| When I taught EFL (English as a foreign language) in | | | | charm giving Shalev immediate signs of progress in |
| Israel, I remember a young student named Shalev who | | | | terms of promoting effective work habits. One day |
| sat in my seventh grade EFL language class. He had | | | | during class, Shalev filled out a monitoring report and |
| the reading knowledge of a third grader. According to | | | | asked me, "Did I work well today?" His face glowed |
| his intake reading tests and forms, he was supposed | | | | with delight when I said a resounding, "yes" which other |
| to be in a remedial reading recovery class. But | | | | students had heard. |
| because his performance wavered between the | | | | After that, I made him my helper and monitor. I saw |
| remedial reading recovery class and the middle level | | | | how eager he was for the next assignment. He said |
| class I also teach, the homeroom teacher believed he | | | | then in English, "Please, please, I can do it!" (Remember, |
| would thrive if the language level was one step above | | | | Shalev's mother tongue is Hebrew) |
| his current abilities. | | | | I decided to turn this into a teachable moment for the |
| Shalev was very dependent on me and he wouldn't | | | | rest of the class. I looked at my students and asked |
| do anything that wasn't easy enough to tackle. He also | | | | them in Hebrew, "What should I say to Shalev?" They |
| wanted immediate feedback. | | | | told me, "Do it!" I was thrilled when the lesson suddenly |
| One day, he told me that he liked studying with me the | | | | opened to a more positive atmosphere where the |
| best. I wanted to counteract his feelings of feeling he | | | | students were offering their suggestions. |
| didn't know anything as he would usually say in class. I | | | | From this experience I came to understand how much |
| eagerly began to identify strategies that would be best | | | | students have the power to learn when you believe in |
| in bolstering his low self-image and esteem which | | | | them and how much foreign or second language |
| sometimes characterizes lower performing learners. | | | | learning (or for any subject) is dependent on the |
| I started using a simple point system for every good | | | | positive connection with students. |
| thing he did in class. As I predicted, it worked like a | | | | |