Difficult Female Language Clientèle

There are female students who constantly challenge the expertise of the teacher such that a manager of me told me that he does not want to be sexist but that many female students are being irrational when they ask about language course information. Of course he started explaining this by beginning that what he says may sound sexist but he has come to this understanding through an even understanding of male and female approaches to the issues behind registering for a language course. We both agreed on odd behavioural traits behind the student decision making process, not wanting to be biased.

One female student wanted to start a language course by studying Spanish spoken by a Mexican teacher. She had no prior exposure to Spanish and so could have been accommodated by any good Spanish language speaker at least to learn the language base before focusing on the accent issue. In the end she backed down from the course. Why be fixed on a Mexican accent when the grammar and basic sentence structures are the same in Mexican or Spanish?

I backed the information with my own experience teaching one student who drifted suddenly from one topic to the next and noticed that this was often a tactic of their not wanting to face their mistakes in print. In this case, we were in the midst of a reading so it was inappropriate when the student suddenly moved from one subject to the next without allowing me to finish an explanation.

This student had to be told to leave her questions for the end. I noticed this interruptive pattern more among my female students than male ones.

My manager backed that up too by statements he got from prospective students doubtful of his teacher’s expertise or looking for a specific answer from the teacher without giving him time to complete an answer. He said that he has to tell them to trust a teacher’s methodology because they are prepared in instructing people and he noticed that he does not have to say this to his male clientele.

Another student began to cry because she was being corrected and felt ‘exposed’ according to my manager. He then mentioned wouldn’t that have been in her interest to know where she has gone wrong in her pronunciation so that she could improve? That seems that most students would prefer frankness from a teacher someone who will tell them eventually what their weaknesses are and get them to improve. Still there is certain number of labile students unable to cope with the reality of learning a language. It seems like something insurmountable or harsh and in fact all it takes is just a matter of acceptance and that everybody can learn given a positive approach.