Students from different settings have different attitudes toward English!

These few years I have had experiences teaching students from different settings, universities and school of continuing education. Some students are studying at a prestigious university. Some are studying at a low ranking university. The others are adults who take English classes just to improve their English abilities or personal satisfaction.

I have to say that I actually learned a lot from teaching these students. For example, high level students who are currently at a so called "good university", the majority of them has good English abilities and their attitudes toward English are positive. They have the habits to read English and they are more responsible for their own studying. A lot of them are from a family where their parents pay attention to their education and will be willing to provide them a good learning environment. Therefore, students' general English abilities are higher.

On the contrary, lower level students who are from low ranking universities do have some problems when learning English. They like English less and don't seem to care a lot about learning. However, this is only one part of an iceberg. A lot of them have one thing in common- they didn't do well on English tests before. Therefore, their grades decide their attitudes toward English. A lot of them feel depressed because they think learning English is difficult and the process is boring.

The adults I teach at school of continuing education are very diligent. They come to learn English for study, for work, for travel or even for personal satisfaction. Sometimes, I like to chat with students to know them a little bit rather than just teaching English to them. We share things and talk about life if it's possible. Some of them regret not spending enough time studying while they could at school. Therefore, even though they have jobs in the daytime, they still take the English class in the evening. They know it's tiring but they seem to cherish it more.