Classroom Management PDF

Managing the class Managing the class l 1 Use of eye contact , gesture and the voice l 2 Classroom arrangement l 3 Attention spread l 4 Teacher talk and student talk l 5 Eliciting , giving instructions and setting up activities l 6 Monitoring l 7 Starting and finishing the lesson l...

Managing the class Managing the class l 1 Use of eye contact , gesture and the voice l 2 Classroom arrangement l 3 Attention spread l 4 Teacher talk and student talk l 5 Eliciting , giving instructions and setting up activities l 6 Monitoring l 7 Starting and finishing the lesson l 8 Establishing rapport and maintaining discipline l 9 The monolingual and the multilingual class 1. Use of eye contact, gesture and the voice l Eye contact (1) How can you use eye contact? (2) When should you avoid eye contact? (3) Is there any point in encouraging the students to look at each other? (Yes, very much so. l How will eye contact vary at different stages of a lesson or in different types of lesson ? As the role of the teacher varies , depending on the type and stage of a lesson , so does the degree of eye contact. The more direct eye contact the teacher maintains with all those in the class the more teacher - controlled the lesson. In activities where the students are working more independently of the teacher less teacher - student eye contact is necessary. CONVERT How can you use eye contact ? l to ensure that the students have understood what they are supposed to do and know what is going on. Puzzled expressions quickly tell you you need to try again ! } l. to indicate who is to speak ( usually accompanied by a nod ) when calling on one after the other to repeat a word or sentence , or to make a response , Using names can slow the pace of a practice activity and pointing might be offensive l to encourage contributions when you are trying to elicit ideas or specific language from the students. Frequently you only know students have something to say by looking at them l ; to show a student who is talking that you are taking notice How can you use eye contact ? l ; to hold the attention of students not being addressed and to encourage them to listen to those doing the talking. With younger students this is a way of maintaining discipline : a darting glance around the room can show that you are aware of what everyone is doing ; l. to keep in touch with other students in group when you are dealing with an individual , perhaps when correcting. Your eyes can say to them : You're involved in this too ; l to signal to a pair or group to start , to stop or to hurry up. It can be far less dominating than the voice ; to indicate , with an accompanying gesture , that groups are on the right or wrong lines ; l together with a gesture ( such as a shake of the head ) to indicate that something is incorrect , or to show that the student should try again ; l. to check that everyone is participating , especially when the group is working together , perhaps doing repetition practice ; l. to check silently with students whether they have finished an activity - perhaps the reading of a text , or the writing of a sentence during a dictation  When should you avoid eye contact ? l During any activity that doesn't demand teacher - centred control , avoid eye contact unless you are specifically asked for help or choose to join in l for example , pair work , groupwork , speaking activities such as roleplay , simulations and student - led discussions , and even individual work when the student wishes to complete the task independently. As soon as you establish eye contact , or the students establish eye contact with you , you are brought into the activity , thus making it teacher - centered. Is there any point in encouraging the students to look at each other ? l Yes. Very much so. Confidence is gained and shyness lost through eye contact. l In addition , a student who has difficulty understanding is more likely to understand if his or her eyes are on the speaker's face than if they are on the ground. So , when students ask each other questions , or help and correct each other , whether in pair work or student to student across the class , they should look at each other. You can encourage students to address their remarks to each other , not through you , by avoiding eye contact as soon as the person who is speaking starts and by looking at the person who is being addressed. It is sometimes better to get them to move their chairs to make eye contact easier. 1. Use of eye contact, gesture and the voice l Use of gesture, facial expression and mime to: 1.Conveying meaning 2.Managing the class 3. to reinforce instructions. 4. to add visual interest ; 5.to increase pace ; 6. to cut down on the amount of verbal explanation. This is particularly important at lower levels where long verbal explanations in English can be difficult and confusing Is there anything to be avoided? (unclear, ambiguous, rude gestures & irritating habits) Use of eye contact, gesture.1 and the voice l The voice alters fairly naturally, according to the activity, the size of the class, the room,etc l Using the voice to gain attention , to give gentle individual correction (1) when students are standing around at the beginning of a lesson, talking; (2) when you want to stop a group activity; (3) when there’s a lot of general noise and you want to regain control. Use of eye contact, gesture.1 and the voice l Using students’ names It is important to make sure you know everyone’s name and that they know both yours and each other’ 2. Classroom arrangement l Students’ seating arrangements (1) their attitude to each other and to you; (2) your attitude to them; (3) how they interact; (4) the types of activity they can do. 2. Classroom arrangement l The teacher’s position and movement (1) what type of activity it is; (2) what your role is; (3) what the students’ role is expected to be; (4) who you are attending to and not attending to; (5) whether you expect a student to talk to you or not. More than 16 students Café style This works as long as they can all see what is going on at the front of the class clearly and comfortably. This arrangement ensures that, with minor adjustments, students are in a position to change to pairwork or groupwork.  