“Taka-san … Taaakaaaa-san … TAKA-SAN!”

“Oh, sorry!” your 8-year-old student says, snapping to attention. You sigh. This is the third time that he has dozed off.

At your next lesson, you notice that your 14-year-old student seems to be doing something in the background. He’s probably playing video games or browsing the internet.

Unfortunately, like classroom teachers, we often have to teach students who would rather sleep or do other things during class. 😫😫😫

And it's not hard to understand why. Sleepy students often had a long day of school and extracurricular activities before taking their late-night lesson with you. Plus, English lessons simply cannot beat the excitement of video games.

But is there anything we can do to make students … a little more cooperative?

Make It Hard To Sleep Or Get Distracted

You can use activities that make it difficult for students to fall asleep or get distracted.

It helps to start the lesson “with a bang.” For example, you can surprise the student with stuffed animals, props, or costumes. A tutor (🇵🇭) says that she often introduces popular snacks and festivals from her hometown.

Activities that involve movement are also helpful ways to draw your student in. With smaller children, you can play Simon Says or Charades or sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.” If you encounter a teenager who looks like they’re falling asleep, suggest that they get a drink, or do some stretches together.

Then, during the lesson, carry out activities in short spurts. Switching activities quickly makes it difficult for students to browse the internet or play video games in the background. With sleepy students, take breaks between activities to do stretches.

Make a Deal With the Student

Sometimes, it helps to make a deal with the student.

A classroom teacher admits, “I have made deals with sleepy students that if they can stay awake and alert for several days in a row, I will end class 15 minutes early on Friday and show a funny YouTube video.”

Unfortunately, we probably won’t be able to end class early and show YouTube videos unless we have permission from the student's parent. However, we can promise the student to reserve five minutes at the end to do something fun.

You can promise younger students a game at the end of the lesson as a reward. As one tutor (🇷🇸) shares, “A game I would often promise to play with unmotivated kids was ‘hide-and-seek’: I would turn off the camera and hide a toy, turn the camera back on, and have the student guess where it is. After a few rounds, the student would do the same with their own toy, and I would guess.”

However, older kids may require a little more negotiation. Let’s say you realize that your student is playing video games in the background. You might be able to convince them to cooperate like this:

Many video games also have forums dedicated to them in English, so you might also be able to suggest looking up video game strategies together at the end of the lesson.

So figure out some activities that your student likes and use them as rewards at the end of the lesson.

👋 That’s it for now!

Finally, know that despite all our efforts, some students will still be sleepy or want to browse the internet. After all, these aren’t problems that can be solved in one lesson.

But hopefully, these tips can make your time together a little more enjoyable!