Sunday Scribblings: Punishment and Reward

Today was English Corner, and the foreigners put on a narrated Christmas play, which was kind of nice, because then we didn’t have to learn any lines. After the play, we were discussing holidays with our students, and I had a group of Intro students. These are the same students that I teach phonics to once a week, and two of them live in the same compound that I do.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get them to interact with the questions. They were simple questions, like, what is you favorite Tibetan or Chinese holiday? What do you eat during this holiday? How do you celebrate this holiday? What is your favorite American holiday? etc. I finally told the students that they could answer in Chinese or Tibetan, and I would help them learn a few English words. Still with no reply, I asked them, “When you were young, what kind of punishment did you get if you did something wrong?” The answer was that they were usually hit, or they would have to write something repeatedly. One young man said that his grandmother would make him write ten pages of his Chinese and Tibetan characters when he did something bad. So that is why his characters are so good! OK, at least now I am getting some responses. So then, “If you did something good, how were you rewarded?” Most said that they got some type of praise, and they all said that they got money for doing good things. And, they all were punished more often than rewarded. Then, it came out: they were afraid to give me an answer in English, because of being raised with so much punishment and not wanting to make a mistake. (Not punishment from me, probably more saving face with me). But I see language learning differently -- when learning another language, I see that making mistakes along the way is really how we learn (in fact, I do this all the time!) So, I told them the story of about Thomas Edison, and his use of positive rewards instead of criticism to train someone, which I had just read in Sheryl’s blog right before I went to English Corner, and I talked to them about how much better we can learn through success and compliments rather than by criticism. Then the discussion really got going. And I learned a lot about the students’ favorite holidays: Tibetan New Year (usually in January or February), and the Horse Festival in July. I learned about the celebrations, clothing, preparations, and foods associated with the festivals, etc. I didn't know that Tibetans always have to eat bread on Tibetan New Year because the Tibetan word for bread, balo, is similar to a word that means good fortune.

Then tonight we had a party with the same group of students (plus a few foreigners). We played two games, and totally had a blast. The students learned a few simple phrases, a few more nouns and verbs, and all in a fun atmosphere. People do learn from their mistakes, and they learn so much more in fun, positive surroundings than through criticism. It was rewarding for me to be with them tonight as we laughed and played silly games. If the students can make great gains by learning English in a positive environment, I can hardly wait to see the success these young folks will have outside the classroom!

Read more about punishment and reward.

Comments

[Michelle]

My background is in ESL, and I remember doing a paper on the "affective environment" on language learning. It is really difficult to learn a second language if one is afraid of making mistakes! Kids don't worry about it...

[Rethabile]

Nice view you've given us into a potentially difficult pro situation. I, too, work in ESL, and can very well relate. Cheers

[tinker]

Language and culture are so intertwined, what a challenge that must present for ESL teachers.
This also points out what true freedom of speech we still have here in the U.S. - you can voice your opinion, no matter how wrongheaded you might be!
Thanks for another great post.

[ren.kat]

I taught for nine years and it was always a discussion among my colleagues- how much positive praise for each negative? We taught drama and the kids were baring their souls in ways perhaps only speaking a foreign language does! We figured a 3 to 1 ratio on feedback for weakness/strengths. It's not always easy to come up with 3 to 1. I can't do it for myself, at least. Thanks for sharing your day- it's interesting.

[Kamsin]

I can so relate to this post! I am trying to teach in what is basically a really negative environment and the kids seems to have this same fear of losing face and making mistakes. I am wracking my brains trying to figure out what to do, I have to give quizess which about 80% can't do well on, so they don't get enough positive re-enforcement of their ability, so their affective filters go up and they don't learn. Here's hoping I can create more positive opportunities where we can share each other's culture and they can feel good about their learning. Glad your English Corner turned out well!

[bonnie]

One of the games we played was "Do you like your neighbor?" So the students had to learn 'neighbor', then they learned the practical applications of different colors, and words like 'hair', 'long', 'short', 'cell phone', 'slippers', 'socks', 'jeans', 'sweaters', etc. It was a really fun game - a big violent at times, but the students were able to learn in a fun environment. It also brought down lots of barriers and was very rewarding. If I was teaching full time, I think I would play games a lot for the sake of learning! Thanks for your notes.

[ally bean]

What an interesting take on the prompt. Making mistakes is such a natural thing to me that I'd never not say something for fear of goofing up. But I can see how if you were from an environment that was quick to punish, then you wouldn't try. I'm glad that you got the group talking so that they could learn in a rewarding environment.

[Rose of Sharon]

That is simply fascinating! I'm Chinese and I can definitely empathize with your students in that I grew up with more punishments than rewards. It was usually the fear of punishments that drove me to achieve, rather than the lure of a reward. Isn't that something? I studied hard and did well in school because I knew that if I didn't, I would be punished or be cursed with a hard life (poor education=bad job).

Come to think of it, I would be afraid to speak up in class, especially in discussions because I didn't want to sound stupid or ignorant. I guess I'm more like your students than I thought!

Thanks for sharing this with us. I love your take on this week's prompt. It really made me take a good look at myself and what drives me.

[bonnie]

Sharon, isn't that funny! At school, I was rewarded and complemented all the time, and achieved a lot because of it. At home, I was always punished, even for things that weren't my fault. Consequently, I was driven from home and spent all my time in school. I never thought of it before, but I love to study and will always be a student, because of all the rewards I got as a child in school. You know that the Chinese have a saying, 'to live to an old age is to study to an old age'. Thanks for sharing. And, thank you, everyone who has read my blog and given me feedback. I feel rewarded for all the nice complements! Thanks!

[Rose of Sharon]

Hi Bonnie! The sad thing is, you probably know that Chinese saying in Chinese!!!!! I wish I never let go of my Mandarin. My parents really should have sent me to chinese school when we immigrated to the U.S. but perhaps they wanted me to be more American and thus I never did get "punished" to chinese school on Saturdays.

I think it's interesting how the rewards you got at school drove you to excel and learn more. If we rewarded students more instead of making students fear grades etc, do you think we would have better lifelong learners/students and thus better teachers like you? Interesting thought to chew on.