earthling

Definitely, negative motivation as I call it, is never enough on its own. I have lots of positive encouragement such as a system of "plus"-es that they get for participating and doing well during classes, 5 of these gains them an A, I also regularly hand out these fun coupons for those who get 100% on a task or win a game. They really like those!

Luckily I've mostly managed to hold myself to the rules I had outlined in our first class, so it's not playing catch up, but more like a situation I didn't prepare for. :) Thanks for the insight!

This is really interesting and not something I would have otherwise considered. I like the idea, but I do have some concerns that I would appreciate your thoughts on.

1. Some of them are alreaddy quite demanding - can we watch a video? can we play kahoot? can we go outside? I'm afraid they would take afvantage of this and suggest only fun activities that do not really move us along.
2. Do they really know what works for them? Or would they opt for easy to complete exercises on purpose? Are they mature enough to reflect on methodology?
3. Do you have advice on how to approach this, how to introduce this class? I was thinking we could do this next week as it will have been one month of us working together.

Thank you, this is a very important aspect of the issue indeed. I did lay down some basic principles during out first lesson and I hold myself to them. But now I think maybe I was too set on being liked that it's like I hoped being respected would come along, but it's the other way around. I need to focus on being respected and being liked will come along.

I had the same experience, that's what I'd like to be myself.

Thanks for your answer, it was really thought-provoking for me.

I knew going into this that what has worked in my private lessons probably won't work in a classroom setting, but I was still surprised.

I might ask one of my professors for advice, but I won't be at the university until the end of the month, but it is a really good idea.

Yesterday, I reflected on your thoughts on classroom management in my country and also in the specific area where I live, which is the poorest part of the country with lots of underfunded schools. I even spoke to their formteacher and she said many of them come from small villages without any proper teachers and have a hard time adjusting, and she told me to be strict but kind. I did put together a dry-ish lesson plan for today but agreed with them that if they cooperate, I'd bring along a game for the last lesson of the day, and it was fine. We had a good discussion and they managed to work in silence as well.

Thanks for the advice!

I have considered that they might be self-conscious, but they are otherwise very outspoken and confident, so I honestly don't think this is the issue, maybe with some of them. But I was more lenient when it came to group work today and it went much smoother, they eventually spoke more English, so I consider it a success.

As for bad grades as punishment, I don't really have much else. Luckily, they are motivated enough to want a good grade, and I tell them time and again that I don't want to give anyone an F for homework, or anything for that matter. However, it is a part of their class to complete the exercises I assign as homework so it would be unfair towards the others to just let it slide.

Thanks, this was very useful. I now see that I cannot properly guide them through a difficult task if I have them go at it at the same time, so I've been trying to follow your advice today. Also, I really like the part "don't expect them to succeed", we played a game at the end of today's lessons and they did SO terrible but they seemed to be enjoying themselves, which was ultimately the goal. :)

Thanks for the advice, this was the first thing that came to my mind when they upset me yesterday, "don't show weakness" and I didn't. Today they told me how it's kinda scary that I'm always smiling even when they are misbehaving, so I guess I did good.

Done! I didn't add enough spacing between the paragraphs, sorry.

Despite the heat, I got on the treadmill a couple times this week, so I'm proud of myself. I did some interval training with incline walking and running, but for less time than I would have liked to, because of the heat. I'm doing this thing where I don't push myself so much that I'll dread coming back, I make exercise as much fun as possible and that still includes getting tired and sweating!

"She pisses herself every time she sees me. Wat do?" (S)he looks pretty young, and young dogs cannot control their bladder as well and for as long as adult dogs. Even adult dogs can wee a little when they get very excited, at least mine has done it before. If there is any sort of routine around these little accidents, take her for an extra pee break around that time, maybe it'll help. If it happens way too often, it might be worth discussing with a vet. She's adorable, by the way!