postr/StutterMarch 21, 2014

Student with a stutter

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Content

Student with a stutter Hello there. I am a teacher of English as a Foreign Language in China. I am currently teaching first year university non-English majors. I have a student with a stutter. All my students are beginners or false beginners which is to say that none of them speak English very well-no better or worse than this one student. When this student needs to speak, during attendance for example, her classmates laugh at her. It's somewhat strange because part of the process of learning a language is making mistakes and back-tracking and repeating words. The speaking aspect of language learning is kind of like temporarily having a stutter. When I speak to her during class, I just try to mind my manners: let her speak, I don't interrupt or put words in her mouth. It's during these silences when her classmates laugh and make comments. So here's the thing, I just want the people around me to feel okay. I hate when people feel bad. Do you recommend I ask her classmates to stop laughing, or would that make her feel worse?

Themes

Identity & DisabilityParent & CaregiverSchool & Work

Subthemes

Stigma & BullyingSchool/Clinical AdvocacySchool & Academic Life