Engageing Students/Clients in Conversation
Interesting thought: In sales and business and in family life, there are questions we always ask, or get asked, that derail conversation…instantly. It’s totally not your intention…in fact you’re seeking engagement…but the opposite happens.
"If you want to end a conversation with a teenager, just ask, "How was school today?"
If you want to end a conversation with a customer, just ask if you can help." (Godin, May I help you?")
So if it happens in business, happens in family relationships, I gotta wonder if this happens in teacher/student/client interactions too.
Engagement busters??
"Make sense?"
"Do you understand?"
"Need any help? — I’m guilty there.
"If you need help, raise your hand."
Replacements?
"What do you hate the most about learning grammar? Vocabulary? Algebra? The war of 1812?" ( you fill in the blank with what you teach.)
"What do you think you’re kicking ass at in this unit? Class? Theme?"
"What’s fascinating you in this class, and would you like to dwell anywhere a bit longer?"
And you? Are there more questions out there that we could ask our students or clients that would invite engagement?
Photo Credit:
Talk talk by PinkMoose
Seth’s Blog: "May I help you?"
Maybe it’s a cultural thing, but “What do you think you’re kicking ass at in this unit? Class? Theme?” would just totally do it for me. I might even get up and walk out. Sheesh.
Comment by Marco Polo — May 9, 2007 @ 10:47 pm
But, are students really customers/clients?
And, are what teachers provide really a service? I like to think in terms of learners and experiences which promote learning.
I do, however, like your approach to questioning. Far more engaging than, “Do you need help.”
Comment by Miss Profe — May 10, 2007 @ 5:10 pm
Miss Profe,
Students as customers: I think so, and we teachers are sales people or marketers….at least as a way of helping us deliver stronger classroom experiences.
Imagine:
1. Your local business person will do everything possible (if he wants business) to keep his customers focused on his product…and interested…and buying it. He/she will do nothing to turn off the afore mentioned interest, or risk going out of business. What if teachers approached their classroom with the same passion?
I think you’re also right: we need to create experiences which promote learning…but we also must wonder, for our own professional development: what would happen if my students could just get up and take their “business” elsewhere if they weren’t getting what they needed from me? Right now, students have to stay…but what if they had the choice? I think it would change the way many of us teach.
I’m a freelance teacher, so my students are also my clients. They can fire me instantly, if I deliver bad service…and that has changed the way I work, let me tell ya.
Comment by Aaron Nelson — May 12, 2007 @ 9:21 am
Good points. Well-stated.
So…what do we as second language teachers need to do in order to improve our “product”, in your opinion? What specific things?
Comment by Miss Profe — May 12, 2007 @ 1:38 pm
Miss Profe,
How to improve our product. Great question. Do you have any ideas?
A few possibilities:
1. Have we ever tried to put our student’s shoes on? If we were our students, would we love to come back to class the next day?
2. Are we offering a value added service? Are we making a difference, somehow, in our student’s life? We should be. Teachers are not just teachers…we’re leaders and influencers too…even if we’re ESL teachers.
3. Are we taking the time to focus our product so that it is meaningful to our students? We should be. No business person in their right mind would ever try to sell something to a market that doesn’t care.
What do you think?
Comment by Aaron Nelson — May 12, 2007 @ 4:14 pm