3. Attention spread l How can you give individual attention? l What about students who don’t want ‘public’ attention? l Attention during pairwork and groupwork. How can you give individual attention? l There are a number of occasions when you give individual attention, depending on the stage of the lesson or on the activity: when you are asking questions, eliciting contributions, getting them to repeat, monitoring, correcting, giving help, etc. When giving individual attention: l. Make sure you know all the students' names so you don't just call on those whose names you know. Dot about. Don't go round in a line. It's too predictable; students switch off until it's their turn to contribute. It doesn't matter sometimes if the same student is called on twice. It keeps the class on its toes. Involve students who are not being dealt with directly as much as possible. For example, encourage peer correction. When giving individual attention:. Don't teach exclusively to either the good or the weak students. Give the good students difficult questions and tasks and the others easier ones, if possible without it being obvious. If you are giving controlled oral practice go to the weaker students after the stronger so they have more opportunities to hear the target language. Spend longer with students who don't understand or can't do what is expected if necessary, but try to keep the others occupied while you do so by setting them a task to be getting on with.. Don't let individual students hog' your attention. If you are eliciting from the class use the students' names to let them know who you want to speak. If students persistently shout out, quieten them firmly with a word or gesture, and make it clear that it is someone else's turn.. Remember to step back and include students at the edge of any seating arrangement. They're easy to forget, particularly those in the front, and to the side.  What about students who don't want 'public' attention? l During activities that don't involve controlled language practice or depend on the involvement of everyone, it may be better to let students who don't wish to contribute remain silent. l Listening and reflection play an important part in the way many students learn a language. l If students feel they are likely to be picked on at random they will quickly learn not to make eye contact. By lowering their heads or looking away they may miss useful information. l It may be easier for them and you if students who wish to contribute indicate (perhaps by raising their hands). Attention during pairwork and groupwork l During pairwork and groupwork students cannot expect and often do not need constant attention from the teacher. l Provided the activity has been set up well, the teacher is freed to monitor students' performance in order to give individual feedback later. l Groupwork can also provide an opportunity for teachers to take individuals aside and give them specific (perhaps remedial) help.  4. Teacher talk and student talk l Advantages vs. disadvantages of teacher talk l How can you help the students understand what you say? l How can you avoid unnecessary and unhelpful TTT? Teacher talk and student talk To a large extent the balance between TTT (teacher talking time) and STT (student talking time) depends on the type of lesson and activities involved, and on the level of the students. In the classroom you will usually speak more when: l presenting, clarifying, checking, modelling new or revised language; l setting up activities or giving instructions and feedback; l providing language input: for example, when telling a story; l establishing rapport by chatting: for example, about what the students did at the weekend, what you are planning to do in the evening, etc What are the advantages of teacher talk? l 1 The teacher (whether English is his/her first or second language) is a very valuable source of language used in an authentic situation, particularly if the students are studying in a country in which English is not the first language. l 2 Teacher talk is needed for good classroom management - to give clear instructions, l 3 You can provide authentic listening texts for your students. l 4 You can provide authentic listening texts for your students. l 5 You can explain something about the language that is being learned in a helpful and reassuring way, and check the students understanding. What are the disadvantages of teacher talk? l The aim of most language classes is usually to get the students using the language. When you talk too much then the chances are the students aren't being given maximum opportunity l It is also likely that you won't be listening to the students closely enough. thinking too much about what you're going to say next. l If you talk for the students they will think you don't appreciate their efforts and will become demotivated. l There is a danger, especially at lower levels, that he language you use for explanation is more difficult to understand than the language being learned. How can you avoid unnecessary and unhelpful TTT? l Choose language the students already know to give instructions and explanation. l. Avoid running commentaries on your lesson, both to yourself and your students: I didn't explain that very well, did I? It's distracting and makes you seem more interested in your performance' than in the students. l Don't use ten words where one will do. l Don't automatically repeat or 'echo' what the students say - as in this exchange:  5. Eliciting, giving instructions and setting up activities l Usually eliciting consists of giving clues and prompts in order to get the students to make an appropriate contribution. l Eliciting should never be simply guessing what’s in the teacher’s head. What are the advantages of eliciting? l By eliciting the teacher can : l get the students involved and interested; l bring relevant information to the front of their minds; l increase the amount they talk; l help them take responsibility for their own learning. Eliciting gives members of a class the necessary and motivating feeling of being encouraged to invest part of themselves, give some of their opinions and contribute some of their knowledge so that what happens seems to depend partly on the students themselves; l get crucial information about what the students already know and can use in relation to the language you are focusing on. 5. Eliciting, giving instructions and setting up activities l (How can you make your instructions effective?) l Attract the students’ attention l Use simple language and short expressions. l Be consistent. l Use visual or written clues. l Demonstrate. l Break the instructions down. l Target your instructions. l Be decisive. 