[eslperfect88]

I am teaching conversation classes to Korean Middle School students. There are 15 of them and only 3 will talk or speak, and the rest are shy! So how do I draw them out to speak since this is a conversation class? If they do, they are so soft-spoken that anyone can hardly hear them at all.
HELP! HELP! Before this become a disaster for me.

[fredg]

Hi,
Overcoming shyness takes some time, and can be a real issue.
I would suggest taking the ones (3 or 4) outside, or putting them in another room, just for a short while, maybe 30 minutes, while you have the class with only the real shy ones.
You could make up some kind of excuse, or give the 3 non-shy students something extra to do, away from the others.
The shy ones are waiting for someone else to talk. If the non-shy ones aren't there, they may be more inclined to answer themselves; since they are the only ones who can say anything for a little while.
I do wish you the best of luck, and keep a big SMILE on your face all the time... shy people like to see smiling faces, so they won't be afraid of you.

[CaptainForest]

Try to do a class activity. If the 12 shy students get to know you better, and each other, they will be much more likely to participate since people tend not to be as shy around their friends/people they know.

One example might be to talk about common interests…sports, current events, music, TV, whatever they are interested in.

[lilfyre]

Try something out of the ordinary, bring a pet, like a dog, cat, rabbit, mouse any thing. This way they are focusing on animal and not you. Seniors citizens that do not speak or socialize very much in nursing home blossom when a pet enters the facility.

Other things like cup cake or food, you can bring for a conversation starter Also you could try coloring books and crayons. I realize that these people are probably older but who would not want to color.