Thread: Motivating Mathayom Students

Originally Posted by ralphlsasser

There must be someone to motivate that wants to learn. They should get their motivation from their parents. I certainly got my motivation from my parents. I was motivated weather I wanted to be or not. It all falls back to caring, discipline, and being involved. Something a Thai has no clue about. At least what I have seen.
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Aging one has a point. But, he forgot one thing. A Thai doesn't fail and certainly not by a Thai teacher. I failed 4 students last year and was promptly told to come to the office. The principal wanted to see why I failed them. After showing her the semester exams, finals, and daily class participation documentation she told me, "retest them with an easier test". The test were so simple, a complete idiot could pass them. One of the Thai teachers told me, "we never fail anyone". I refused to retest them, so a Thai teacher tested them. I think we all know the results of the test.

I think the no one fails policy is a little bit of a red herring. No one really gets held back years in the west. However at 16 and 18 students do national tests where they are found out. The problem for me is for education is the cream doesn't rise to the top. Having good english for the lower classes is not going to make you any money. Unless you can buy a job, or get an incredibly lucky break, a lotof the time your intelligenceis not what gets you a job. Even those who do get to study abroad often have to spend10 years of their lifeworking for peanutts to pay back their Graing jai. If exams were mor challenging and opportunities given to poorer students, i'm sure more would be motivated.

In the United States, at least where I am from, if you do not do grade level work, you fail and have to repeat the grade. Since the No Child Left Behind bill was passed, they don't fail as many, because the taxpayers pay overtime for a teacher to tutor the ones that cannot make it. The majority of the students that do not make it are from homes with no father and/or mother, taking drugs, alcoholics, or just do not care if their children even go to school. The only reason they are in school because it's the law and the parents will go to jail if their children do not go to school.

Reading skills are one issue but if you are a non-thai speaker the main barrier you face in teaching/motivating is the poor listening skills.
Many thai English teachers at my school cannot speak English (or even understand much). Naturally the kids can't either then. Entire English lessons will go by without any English being spoken. The thai teachers won't use tapes because:
a/ they say 'the children don't like them (well true but learning a language is difficult: your job is to help them overcome the difficulties)
b/ they themselves are embarrassed to have to 're-model' the English when their attempts are so obviously deficient (when set against the native speaker on the tape)

As such I have M6 students who can recognise the past perfect progressive but who can't (or won't) answer simple questions like 'what are your interests?' or 'how many brothers and sisters have you got?'

I do a quiz before each lesson (Team A v Team B or Boys v Girls): recycle the same questions and ask one or two new ones each week. 'What is the opposite of...' (board 'opposite')
'What three colours are on the flag of...' (Draw a flag - this is a good one)
'What language do people speak in America?Brazil?Mexico?Scotland?'
Capitals, currencies, continents, animals whatever you can think of
I also throw in a maths element (pre-teach plus, minus, times and throw sums their way)
It sometimes becomes like a geography lesson and of course the same half-dozen answer all the questions but at least it's a good warm-up and forces them to listen and try to differentiate words. It works better with younger Matyoms of course.

why would u be motivated if ur gonna pass anyway, i sure as hell wouldnt have done anything

I've been teaching M6 for a number of years now. Really they aren't motivated by anything other than Entrance Exam preparation. Many schools stick us foreign teachers in the classroom to do conversation exercises, but these are meaningless to the students. Conversation isn't part of their exams, even for international programs at the top universities.
So if you're teaching those things to M6 students they simply won't participate. Foreign teachers are unfortunately associated with wasting of time. Just a show to allow the school to raise fees. Really, the only thing to get the students attention is work on their entrance exam material.

Originally Posted by Ben Dover

I've been teaching M6 for a number of years now. Really they aren't motivated by anything other than Entrance Exam preparation. Many schools stick us foreign teachers in the classroom to do conversation exercises, but these are meaningless to the students. Conversation isn't part of their exams, even for international programs at the top universities.
So if you're teaching those things to M6 students they simply won't participate. Foreign teachers are unfortunately associated with wasting of time. Just a show to allow the school to raise fees. Really, the only thing to get the students attention is work on their entrance exam material.

Think your right B.D. I'm lucky I teach them at Pratom level where they all want to speak and show their parents how good their English is. This is a big problem here. If the exams don't require speaking many students can't be bothered. 30% of my exam is a speaking test from P1 upwards. It becomes an expectation. How can students study abroad without even basic communicational English is a mystery. Another example of Thailand not challenging its students.

The solution is simple...kiss..keep it straight and simple.. if you see your hands as being tied realise that it aint a problem but a gift in disguise because it is forcing you to use your imagination .. quite the handouts... own handwriting best to learn from why should they pay attention when all and sundry being handed out to them.. furthermore stop having expectations they create your disappointments and finally stop being attached to results relax create enjoy

Originally Posted by theanimaster

In my class for the 'Christmas Season' lessons I'm making the students do a pop-up Christmas card. Not your usual boring pop-up either. This one is really "3D" pop-up, not just some flat thing that pops-up, but rather a criss-cross bunch of pieces that pop-up to form a solid shape. Well, so much for explanations anyways.

So what happens?

First week, 90 percent -- NINETY PERCENT don't bring shit to class. This despite me telling them, writing it on the board, having them recite what was written on the board, and having the Thai teacher tell them what it is. That's 50 students a class and only 5 students bring their materials. No money to buy materials? Bullshit. I had the assistant teacher collect the money so they can have something for the next week to work on (only get one period a week per class).

Second week. Still, most of the students don't have their stuff, even though we've bought the stuff for them. Keep in mind that this is a SPECIAL kind of card that you don't find just anywhere. This particular pattern (a gift box) is also dead-easy to make and put together. Some students are finished with their cards -- well fuck, I told them NOT to try it themselves (that's the whole point of the class) so in the end they have crappy-looking, smudgey-poop-for-cards. Mary Crhrtimas Mam and Dod.

I'm in the third week now. Out of 50 students per class, it seems only 2-3 managed a proper-looking greeting card.

So fuck having something nice and clever as motivation. The only thing that will motivate these losers are ILLEGAL DRUGS and MONEY. I've wasted my time on trying out nice things with them.. and hey, I'll continue to waste my time because I get paid for it, and that's all the school really cares about -- keeping these losers company.

I do sympathise. when you put the effort in your no reward its frustrating as hell. The first thing I learnt here is don't trust a thai teacher to communicate anything. Here for me the best policy is to buy stuff yourself because left to their own devices students won't always remember. I buy everything myself and charge the kids if necessary. I bought 120 dictionaries and sold them to every kids in the school so now they all have the same. If I make a resouces they want, they pay for the cost of the copying. I know schools should provide but same in the west if you wait around for those pencils, you'll be waiting a long time. You shouldn't have to buy your own stuff but particuarly here, consumables like paper, pencils seem to be the last thing in the budget. It does pay to invest. As regards the cards, you're doing it as a treat. try to remember the minority who are motivated and do their best. These are the kids you're doing it for. the rest find a tie consuming dull activity to keep them quiet. when they see the others making cards and doing something fun, its funny how many seem to get interested. Thai students always want to do the same thing. When the tasks are split its amazing how quickly the odd ones out seem to develop a better attitude. Just my experience