When the teaching in a course isn't helping you learn — when explanations are unclear, when the pace is wrong, when you leave lectures more confused than when you arrived — the instinct is often to say nothing. It feels awkward to raise. You worry about seeming difficult, or ungrateful, or like you're the only one struggling.
But staying silent doesn't fix anything. And you're almost certainly not the only one.
Before you say anything: check your own side
It's worth being honest with yourself first. Are you keeping up with the pre-reading? Are you attending consistently? Is this a genuinely unclear lecturer, or a genuinely difficult topic? This isn't about self-blame — it's about making sure the conversation you have is grounded in something accurate.
If the issue is partly your own preparation, fixing that first often changes the experience of the teaching significantly.
If you've done that and the problem persists, the teaching itself is worth raising.
Signal it through your feedback platform
If your institution uses StudentPulse or another feedback platform, this is an appropriate place to flag teaching concerns. When you leave a comment, be specific rather than general: not "the teaching is bad" but something like "I find the explanations of [specific concept] hard to follow — more worked examples in class would help." Specific comments give lecturers and course coordinators something actionable to respond to. Vague ones get noted but rarely drive change.
Having the conversation directly
Talking directly to your lecturer is often the most effective route — and usually less intimidating once you've done it. Here's how to approach it.
Choose the right moment
Office hours or a brief exchange after class are the right settings. Don't try to raise a teaching concern in the middle of a lecture or in a group context — that puts the lecturer on the defensive. A private, low-pressure moment makes a more productive conversation possible.
Frame it as a request, not a complaint
The most important thing is how you open. The goal is to get help, not to judge. Compare:
- ❌ "Your explanations of X are really confusing."
- ✅ "I'm finding it hard to follow the explanations of X. Could you point me toward anything that might help me understand it better, or could we go through it?"
The second version makes you the subject of the difficulty, not the lecturer. It's not dishonest — it's strategic. It gets a better response.
Be specific about what isn't landing
"I don't understand the lectures" is hard to respond to. "I follow the first part of your explanations but lose the thread when we move to [specific point]" gives the lecturer somewhere to work from. The more specific you can be, the more useful the response you'll get.
What to actually say
A working script: "I wanted to ask for some help. I've been finding [specific part of the course] difficult to follow in the lectures. I'm keeping up with the reading but the [concept/section] isn't clicking for me. Is there a way you'd recommend approaching it, or could we go through it briefly?"
This signals effort, identifies the problem specifically, and makes a concrete request. Most lecturers respond well to this framing.
What to expect
Most lecturers appreciate students who engage directly rather than silently struggling or complaining to peers. You might get a recommendation for additional resources, an offer to revisit the material, or simply a more patient explanation. Occasionally you won't get much — in which case, your next step is to ask a classmate, seek a tutor, or raise the concern with a module coordinator.
If the problem is broader than one concept
If the issue is consistent — if you and others are finding the overall standard of teaching inadequate rather than one topic difficult — that's a more significant concern and it may be worth raising with a course coordinator or through a student representative. The conversation is similar in structure: specific, framed as a request for improvement, and focused on impact rather than blame. "A number of us are finding it difficult to follow the course material at the current pace. Is there anything the department can do to support students who are struggling?"
