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Q: Help! Student screams when speaking, sounds like jet engine whose balls haven't dropped yet
Among my students, there are three who constantly irritate me. I would like some advice as to how to deal with them, and also any insight that you could provide as to what might be wrong with them. They are all between eight and ten years-old, and all come from very wealthy families.
Student #1 is constantly trying to out-perform the others... and sucks at it. Whereas the other students know to wait until I have finished reading a sentence to repeat it, he usually tries to read loudly while I'm speaking and then proceeds to try to read the subsequent sentences before we've ever gotten there. To make matters worse, his pronunciation is not the best in the class. So, when the other students try to follow his lead, as Chinese students are want to do, they mimic his mistakes. I gently told him several times to stop. He did not. So at last I sternly told him to be quiet (I did not yell; as a rule, I never yell at my students). He seemed truly hurt.
Student #2 is exactly like student #1, but I have not laid down the law with him yet.
Student #3 might be making me deaf. This grinning banshee makes a conscious effort to scream all of his answers as loudly as he can and to also scream when he reads. One of the students next to him has to plug his ears. And, my gosh, does this this kid have pipes. He sounds like a jet engine whose balls haven't dropped yet. I have told him a number of times to quit it, but he just keeps going. And, I've been gentle about it, too, because he's at that age when he might do it even more if he knew it bothered me.
What should I do? All of my students are the children of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the city.
Easy, be firm and strict, you are their teacher not their friend, punish them or kick them out of the classroom if they disturb the lesson, the TA is here to assist you, if she doesn't do her job then report her to the principal, if that doesn't work and she is still useless then make public complaints about her, she will lose face and Chinese can't stand this, always works, to be used in desperate cases.
Shining_brow:
Then she finds ways to suck up to the rich parents, and get you fired...
RandomGuy:
Never happened to me during my teaching years, the rich parents were actually glad and grateful that I taught not only English but also manners and behaviour to their kids, I got plenty of "gifts" in return and then set up my own classes with their kids and multiplied my salary by four.
The parents never trusted the TAs, local teachers, principal, ... because they are Chinese too so they know that everyone Chinese at the school was bullshitting them, TIC. When I quit (because I had my own classes) something like 35 out of 140 of my students did not go to that school anymore the following semester.
I'm still in touch with most of them, 5 years after I stopped teaching, the kids have grown up now and are teenagers, they remember me very well and say they miss me.
Of course you must speak the language to build a relationship of trust with the parents, otherwise you will remain the clueless foreigner in their eyes.
how about talk to the principle about this or better yet bring him in the class before these 3 do thier thing? Make sure he times it to where they dont know he will be there like in the back of the room or outside in the hall by the door where they cant see him and dont know he is there listening? Or talk to these 3 kids parents after secretly recording this as proof that u are not making this up? 1st ask if its legal to record this!
wolfhighmist:
I teach alongside a teaching assistant in each of my classes. In Banshee's class, my assistant is actually my supervisor.
Spiderboenz:
Then talk to your TA about it.
Sounds like they are being disruptive to illicit a response from you.
Easy, be firm and strict, you are their teacher not their friend, punish them or kick them out of the classroom if they disturb the lesson, the TA is here to assist you, if she doesn't do her job then report her to the principal, if that doesn't work and she is still useless then make public complaints about her, she will lose face and Chinese can't stand this, always works, to be used in desperate cases.
Shining_brow:
Then she finds ways to suck up to the rich parents, and get you fired...
RandomGuy:
Never happened to me during my teaching years, the rich parents were actually glad and grateful that I taught not only English but also manners and behaviour to their kids, I got plenty of "gifts" in return and then set up my own classes with their kids and multiplied my salary by four.
The parents never trusted the TAs, local teachers, principal, ... because they are Chinese too so they know that everyone Chinese at the school was bullshitting them, TIC. When I quit (because I had my own classes) something like 35 out of 140 of my students did not go to that school anymore the following semester.
I'm still in touch with most of them, 5 years after I stopped teaching, the kids have grown up now and are teenagers, they remember me very well and say they miss me.
Of course you must speak the language to build a relationship of trust with the parents, otherwise you will remain the clueless foreigner in their eyes.
Up vote for the jet engine description, I know exactly what you mean.
I have a few students like that too, I don't think they're trying to be disruptive or anything like that (unless you get other vibes of course). Mostly they're great kids and enthusiastic students.
Loud is the default setting on a lot of people here. I think parents / grandparents even encourage their kids to be the loudest in the class, it's some sort of competitive, be noticed thing. If you're not in the front row being noticed by the teacher then you're going to be ignored and left behind - that sort of logic. To be noticed you need to be the loudest.
There is even an "English School" called Crazy English - I assume it's still around -that had their students scream English words at the top of their lungs. Not sure what they thought it would do but the school was popular there for a while.
Student 1 sounds sort of the same. Just trying to be the teacher's pet and impress people. He's been taught that is the way to do it.
Don't be too hard on them, their intentions are likely good even if they are annoying.
Lord_hanson:
Is Crazy English still about? The founder got put in prison for beating his wife. Apparently Australian women don't see donesric abuse as a "family matter" and report their husbands.
Stiggs:
I don't know, you never hear anything about them now so if they're still here they're not the presence they once were.
http://www.disciplinehelp.com/sp/32841-signup
This site covers every type of behavior and what to do in each situation.
Other factors: Does the student have a hearing problem or someone at home with a hearing problem?
Crazy Screamlish (as another poster mentioned) may also be the cause.
Have you taught the difference between 'outside voices' and 'inside voices'?
What should I do? All of my students are the children of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the city.
Bring a big squash and a guillotine to class. Put a face on the squash, with the smaller part denoting the neck. Demonstrate the use of the guillotine to the class. That should shut em up. 
RandomGuy:
Why do you even care who their parents are, I used to teach the son of the head of Guangdong's education bureau, his dad actually loved me for being super strict with him, and I mean verbal strict. The progress was noticeable and everyone was happy. These people are busy making money so they don't have time to educate their kids, they are glad that you do their job as parents.
The naturT of the school - primary - dictates that you need to be a disciplinarian as well as a teacher. this means - sod who the parents are, do what you need to do!
If you've got the right pieces of paper, and the right passport, and the right looks, you'll get away with almost anything (even though, the principal is likely to tell you to just make the kids happy!)
that's why I don't teach kids! (that, and the complete lack of conversation topics...).
If you were a real teacher you would be trained in how to deal with this.
I have been following your posts. Largely weed orientated. Now you ask how to control a class.
What's the deal?
Is it your job to show that a pot head can land a job teaching English in China? Have you been employed to run down English teachers in an insidious manner?
What's next in your project plan? Questions about having sex with students? Or will you be having an affair with the bosses wife followed by questions about the corrupt Government deporting you?
Honestly dude. If you are a genuine teacher, work at it. Please don't come on here trying to persuade the populace outside this forum that English teachers will band together to cover for people that have no idea what they are doing.
Questions such as this should be ignored. The idiots are trying to drag the professional educators down to their level to prove a point.
And for the record. They are not the Children of the wealthiest and most powerful in the city. Those kids are going to real schools with real teachers. Most likely in another city. Or where ever the nearest real school is.
Rant over.
I like a good rant 
wolfhighmist:
Mr. Owen, I would encourage you to refrain from personal attacks fueled by arrogance and whisky, informed by ignorance, and inspired by mild delusion. It's unbecoming of a man in a skirt. Let's all try to behave like good lads and bonnie lasses here, ok?
