing up lesson styles can give students a fresh perspective on language learning and jump-start progress.

Talk to your students. If someone is struggling with a particular point, meeting individually and talking him or her through it can help

Keep in mind that younger students sometimes can't express or are too embarrassed to admit their frustrations, and with the very youngest students frustrations can end in tears. With young learners it is especially important to make them feel successful and not single them out for struggling, so be sensitive to your students' needs

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