Listening to Student Fears About Crime in ESL Classrooms

How often do English students fear being cheated, robbed, or even physically attacked? How many have been victims of crime? How often are student experiences and fears of crime acknowledged in our English classrooms?

Outraged by some exceptionally disturbing murders of students around Los Angeles, the United States, and the world, I’ve chosen the chapter “Crime and Punishment” as the conversation sample. We need to hear student fears, understand their experiences, give them a chance to reflect, and speak in our classrooms. Students have many stories and insights to share - and they often need the vocabulary to effectively communicate. Sometimes we share a sense of disappointment. Yet we often also can also share resources, provide additional information, and review safety tips.

Few topics engage students more than candid discussions and writings about crime. From bribery, scams, and kickbacks to stolen bikes, violent fights, and hit and run accidents, students have stories to share and classmates can learn from experiences. Ask students to suggest suggestions for safer schools, safer communities, and safer trips. You will hear a range of ideas from the practical and polite to wild, crazy, and rude. Lively classroom discussions can lead to poignant, personal problem-solution essays.
An experienced teacher should be able to hear the fear, acknowledge the threats, and help students confront a real problem facing far too many English language learners around the world.

Do international students sometimes have an exaggerated sense of danger in American cities? Sometimes. Are schools immune to the violence, crime, and chaos of surrounding areas? Certainly not. Will ignoring fears and crimes make them go away? Never.

Let’s provide English language learners, whether adult students or college students, both the place and time to reflect on laws, crimes, and the search for justice.

I hope that the conversation lesson called “Crime and Punishment” inspires compelling conversations in classrooms. Please visit www.compellingconversations.com , look over the material, and see if it works in your ESL classroom.

PS. Every school that I have taught in - from inner city high schools and urban adult schools to world famous community colleges and private universities - has had students attacked, robbed, and even murdered during my time teaching there. For worse or for better, this experience has influenced my sensitivity to student fears and concerns about crime in the United States.