ESL or English Teachers, please share your opinion in the comments.
Background: This class is a general underclassmen English class with mixed level Korean students taken for credit at a Korean university. The majority of students have stated that the most important skills they need to develop is speaking. The class is 4 months long, and I've taught this style class for over a decade and have lots of experience at this level and have shaped the class to meet the student's needs through extensive feedback and experience.
After our 4 month course, in a one on one interview with a college senior:
Me: We have finished our final interview, and any feedback you tell me now is "off the clock". Speak freely so I can use your ideas to improve the class next semester. What you say here will not impact your grades, so you can tell me what you think.
Student: Frankly speaking, you made a terrible first impression because you did an ice breaker speaking activity. Having students ask each other questions by moving around the class to practice English is unprofessional. You should never do ice breaker activities in an English class.
Me: Outside of our English presentations, the ice breaker activities are praised by student that are nervous about making friends in class, and have been repeatedly cited as student's favorite activity for making the class friendlier and collegial.
If you were asked something inappropriate from a student, I gave you expressions to help you avoid conversations you didn't want to talk about, and we talked about good and bad questions to ask one another.
Student: Ice beakers are unprofessional. Do not do them.
Me: Noted.
In my entire career teaching I've never had a student hold a grudge about an activity for 4 months and not drop my class, or have a specific grudge about ice breaking activities. My colleagues and other ESL teachers I know are positive about ice breaker use, and they are effective to get students speaking, even if it is an artificial approach to starting a conversation. Lessons can be improved, like all lessons, but are they "unprofessional" and do they cause a "bad first impression" like this student claims?
Teachers of the #Fediverse, I'd like feedback. #Icebreaker #class #lessonplan #classdesign #ESL #Korea