Class Participation, Essay Example

In my opinion, judging a student based on participating in class is not fair. This is because different people have different personalities. Deborah Tannen points out in her article How Male and Female Students Use Language Differently that males like to be part of big groups thus, feel comfortable in public speaking on the average while female tilt towards close-knit relationships based on trust and confidentiality. Some have more confidence while speaking in public while others prefer to listen. Moreover, some people are afraid that they may be judged for their comments. Some people also feel uncomfortable in debates because they do not want to embarrass others or come as rude. In addition, people from other cultures are also conscious of their accent which is quite different from locals. Sometimes they look at the expressions of the locals who are trying to understand their accent and they become even more conscious of their different accent. People who are just learning English also speak English slowly and sometimes get stuck in between sentences thus, they avoid speaking in order to avoid embarrassment.

A better way is to create a class environment where everyone feels comfortable. The instructors slowly encourage students to speak without coming as pushy. They may also ask questions that do not have write or wrong answers so the students do not worry about being right. Sometimes, the instructors may ask specific questions related to students’ culture or background to make students feel they have something to contribute. The confidence will motivate students to speak more. When those students speak who are not frequent contributors to discussions, the instructors may make remarks that will be encouraging to such students and make them feel good about contributing.

The advantages of judging a student’s performance on participation are that the students are given credit for their contribution. Discussions are meant to improve everyone’s learning experience and expand their perspectives. It also helps students learn debating skills and express themselves. When students know that they are being graded on discussion, they will be more encouraged to speak. As they will speak, they will eventually find out that many of their reasons for their hesitation were wrong and they will develop confidence. The disadvantage is that the students who do not like to speak will be hesitant to attend class and even if they come, they will not be excited about learning. In addition, judging students on their contribution to class debates ignore the fact that there are some personality differences between people. Some people enjoy debate while others are better listeners and only speak when they have something useful to say. If they think others are debating well, they don’t want to interrupt. Forcing everyone to speak may result in lot of useless comments and waste of class time.

In my country, speaking is a formal requirement and we do not get grade for speaking but our instructors informally consider it in the final grade. Moreover, the instructor can ask anyone a question and expect them to answer. If the student doesn’t answer, he gets formal warning and probation if the trend continues. Students are expected to read the assigned readings and those who do not read are told insulting comments by the instructors. It’s not like America where instructors are polite and never personally insult the student. Even the grades are not confidential and students’ grades are announced by the instructors before they are handed out so everyone knows about the grades of every other student. Instructors also punish the students who do not contribute such as detention after school or sending complaint to parents. I think America is a lot better because here students are given more respect by the instructors and instructors are quite informal and approachable. It is unlike my country where very few instructors are frank with students and thus, well liked while most instructors maintain formal behavior towards students.

Valid arguments can be found on both sides of the issue i.e. whether speaking in class should be mandatory or not. But the real benefit of speaking in class only come when the teachers create welcoming atmosphere and students speak because they want to, not because they feel they have to. This will result in more quality discussion and better use of time.