5. Eliciting, giving instructions and setting up activities l Different types of activities: Controlled activities / Guided activities / Creative or free communication l Why are pairwork and groupwork useful? l Planning the activity l Organizing the class: putting the students into pairs/groups Random pairing / You choose the grouping / You let the students choose who to work with Different types of activities: Controlled activities :Where you decide on the exact language to be used and control it accordingly, l perhaps by the use of prompts, maybe spoken or written on cards. Many drills (listen and repeat, or listen and change the language in a prescribed way) are examples of l controlled practice activities. Drills can be choral (when the whole class speak together); you can cue in a part of the class at a time, or you can indicate for individual students to speak. Other teacher-controlled activities include those in which students take part in short dialogues l supplied by the teacher, or when one student asks a set question and another student has a prompt to indicate the appropriate reply. Many written exercises are controlled in that only one answer is 'correct'. Different types of activities: Guided activities : Where you decide on the language areas to be practised (e.g. l giving directions) but give the students a certain amount of freedom. The materials you choose should allow the students to make different language l choices, although these choices may be fairly limited. Both controlled and guided activities are often used when the focus is on the practice of particular language structures or vocabulary. Different types of activities: Creative or free communication :Where you supply the motivation l and maybe the materials but the students are free within the constraints of the situation to use any language they have to communicate and complete the task set. These activities are often used when the focus is on the l development of speaking and writing skills. Classroom arrangement – various work- forms in classes l Whole class grouping: This work-form is used at the presentation stage of the lesson when students need the same input. It reinforces a sense of belonging among the group members, something which teachers need to foster. l an ideal way of showing pictures, texts or audio/video tape, Classroom arrangement – various work- forms in classes 2. Individual work : is a vital step in the development of learner autonomy. Students do exercises on their own in class teachers are able to spend time working with individual students. l E.g : students read privately and then answer questions individually, students can write compositions, essays on their own as well etc. 3. Pair work :In pair work students can practice language together, they can take part in information-gap activities, they can write dialogues, they can work simultaneously with other pairs. 4. Groupwork : Students in groups can write a group story or they can role play a situation involving four or five students. Small groups of around four or five students provoke greater involvement and participation than larger groups. 6. Monitoring Monitoring the class l Monitoring groupwork l Monitoring pairwork l Monitoring individuals l Managing groupwork l Stand back l Quickly check l Don’t interrupt unless: the group has misunderstood what they are supposed to do , or they finsh too early or late , or they ask for your helpm l Spread your attention to all groups l Be easily accessible l If you need to feed in ideas l Provide encouragement l Give correction and/or gather data for feedback 7. Starting and finishing the lesson l Punctuality l How can you make the starting point of a lesson clear? Prepare yourself , and the required aids. 7. Starting and finishing the lesson l Summarizing and evaluating l Making announcements l Farewells and socializing  8.Maintaining discipline l Discipline is defined as the practice of teaching others to obey rules or norms by using punishment to correct unwanted behaviors. l learning is taking place in a disciplined classroom. l the teacher is in control – this does not mean that s/he dominates the class or is standing in front of the class telling everyone what to do. The teacher may hand over the initiative in a particular situation to the students and then s/he can take it back. l a lesson which is going according to the plan is more likely to be disciplined, because the teacher knows where s/he is going, activities are well-prepared and organized, and the awareness that the process is clearly planned tends to boost teacher’s confidence and students’ trust, which in their turn also contribute to discipline.  How can you establish a good working relationship with your students? l Don’t prejudge a class l Personalize materials l Look as if you enjoy and activities your job l Respond and react to l Be positive what students say l Show personal interest l Be interested in their in the students progress l Ask for comments on the classes  9. The monolingual and the multilingual class l Advantages and disadvantages of teaching a monolingual and a multilingual group  The monolingual and the multilingual class Monolingual class Multilingual class Advantages ü As your students have the same mother ü All communication in the class is authentic - tongue they will usually have the same English is the only common language. problems with particular aspects of ü Interaction is natural and the students are pronunciation or grammar. usually not so self-conscious. ü They may have very similar learning ü It is a multicultural class; They are usually backgrounds and styles. very interested in finding out about each ü They will probably be more other and each other's cultures. homogeneous in outlook and more classes are heterogeneous accepting of one another. ü You can choose whether to give instructions and explanations in the mother tongue.  The monolingual and the multilingual class Monolingual class Multilingual class Disadvantages Because they speak the same v The main difficulty is being sure that all language, your students may feel self- the students have understood. conscious about speaking in English to v The students will have different language one another. problems depending on how different Because they probably make similar their language is from English in, for mistakes it is not as easy for them to example, aspects of pronunciation, correct each other and you sometimes vocabulary and grammar. stop noticing them. v Because students come from different countries, their general educational background, their approach to learning and their study skills may be very different.