Getting a shy student to verbally participate
It was the 1st week of class when I asked a student an open translation question. I quickly came to observe she had extreme anxiety with public speaking by her display of shaking hands and flush face. She couldn't answer the question even though I knew she understood the material. Without knowing the art of questioning has so many subcategories, I reverted to a closed question for her that allowed her to quickly answer the question but still making her accountable for participation. Whenever I would call on her in the future, I would push her a little bit more (redirecting, probing, reinforcement, praise) to bring her out of her shell. This technique was successful for her!
Any different approaches that you could recommend in the future?
I have students who like to step in and offer their answers to my questions, even when not directed towards them. While I allow for some of this interruption to happen, I will always redirect the focus to the original student asking the question. Maybe I will ask them some direct questions to see if they have the information they were seeking and give them the opportunity to answer and further ask questions or to explain and expand the subject of the question(s). Some times I just need to let those overzealous students know that there are others in the group and to please allow the other students to have their time too :)
I too have had overly shy students who won't raise their hands to answer questions and will often respond, "I don't know", even when they know the answer, just so they won't have to speak or elaborate on the subject at hand. Some of these students have had articulation problems and meeting with the student one-on-one to practice relaxation and articulation techniques, oftentimes, will help boost confidence in the classroom.
I have had very similar situations in my classes. Some students will interrupt another student to answer my question first, and others who will try to answer for me when a student directs a question to me. In the latter situation I usually allow the student to answer for me, and then respond accordingly to whether or not I believe they answered it properly. Are there better ways to handle these students and these situations?
I have a student that often tries to interrupt and answer a question before the person whom I originally asked to answer the question finishes. Do you have any suggestions on how I can curb that behavior without discouraging my student?
Since participation is part of the students' grading, I first let them know that is the case and then observe who has a difficult time answering. There are always the students who are more comfortable with speaking, but by asking direct questions to the shy ones helps.
Wendy,
This is great progress. On the first day of class, I let my students know that the class is interactive and everyone has to participate. I also give a grade for participation. This helps me to learn their names quicker, having to grade for participation. The students also know that they have to present in front of the class but they do so with a group. Small groups help to ease them with other students.
Judy Mohammed
