Offering support and encouragement, and developing a positive relationship with intermediate-level students is key to helping them be successful in moving from the intermediate plateau to observation, then autonomy in school. Providing one-on-one feedback on the student's writing and discussing concrete ways to help them improve are simple ways that teachers can give them the writing support they need. Students need positive comments about their hard work and resilience when they make progress and fewer lectures on what they are doing wrong. Apathy and negative experiences in school seem to contribute greatly to students getting stuck at the intermediate level of language learning. Showing them academic technology tools to help them access the information and support independently also helps them take ownership of their education. Finally, misconceptions students have about specific academic skills can be cleared up through chatting with the students about their strengths and weaknesses and offering simple solutions for overcoming the challenges they encounter. Often, teachers will not realize how many educational deficits stem from cultural and language differences, so it is imperative to understand the student's cultural background and experiences.