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This unit went over classroom management, which is the skill of organizing and managing classes while keeping the atmosphere friendly and relaxed, and the students disciplined. Instead of being extroverted or a good entertainer, it is more important to inspire confidence in the students and remain flexible to the needs of the class, changing rolls when appropriate. Building a good rapport with your students is the most crucial element perhaps, and there are many ways to do so.
For instance, using eye contact is important and can convey/accomplish many things. Students will feel connected with the teacher and a part of the class if good eye contact is maintained, which also means avoiding too much eye contact. It can also help maintain discipline, help give directions in different stages of the lesson, and help check to see if students are participating, paying attention, or comprehending the lesson.
Gestures also play a key role. They can be used when teaching new concepts or words, and when giving instructions. Gestures can help keep the attention of the students, create and understanding between the students and the teacher (especially when culturally appropriate gestures are used), and increase the pace of a lesson. All of these are crucial when forming a relationship with your students and trying to build their understanding of and confidence with the language.
Your voice is another useful tool when running a class. Being monotone will bore students and have negative effects on their attention, participation, and view of you. You should be able to naturally vary your voice to produce proper English and be able to convey certain information to the class, such as whether the class should liven up or quiet down. The students will follow the lead of the teacher, so greater variation of voice will lead to more understanding and effective lessons.
Knowing and using everyone’s names is possibly the most important factor in establishing a good rapport with students. It lets them know you care about them and know who they are. People will respond better to you when they know you have taken an interest in them. Getting to know your students even further and incorporating interests of theirs in your lessons can also help greatly.
The unit also went into arranging the class. The teacher is obviously limited by the size of the room, number of students, and perhaps what is culturally acceptable, but varying the configuration of the class can help keep things fresh and play to different strengths and weaknesses of the students, not to mention the effectiveness of certain activities. Keeping the class as one large group is great for TTT and giving directions or new language input, and can give the students a sense of belonging. It does not really provide any STT though, and therefore would probably not be great during Activate. Pairing your students up probably provides opportunity for the most STT, but can be uncomfortable with more shy students, or create discipline problems amongst those who do not get along Making groups is another way to promote STT, and can help remedy some of the problems with pairs, but more dominant students may take over in their groups, leaving the shyer ones to quietly and passively follow along. Students can also be instructed to work on their own, which would promote self-reliance and be the best way for the teacher to identify individual problems and address them accordingly. It does not promote STT however.
Arrangement of the furniture is another useful tool when controlling the classroom atmosphere. Various ways to organize the desks were listed, such as in classic rows or in a horse shoe, and each of them have their own benefits for different situations/activities.
The importance of giving simple, clear instructions and keeping TTT to a minimal was also outlined. The teacher should always use language below the level of what is being taught to explain activities and give directs to ensure the maximum amount of student comprehension. Keeping things short and simple while using gestures, visuals/realia and eye contact will not only maintain a smooth flow of things, but also make students feel they can understand English and boost their confidence. Furthermore STT is one of the goals of most lessons, so being clear and concise will always help maximize the amount of time students have to use and experiment with the language.
Lastly discipline was discussed. Discipline problems have a variety of sources and many of them can be out of the teacher’s control. They can range from motivation, to age of the students, to problems at home. The important thing is for the teacher to remain punctual, professional, polite, friendly, enthusiastic, and always keep his/her temper. Working towards a good rapport and treating all the students equally and fairly should go a long way and help to keep problems at a minimum. The teacher should always be clear what the rules of the classroom are, maintain authority from the beginning of a course, and never threaten something that he/she cannot come through with. If a discipline problem does arise, the teacher should respond accordingly depending on culture and nature of the problem while always following the school’s rules.
