Laura’s Dilemma
N-COUNT A dilemma is a difficult situation in which you have to choose between two or more
alternatives, but neither choice is perfect.
Imagine that you have to design an effective ESL class for these two students:
Student A has too much going on to move forward very quickly.
Student A is just trying to survive right now. She is working two jobs, taking care of children and an
elderly mother-in-law, and traveling everywhere by bus. She can’t afford to buy all of the textbooks and
doesn’t always have time to complete the homework in the library, let alone go to the Loft for extra
help. She may not have Internet access from home, so she can’t always access my website. If her
children are sick, she cannot come to school that day. Sometimes she has to work all night, so she is
very tired at school the next day, making it hard to concentrate. She wants to improve her English, but
she isn’t sure that she ever wants to take college-level courses. Her time and her resources are stretched
pretty thin.
Student B is ready to leap forward very quickly!
Student B is willing to study twenty hours a week outside of class. She is very eager to progress to
English 101 and start taking college courses as quickly as possible. She is taking my class, two
supplemental classes, and going to the Loft three times a week for extra practice. She is married to a
native speaker and practices English at home every day. She already has a university degree in her
native country and has excellent study skills. Student A wants to be challenged to learn as much as
possible this quarter. She has the time, resources, and motivation to devote to learning English and
progressing quickly.
I care about helping both of these students—and everyone in between these two extremes. I want to help
Student B learn to fly with the language—and yet I don’t want to work poor student A to death! How
to help them both is my teaching dilemma.
So far, this is my solution:
To help Student B, I provide extra grammar practice and additional learning activities on my website. I
allow students to do extra writing assignments that are not a required part of the class grade; I’m happy
to suggest topics. In addition, the CD that comes with your textbook offers extra listening practice. I can
also suggest additional books that I recommend. In addition to these grammar references, I also
recommend doing as much as reading as possible in English; while reading, look for the words and
structures you are learning in 042 and analyze how tenses, vocabulary, punctuation, parts of speech, and
clauses are used in that reading. Finally, remember: the more time you invest in reviewing, the more
you will actually be able to use what you learn in this class. Practice makes perfect!
For Student A, I keep a weekly homework planner on my website so that students know what is coming
and can fit their study time into their busy schedules. I try to be understanding of students with special
challenges in their lives, as long as they understand that they cannot move up to Level 5 if they
haven’t been able to complete Level 4 successfully. (That’s only fair, right?) Taking a little longer
doesn’t make Student B a bad person or even a bad student. Of course, a student who has more
constraints and less time to study may not be able to do everything to the 051 standard right away, but
that doesn’t mean that student isn’t making progress with the language! It may take a little longer to
reach the destination, but you can keep moving forward.
Each student has unique goals, backgrounds, challenges, and abilities. I hate to see anyone give up on
school. Whether you are feeling overwhelmed or looking for an extra challenge, please come talk to
me. I truly want to help you learn.
By the way, sometimes I have a third kind of
student. This kind of student, Student C, thinks he is a
cheetah…but the work I see from him looks more like the
work of this panda: charming, but not very ambitious.
Isn’t the panda adorable?
The problem is that the panda
thinks he’s a cheetah, even though
he’d really rather spend his time
napping than running. Believe it or
not, the panda doesn’t turn all of his
assignments in, and he doesn’t
always do all that well on the
assignments that he does turn in.
Nevertheless, the panda wants me
to use my imagination! Instead of
evaluating what he actually did in
my class, the panda wants me to
think about what he might be able
to do if he actually worked hard in
my class. And naturally, the panda
thinks that his imaginary work
would be pretty impressive!
(Most students are not 100% like Student A, Student B, or
Student C. You’re probably a mixture, yourself. Which
student do you feel is most like you, this quarter?)
That’s just not going to happen.
Please don’t try to explain to me
that you’re (secretly) a cheetah
unless you are getting an A in this
class. As the saying goes, actions
speak louder than words!