White Marsh, Maryland TESOL Online & Teaching English Jobs

This unit covers a lot of very important information about how to organise and manage a classroom. We learn the pros and cons of different desk placements and how having separate desks may create discipline problems if the students feel isolated. Whether or not the teacher sits or stands during certain activities and how it makes the students feel was very interesting. As was the section about Grouping Students and how pair work maximizes the opportunity for Student talk time (STT) and Student to student (S-S). I guess as a teacher I will have to really think about my body language, i.e. no rolling eyes, frowning or giving a naughty student the evil eye! Working on good eye contact, thinking up some useful gestures to aid my teaching and concentrating on good pronunciation are vital. I also need to practice trying to explain things in clear and simple language without lots of idioms or slang. Something else to practice is writing on a board - neatly, in reasonably straight lines and large enough to be seen at the back of the class. Not as easy as it sounds! Alternatively I can use an OHP or have prepared sheets to put up. Good classroom management is a very involved topic. Providing a relaxed teaching atmosphere with a well respected teacher who enjoys teaching and can put the students at ease, motivate them to learn and has the skills to make the lessons enjoyable is essential. The teacher must be able to identify problems, correct them in a positive manner and establish a rapport with the students.