Teach English in Xingguo Zhen - Tianshui Shi

This unit is all about class management. The first item is; 1. Eye contact: Eye contact in a classroom is essential to establish to establish good rapport with the students. There are several ways how eye contact can be used in the classroom. They are as follows; - To show students that they are all involved in the lesson. - To encourage contributions - To maintain discipline - To signal students to start, stop, or get a move on. - To indicate that something is correct or incorrect - To check that everybody is participating. Eye contact should be avoided during any activity which is not teacher-centered. 2. Gesture: gestures can be effective or useful in the following ways; - Convey the meaning of language - Manage the class - To add visual interest - To increase the pace of the lesson - To reduce the need for verbal explanation 3. The Voice: if your voice does not have the correct clarity, range, variety or projection, you will have a different time in making your instructions. Voice should change naturally according to the circumstance. 4. Using students? names: students names can be used when you want to:- - Organize an activity - Acknowledge the students - Indicate who is to answer or respond - Get the attention of a student Students? names should be used at the end of the question not at the beginning Grouping Students: There is no real limit to the way a teacher can group students though facts such as class size and classroom furniture can be problematic. Grouping students can be classified under the following ; - Whole class grouping ? pros and cons - Students working on their own ? pros and cons - Pair work ? pros and cons - Group work ? pros and cons Classroom management: The way in which you organize the position of the students and yourself is of great importance and largely depends on the following - Space available - Type of chairs/ tables - Age of the students - Nationality - Student personality As a teacher you have the authority to move students for the benefit of an activity, cohesion or discipline. Orderly Rows: This has been a traditional form of seating for many years in most schools. It makes lecture easy, enables the teacher to maintain eye contact and help reduce discipline problems. Circle and horseshoes: this is often used in smaller classes where the teacher and board are situated at the open end of the arrangement. The teachers position is less dominating and there is less of a feeling that a student is at the front or back of the classroom. Separate tables: when students are seated in small groups at individual tables, the classroom becomes even more informal. It is easy for the teacher to work at one table while groups continue their work. The teachers? position: Students are often sensitive to your position in the classroom and weather you are sitting or standing, it can tell them the following; - What kind of activity it is - What the teachers? role will be - What the students are expected to do Writing on the board: There is no way you can avoid turning your back to the students during board-work. However, there are a number of ways you can reduce the amount of time you spend with your back to class. They are as follows; - Use an overhead projector - Prepare cards with vocabulary - Invite students to write on the board for you. Etc Giving individual attention - Make sure you know all the students names - If necessary, spend longer with students who do not understand or who cannot do the task but keep the other students occupied. - Don?t teach exclusively to only the strong or weak students. - Don?t go round the classroom asking students in order. - Don?t allow individual students to ?hog? your attention or the limelight - Remember to include all students equally in any activity. Etc Teacher talk time and students talk time: The balance between the teachers talk time and the students? talk time largely depends on the type of lesson and the level of students. In the classroom the teacher will speak more when; - Presenting checking modeling or clarifying - Providing language input - Giving instructions, setting up activities - Establishing rapport. How to avoid unnecessary TTT - Choose carefully the language for explanation and instructions - Avoid TEFL jargon - Use gestures, mime or pictures - Don?t over elaborate - Use language that is below the level being taught - Basically keep it simple Giving instructions How you can make your instructions effective; - By attracting the students? attention - Making sure everyone is listening and not working. Don?t give handouts that may distract attention. Using simple languages: Use simple language at a lower level than that being taught. Being consistent: use the same set of words for the same instruction ie everybody again, look , listen etc Using visual clues : Reinforce instructions with visual clues; realia ( real objects brought in the classroom, mime, gesture and pictures Checking the instructions : Ask questions to check they understand the instructions ?Do you understand?? is not an acceptable question as it does not check. Establishing rapport: rapport between the teacher and students/ students themselves plays an important part in the determining if a class is successful and enjoyable. Here are some practical ways to help establish rapport and class spirit. - When making seating arrangements, be aware of which students get on well together and which do not. - Make sure the student know each other?s names and a little basic information about each other. - At the beginning of the course have an ice breaking activities. - Get the students to help each other - Look as if u enjoy the job - Be positive in everything you do - Give clear instructions - Have the right manner - Show personal interest in the students - Don?t forget to smile. Etc Maintaining Discipline The degree of which you will have to maintain discipline will largely depend upon a number of factors. They are as follows; - Age of students - Reasons for learning - Do the students want to be there? - Class size - Principles and atmosphere of the school - Respect between students and teacher. Reasons for problem behavior There are many reasons why discipline can occur in the classroom. These often include: - Family problems - Low life-esteem - Boredom - Peer pressure - Lack of respect for the teacher/ other students - Class size Preventing problem behavior ? you can help stop problems arising in the first place if ; - You are punctual - You are well prepared - You are consistent and fair - You do not let personal feelings influence your treatment of students - You never make threats that you cannot or are not prepared to carry out - You return homework prompt - You never lose your temper - You establish rapport with the students Responding to problem behavior, what can you do when it still arises? - Act immediately ? don?t wait for the problem to worsen - Focus on the behavior not the student - Change the classroom dynamic - Keep calm ? shouting never helps - Keep the problem students behind after class and reprimand in private - Keep to the school disciplinary code and don?t make threats that you cannot enforce - Use the knowledge of your colleague. I have personally learnt the different ways we can manage and control a classroom. Also the techniques in discipline and handling certain situations that may arise.