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Classroom Management
ELC 688 Methods I E-‐Teacher Scholarship Program, Survey of Best Practices in TESOL
Lecturer: Teresa Hecht Valais, UMBC
What is classroom management?
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• Learning should be fun and any motivation problems that may appear should be ascribed to the teacher’s attempt to convert an enjoyable activity to drudgery.
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• School activities are inherently boring and unrewarding, so that we must rely on extrinsic rewards and punishment with a view to forcing students to engage in these unpleasant tasks.
Teachers’ Concerns
• Students’ Motivation
• Constraints
• Roles for teachers in language classrooms
Students’ Mo?va?on
• Students in our school are learning English because they have to. It makes motivation really difficult for the teacher.
• Students don’t want to use English in class when they can say the same thing faster in their own language. What do other teachers do if one or two students refuse to speak?
• Please add your own…..
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Mo?va?on
• Do you think that classroom management and skill in motivating students to learn go hand in hand?
• Who is responsible?
Mo?va?ng students
• Teacher behavior is a powerful ‘motivational tool’
(Dornyei, 2001)
• Teachers influence the classroom environment by motivating unmotivated students
• An enthusiastic teacher conveys commitment to and interest in subject matter – Students adopt cues on how to behave
Mo?va?ng students (cont’d)
¡ Establish a rela?onship of mutual trust and respect with the learners. How? § talk with them on a personal level
¡ Establish a good teacher-‐student rapport ¡ Create a pleasant and suppor?ve classroom atmosphere
¡ Promote a cohesive learner group characterized by acceptable group norms
¡ Encourage language use through both intrinsic and extrinsic mo?va?on
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Some extrinsic mo?va?onal factors for learning English
• Not because you wish to become bilingual or love English, but knowing English is like possessing the fabled Aladdin’s lamp, which permits one to open the linguistic gates to international business, technology, science, travel, and higher education.
(Kachru, 1986)
• It is the language of science and technology and is dominant in various socio-‐cultural arenas, such as international organizations, media, international travel, and the Internet -‐-‐ Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc.
(Crystal, 1997) (See Kachru’s circles on the next slide to get an idea of the numbers of
English speakers worldwide.)
Inner Circle
Outer Circle
Expanding Circle
e.g. USA, UK, Australia 320-380 million
e.g. India, Singapore 150-300 million
e.g. China, Germany 100-1000 million
(Kachru, 1989)
“More than one billion people now use English as a second or addi?onal language, largely to communicate with other second language learners with whom they do not share a cultural and linguis?c background.”
(Kirkpatrick, 2010)
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Off-‐task student behavior
• As you consider the off-‐task student behaviors on the next slide, ask yourself: – Does the behavior hinder other student’s learning? – Is this just a single occurrence not worth wasting time on?
– Is it a whole-‐class problem or specific to one or two learners?
• How would you respond to the behavior? • What are some ways to deter the behavior from occurring?
Examples of off –task behavior
• The back-‐row distracter – The same student always sits at the back and distracts others
• The nonparticipants – Several students are not taking part in the assigned activity
• The over exuberant student – One outgoing student dominates question time, comment time, and all the rest of the talking time
• Other?
Establish Classroom Prac?ces
• Clear transitions warm-‐up instruction task evaluation
• Routines – writing date and class schedule on board – passing out/collecting papers – taking roll – establishing quiet time
• Interactive learning guidelines – whole Group work, small group, pair work
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Managing Constraints Teachers’ concerns • How can we organize group work when the desks are all fixed to the floor in rows?
• Our classes are huge. Whenever I organize tasks, things get messy, such as some students finishing ahead of the others and wasting their time.
Lecture Handout 1: A List of Things Students Can Do After Seat Work
Sea?ng Arrangements
• Rows?
• Pairs? Groups?
• U-‐shape?
• Double-‐V?
Crea?ng Random Sea?ng Plans
Rota%ng coopera%ve & collabora%ve learning groups
¡ Using two decks of cards, create enough pairs for each member of the class.
¡ Place one card of the pair on each desk, and keep the other card in a separate pile.
¡ AZer students come in, let each pick a card from your pile. They are then assigned to the corresponding desk.
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Scarce Resources
• No photocopier or funds to make copies • No tape recorders or video recorders • No interesting reading material or not enough copies for all the student
• Other?
• What are some suggestions for overcoming or dealing with these constraints?
Other constraints
• Large, multilevel, classes • Traditions of learning (‘Games are for children.’ ‘This is an adult class.’)
• Exams are not about group work.
• What other constraints do you face in your teaching and learning situation?
