mind set

why do some students resist learning??? i've a student from saudi arabia who seems to be resisting almost everything that is asked of him to do in class. my other students are saudis too and they are pretty good at getting things done when instructed to do so in class but not this one student.

he goes mia often and when he does turn up for class, he tends to disrupt it. you know, i sometimes cannot help but wish that he stayed in bed --- life would be a lot easier for me if he didn't turn up for class.

he is simply not motivated to learn and we're talking about a government sponsored student here. he is thinking of continuing his studies in one of the local universities but i don't see how he is going to survive with so little english proficiency which leads me to the next question --- what makes people want to leave their countries and study in another country where not only is the language completely different from their native language, but the writing system as well? if you were to ask me, learning anything at a higher level is difficult enough in a language that you know well, let alone trying to do it in a foreign language! don't get me wrong, i am aware that it is do-able but why complicate matters and make it more difficult than it already is??? the people whom you will be competing against already have one problem less --- they know and use the language well.

one must be highly motivated to master a foreign language in order to be able to pursue higher education in the foreign language. i simply don't see how this student is going to survive in university when he can barely string a sentence in my proficiency class. besides, i see his avoidance of doing work in my class as a sign that he is going to avoid doing work in any other class in his discipline of study. i don't think he is going to go far without a drastic change in mind set.