Handling low-commitment students

When I first started working as a private tutor, I vibed really well with high-commitment students. We set realistic goals; I gave feedback, they took it; I gave homework, they did it. We worked as a team, crafting our own way forward, and when the time came, the results were inevitably there.

Low-commitment students took me much longer to figure out. On the surface, they too had goals - sometimes even quite ambitious ones - but you could see right off the bat that achieving them wasn’t so pivotal. They gladly came to class, but more often than not neglected their homework. I told them that without daily effort their goal would be unachievable; they smiled and nodded, but the following week we were back to square one. Quite obviously, these students progressed very slowly.

Being the language lover and hardcore perfectionist that I am, I found this very hard to handle 😅. My frustration grew with each passing week and month, as my students failed to achieve what I knew was within reach. If only they had gone the extra mile.

Then, one day, it clicked. I was so passionate and eager to prove I was a good teacher that I had missed one very simple truth: not everyone wants or needs to go the extra mile. Just because languages are my job doesn’t mean they can’t be someone else’s pastime. And I, as a teacher, have no right to take that away from them by insisting it become something more than the student wants it to be.

When I understood this, I became much more relaxed with my low-commitment students—and my retention rates skyrocketed.

If you too struggle in this area, here are my golden rules for spotting and handling low-commitment students:

📝Never take for granted that a student will be willing to do homework. Any out-of-class activities need to be discussed and agreed upon during the trial lesson

⚖️Do regular check-ins with each of your active students to ensure they are happy with their effort/outcome ratio

🔍Read between the lines: very few students are willing to openly admit they don’t want to go the extra mile. It’s your job as a teacher to pick up on this and adapt accordingly

🙌Some students want a David Goggins; others don’t. Make sure you don’t make them feel weak or guilty for it

🚩Resistance to homework, a tendency to take “time off” from learning, and failure to provide preparatory materials are strong indicators of low commitment. Take them seriously

❗Never worry about a goal more than your student does. It doesn’t serve anyone

🎯Even if they show a casual attitude toward learning, don’t mislead your low-investment students. If they are aiming too high, they deserve to know

🌱Provide experience-focused rather than goal-oriented alternatives. Sometimes students say “I want to get to B2” and they really mean it; other times, it’s just their way of saying “I want to go on a journey and see where it takes me” - and that’s just as valuable.

What about you? Have you ever struggled with your low- (or high-) commitment students?