Dealing with difficult students in the class? This is one issue I get asked about especially when a potential employer likes to know how I deal with disruptive behavior, especially in the form of rowdiness and lack of concentration. I am occasionally reminded of the need to apply certain teaching skills such as dealing with an inconsiderate disturber especially when the tranquility of the language group is being disturbed.
One key piece of information would be to match the student together with a good performer so that he would be reminded about how he could perform otherwise. This works especially well when there are role-plays and activities requiring two people. Often enough, if the distracted student is paired with a good performer he will recognize his nonconstructive behavior and at least try to minimize it or mimic the other person. There is no guarantee that the person will change but if the student then becomes more organized in his thoughts that could translate into him performing better and he will eventually notice the difference himself.
Another type of behavior is that of a student who likes to mock the teacher, either because it makes them feel secure or because they have found that to be a means of deflecting attention away from their own insecurities. There may also be another more sinister reason behind the rowdiness and that is the feeling some provincial students have about losing their French culture and language because they are learning another. I can sympathize about the risks for losing one's cultural identity but learning the English language is no disadvantage: it makes one more marketable and should not be equated to a loss of one's native culture. If the student can begin to see that then he may see that he will only become more marketable on the North American continent.
That same rowdy student may be invited to channel her energy constructively in discussion groups. She may even be given the task of monitoring other less efficient speakers. That will make her feel better about herself and the positivism should translate into their being more accepting of the learning process.
