Disappointment
I’m careful when I choose songs for the listening activity in my classes. I have to make sure the song is not too fast but not too slow and the singer is understandable and the words aren’t so difficult and the music isn’t louder than the singer’s voice. But even when I am careful, sometimes the song I choose is still too difficult for my students and I only realize this when they’re already listening to it.
The result is that most of my students now think I’m a liar. When I say, “This is easy,” they say, “You always say that!” And I think, that’s true. Haha. It also leads to disappointments. When some my students don’t get a good score, they become disappointed or sad with the result.
I thought about saying (and maybe I already did), “Don’t be disappointed,” but I think if I were them, I would be disappointed too and I wouldn’t like to hear that, so I usually say, “I know. Listen to English songs more.” I don’t know if that’s enough advice but I don’t think there’s anything else I can say (that wouldn’t be lying) to make them feel better because I feel like feeling better after a disappointment and learning from one depends on what the student decides to do next.
The only think I can do is to give advice on how they can get a better score next time (and I really think listening to English helps a lot) and the rest is up to them. Disappointment isn’t a good thing to feel but I think it can be powerful and helpful in learning