Very awkward student

[Sishirunak]

I teach adults, and I think she's around 25.
She's smiley, but she complains a lot in the lessons.
She is usually late without an explanation, she has children so maybe this plays a part, but the other day she was 40 minutes late without an explanation.
Then, she had the cheek to stay we needed to start promptly after breaktime as the others were late and she didn't want to be kept waiting for them.

We did a past reading paper for which 60 minutes were allocated according to the website. She piped up with a speech during the lesson asking if we could take this more seriously and do it in the time that the real exam would allocate, even though that's exactly what we were doing and I informed her.

She has complained about facilities such as the sound quality, which is reasonable as the school facilities are poor.

She was absent one lesson, and asked me to print off all the work for her from the previous lesson which I did. I gave her 'Task 2' as this was what we did, and she complained why I didn't give her task 1. We had done this before she ever joined the course.

She was complaining to the other students in their language, I could just tell by her body language and tone of voice, and she used the word 'breaktime" in English, plus named other teachers.
Anyway more examples like this. I try to resolve whatever she's unhappy with, it just seems like there's something every lesson, and she has to try and get the class to agree with her rather than just speaking to me privately.
She's starting to get annoying. How would you deal with her?

Talk to your manager. Report it. Ask how they want it dealt with. Once I'd got advice, I'd ask for a word at the beginning of the lesson, take her out in the corridor and just say you'd reported it.

So many ways but I have to ask, do you need her to pass an exam or do you just want her to pipe down a little? You could help her a bit more if she has problems at home and you need her to pass or switch the lesson around so that the fun bit is at the start and stop giving her printouts but just write the links to things on the board for her to take a copy of and do it in her own time. But if you need her to pass an exam perhaps find out what is making her late and address that first.

This and I would stop pandering to her. There is being helpful and there is taking a p. I assume it's ESOL lessons? Expensive ones or cheap? Because that will probably make a difference to how management looks at the solution.

Yes she's taking an exam, not at our centre but we offer prep for one.
Expensive lessons sadly, so not sure how management will view it ..

You would think that if she is paying a lot she would actually come on time, wouldn't you....

Hopefully they will let you set boundaries. Even if it's paid, students should atill adhere to rules.

Have you not been complaining about your ESOL students for a while?

You've had a lot of threads about this centre. Perhaps you should move?

Talk to your boss about closing the door 5 minutes after the lesson has started and that for latecomers to be let in they have to get your manager's permission.

I used to do this for my latecomers and it worked a treat.
What do the other students say to her when she tells them to be prompt from break? I'd let them handle that, or have the same policy, latecomers have to get permission to come in.

Expensive lessons - well if one student cancels because she's a late-comer that's one thing. If others cancel because she disrupts them and then tell their friends not to come to your school either because this kind of thing is allowed that's a whole other kettle of fish, and I'd be pointing this out to the bosses.

So make the start of the session the most informative and make sure that the other classmates are in the middle of a quiz or something engaging for the first hour.

I did think - here’s another one! But I don’t recognise the username.

Stay in control, remember you're in authority, regardless. As soon as the entitled students see weakness, they will be on it. I wouldn't refer this to your manager but I would organise a 1:1 with her about her behaviour, and document everything. Plan the 1:1 as a progress review and set a few for other students as well. Give her zero ammunition.