"what means" Frustration

Some of you may think that my job is a bit of a doss. You may well be right, given that I consider myself very unlucky if I don't get a three day weekend and work an average of 3hours per day. Considering the money it is certainly not to be sniffed at. While it is, granted, a pretty sweet gig, it is not without its pitfalls. The most obvious is the attitudes of the students in the two inner city schools I am working in. I understand that not everybody is enthusiastic about learning languages, I am fully aware of all the boring ins and outs which at the age of 16 seem completely pointless, but I don't try to do that! This morning I played Who Am I? (you know, the game where every one has a celebrity name on a post it on their head and you have to work out who it is using only yes or no questions) and I kid you not, it took a group of 4 students 45 minutes to complete it. I was a little shocked, especially as I had only intended it as a warm up exercise taking 15 minutes absolute maximum. So yes, complete and utter apathy does annoy me a lot and I find it downright rude when they refuse point blank to even try and speak in English during the lesson but that is not what I am ranting about today.

Having studied foreign languages for many years, I am the first to admit that people make mistakes and I also know all to well that to be overly criticised can be very damaging to a young person's confidence. I genuinely believe that is what marred my relationship with French at university. So yes, I acknowledge that there has to be scope for mistakes BUT... when it is a fundamental error that almost every student in every class makes, something has to be done. I think that those of you who have taught Germans or Austrians who are learning English will already have an idea what I'm talking about. If I remember correctly, we learned how to ask a question in the first term, if not it was certainly within the first year. I am therefore incredibly frustrated that nigh on every lesson I am confronted with the "question"... "What means...?" After nearly two years of facing the same problem I am at a loss with regards what to do. I have tried writing it in CAPITAL LETTERS on the board at the beginning of lessons, I have refused to answer the query until they form the question, I have even told them there would be a 10 cent fine for every time they said "what means...?" but nothing seems to work! I fear that it is a lost cause, not least because there are at least two teachers who still say it. Perhaps I am being overly harsh and if I am then I apologise, but there are so many things that I let go, I feel a line has to be drawn somewhere! That is all for now, I feel a lot better for that!