Answers >> Maoming >> Teaching & Leaming
  • kieran
    Points:12
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    Students now complain about my teaching

    I've been teaching in China for half a year now and recently my supervisor have told me that some students had complained about my teaching, that I don't follow the materials and they don't learn anything from my lessons. Now the way it works in our school teachers can't talk to these students can't ask for details and it is all anonymous - you just get the info that some tutors go to your supervisor (you can't even know the tutors that go and complain on students' behalf) and pass their students' complaints.  Everything was fine till now and I haven't changed anything in my teaching but now I feel vulnerable and I can't improve anything when I don't know WHAT I should improve. In my understanding I teach by materials and I provide with info on new words/phrases/grammar and a lot of students have expressed their liking. Well as far as I know if 95% like you and 5% (all of a sudden) complain about you it's no good in China and you have some serious talks with your management 'cause this is all about business not teaching anyway.  As of today I have another complaint... I have no idea why it has started to happen.  I understand I can't be liked by everyone but what would YOU do in this situation? I don't want to be terminated but have no idea what I should do in this case and maybe I amdoing something wrong but how do I know what when you can't talk to the students and just ask. Also students don't tell you whether you're missing something or your explanations not to them, etc. so you're in limbo in terms of any valuable feedback or info.  The management says "you need to improve like you used to be".........  So what would you do?
    9 years agoin Teaching & Leaming-All
    Answers(12) Comments(0)
  • Eugnus
    Points:9
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    Try to negotiate with the students and chinese teacher to figure it out what is wrong.
    8 years ago
  • Watts1
    Points:9
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    I have never had this kind of situation before, guess you have to rethink about your teaching method and your attitude.
    8 years ago
  • PINTO
    Points:12
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    the only problem in china is that they don't grade the students before they put them in one class and after it's difficult to satisfy everyone
    9 years ago
  • zuma
    Points:30
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    Its the same all over the world these days
    The student knows they can get revenge for failing a test and the management will change thier grade
    Ive failed people ohhh wait i cant say that
    Ive found people not yet competent and management just give them a licince so they will not tell others bad things about the company
    It does not matter what you teach or where you teach it
    Its all about the money
    9 years ago
  • leon
    Points:30
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    The school just put students of different levels into one classroom and expect you to be able to teach each student effectively.
    9 years ago
  • tayron
    Points:30
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    I've had friends in the same situation, anonymous complaints. Sometimes the only feedback they get from students is things like they should sing in class, show more movies... in other words dance monkey dance. You can't take those seriously.

    Sometimes they find out where the complaints came from and it's usually the entitled emperor who never came to class then failed, or the angry resentful kid who hates all foreigners, or the clown who lost face when he was called out for being disruptive and couldn't answer the basic questions behind it. You can't take those complaints seriously either.

    Of course, there is the chance there is something genuine in the complaints. I would go to the school with your lesson plans, maybe ask someone in management to sit in on your classes and give feedback, or even record your classes and show whoever is in charge.

    If you can't get a straight answer after that then it's not your problem, it's the school that is a joke and you should either just start showing the kids movies or whatever, or look for a better school.

    9 years ago
  • barnes
    Points:30
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    If you are told you have received a complaint, then in China it means one of two things. The first, is that some students have indeed complained. It may be they have complained because you told one of them to behave, not necessarily due to your teaching (like you said you have not changed teaching style). A lot of students, may not be used to being told what to do and so it can make them mad if you tell them off.

    The second is that the school is greedy/not getting enough revenue, and so wants to lower your salary, and will offer you the choice to stay with a lower salary, inspite of the complaint. Of course, they know that demand exceeds supply, and however wrong it is, it is the foreign teacher who brings the money in.

    9 years ago
  • Aaron
    Points:30
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    A) I suggest you use the "Add Comment" function on people's replies here, not start a new post!

    B) your question is "What would you do?" What I would do depends entirely on the fact that I've got the qualifications and experience to not have to pull punches! It's a type of mini-guanxi. I've also got the reputation of being a goodteacher who actually gives a damn about my students. Do you??

    And thus, I confront the manager, and demand if they're going to provide this sort of Mickey Mouse BS, I won't just kowtow and go meekly with my head held low. If I'm getting complaints (and trust me, I"m sure I've had them - it happens when you kick students out of class for being very disruptive, or playing on their phones). If they're going to complain about my teaching, give me details, or go shove it up their egotistical "I'm more important than you" arse. Also, if the complaints are only from 1 or 2 students, and they haven't had any support from the other students, again, they need to deal with it!

    If, OTOH, it's legitimate, then as you said, you can't do anything to improve without details!!!

    Another factor - do you think there is a class management problem going on? These 'complaints' may be coming from the worst or most disruptive of the students? There's an easy solution to this - tell the manager/ HoD that you're here to teach, not babysit. If you have disruptive students in the class, you're going to send them to his office to explain themselves (this includes repeated lack of homework). For this, you will need to be a little "on-side" with said person. Many years ago, I sent 5 (almost) whole classes to the Dean of English to explain why they all hadn't done their homework (bar the... 5-10 students out of 150+ I had).

    As I said, if you've built up a "I am a good teacher, who gives a damn about teaching what they need, and about the students' future", they'll be more than likely to listen to you.

    If not - find somewhere else to work! (plenty of jobs available - they need you much more than you need them!!!)

    9 years ago
  • atanga
    Points:30
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    once the students start complaining it will effect all of them when there talking outside of class like a virus
    9 years ago
  • gonsior
    Points:30
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    Why don't you just ask the students in class ? What's the problem?you will try to be better , but you want to know why they complain and what
    9 years ago

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