>Nancy Buswell described her approach to the use of Chinese in the classroom.
>Russ' Commnent:
Nancy thinks there are only the approaches she lists: speak English or speak a little Chinese to prevent the need for e-dictionaries.
My comment: My goodness, Russ can read my mind! He somehow knows that I think there are only two ways to deal with Chinese in the classroom. That's quite a skill, Russ!
>And then Nancy wrote about a student who gave her trouble.
> Russ' commnet:
Surely illustrating that he wasn't acting like an adult. I would say being sterner in the first place could have dealt with that kind of behaviour before it had occurred. I have never banned any student from a class. I have never needed to.
My comment: For brevity's sake, I didn't include in my story the warnings that I gave this young man in the weeks before I banned him. I can see how someone would think that this was a rash move. But he had been warned multiple times. The actual banning came because he challenged my authority in front of the whole class. With the monitor as a witness, after class, I told him that he could not come back until he had apologized. I called my English department supervisor and told her what had happened. She was pleased, because she had had trouble with this student in the past, too. He apologized in private the next week, and was a better student in class for the rest of the year. BTW, this happened in October and I had him until July.
> I really feel that to start off strict and ease up as and when you see appropriate is the best piece of advice I was given and it works very well for me.
My comment: Agreed.
I also agree with Terrence when he said that sometimes we don't really know why the students are using their cell phones. There may be situations that they don't share with us.
If I gave the impression that teachers who don't allow Chinese or cell phones in their classes are wrong, I apologize. I was sharing what I do and not telling others what to do. We have to make our decisions based on our teaching styles and students.
Nancy
