I've taught a handful of adults over the years who have been absolutely positive that they aren't improving, when in fact they are. They sometimes get very discouraged and down on themselves, unjustifiably. And not in a way of trying to display humility, either – they're genuinely upset at what they (wrongly) think is a lack of progress.
I'm wondering if anyone has any clever ways to make students' progress clear to themselves.
From the outside, it's easy to notice their improvement over time. But because language acquisition is a slow, gradual process, from the student's perspective, it's hard to see progress from one day to the next. It's like getting older or losing weight – when you stare at yourself in the mirror every day, you don't notice that you're changing, but of course you are.
Subjective "progress evaluations" rarely convince them. I can give them numerical scores or written reports of the ways that they've improved, but they're skeptical.
Of course there are standardized tests to mark progress – a yearly TOEIC can show improvement over time (especially for low to intermediate levels). But it's hard to convince anyone to do that if it's not required by their work.
I'm sure plenty of you have experience with this type of student. Does anyone have any good ways of showing a student their own progress? (note: this is regarding adults only)
by TheOriginalWing