DIFFICULT STUDENTS: TECHNIQUES FOR BUILDING SELF-ESTEEM

Students – and human beings in general – can learn very little without self-esteem. Self-esteem is the engine which drives learning. This 3hr workshop presents a wealth of practical techniques for building self-esteem in mixed level classes: it illustrates a methodology for teaching grammar, vocabulary and skills, including exam skills, and, at the same time, building students’ self-respect. The approach involves:

(a) co-operative activities involving weak and strong learners

(b) bringing textbooks to life with learner-input

(c) transforming closed into open-ended exercises

(d) creative uses of error (error not terror)

(e) discipline-friendly techniques