Develop an Integrated Classroom using CL
• Know the distinction between cooperative and
collaborative learning. • Cooperative Learning is a
great aid for classroom management actively engaging students
(Collaborative learning home, 2009)
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Two thoughts on forming groups…
• Heterogeneous groups – Mixed ability – Mixed gender – Mixed ages
• Homogeneous groups – Similar ability – Male or female – Same ages
Grouping Mul?ple Proficiency Levels
¡ Choose how to group students ▪ Homogeneously ▪ Heterogeneously
¡ Choose number of students in a group and number of groups
▪ 4-6 students ▪ 4-6 groups
§ Choose teaching strategies and techniques ▪ inference, deduc?on, analysis ▪ jigsaw, four corners
Classroom Roles • Role of the Teacher
– NNEST advantages – Teacher responsibilities
• Role of the students – Students’ responsibilities
• Roles in teacher-‐centered classrooms
• Roles in student-‐centered classrooms
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Tradi?onal roles for teachers
Teachers’ comments • In this school, the tradition is for the teacher to be at
the front by the board all the time. But how can I keep control if I walk around the room?
• I was trained to teach in a traditional way and now the government has decided to introduce CLT. My English isn’t good enough to answer students’ questions.
The role of the teacher
Situa%on • Traditional Classroom
• ALM – memorizing
• Communicative Classes – Require unplanned and
spontaneous management skills
– Should the teacher answer, postpone, or dismiss a question?
Metaphor • Knowledge transmitter
teacher is all-‐knowing • Conductor
• Gardener (nurturer) and facilitator • Chessboard with multiple players in the learning
process although teacher is “the most powerful single piece” on the board
– Responding to students’ spontaneous questions
– It’s okay to say
• “I don’t know” • “Let me look that up”
Beliefs about Teacher Roles in the Classroom
Approach 1: Teachers… 1. Are expected to have
all the answers. 2. Are expected to
suppress emotions. 3. Reward students for
accurate problem solving.
(teacher-‐centered)
Approach 2: Teachers… 1. Are allowed to say “I
don’t know.” 2. Are allowed to express
emotions. 3. Reward students for
innovative approaches to problem solving.
(learner-‐centered)
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The NNEST (non-‐na?ve English-‐speaking teacher) -‐ Advantages
• Most NNESTs have an adequate level of language proficiency to perform their task
• Dual role as both teachers and learners of the same language
• Privilege of bilingualism and the ability to use the students’ mother tongue
• Has experienced the process of learning English so are better positioned to anticipate and prevent language difficulties
• Are more sensitive to their students
How do successful teachers establish posi?ve and engaging rapport with learners?
Responding to Students Questions
§ Do greet questions with…
§ Enthusiasm § A commitment of time to fully explain the
answer § Unthreatening manner
§ Don’t greet questions with…
§ Quick responses § Digressions § Annoyance § Superior knowledge attitude
How do successful teachers establish a posi?ve and engaging rapport with learners (con’t)?
Teachers control the thermostat for learning Asking Students questions
QUESTION: A simple “Do you have any questions?” as class ends doesn’t always give an accurate assessment. Students often will decline to ask questions because they don’t want to hold other students back or they want to exit class.
SOLUTION: Before leaving class, require students to write an anonymous question that will be responded to next class either verbally or in writing. OR Require students to record in their learning log.
BENEFIT: Students become cognizant that all members of the class are required to participate and that every students’ thoughts and ideas count! This becomes an expected classroom behavior.
SUGGESTION: Ask students to think about the content just learned in the middle of
class and have them formulate a discussion question working in pairs or small groups.
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Teacher’s Responsibility
1. Create a non-‐threatening environment 2. Post expectations for classroom behavior 3. Create posters for class language communication 4. Create verbal and nonverbal signals using
appropriate English classroom language 5. Develop a class seating arrangement conducive to
learning 6. Praise and reward students for cooperative
classroom behavior
Beliefs about Students Roles in the Classroom
Approach 1, Students… 1. should speak in class
only when called on by the teacher.
2. expect the teacher to
show them “the way.”
(teacher-‐centered)
Approach 2, Students… 1. are encouraged by
teachers to volunteer their thoughts.
2. are expected by
teachers to find their “own way”.
(learner-‐centered)
Student’s Responsibility
1. Participate and cooperate with others in classroom activities; interact in each class.
2. Risk making mistakes. Try out, experiment, and be creative with the language.
3. Use classroom language appropriate for interaction in pairs, small groups, and whole group interaction.
4. Ask for help and correction.
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Appropriate Classroom Verbal and Nonverbal communica?on
• Voice
• Body language and gestures
• Classroom language
Lecture Handout 2: Improving Second Language Education
Voice
• Strong voice projection
§ students need to hear what is being said
• Slower rate of delivery for beginning learners § Natural flow of speech can increase with intermediate learners
• Provide clear articulation
Body Language Nonverbal Cues
§ Move around the classroom • Students are more engaged when following teacher than one focal
point.
§ Use Eye Contact • Teacher can monitor which students follow by eye contact with
teachers’ movement.
§ Follow cultural rules for distance and touch • How close you stand or sit next to students • Touching students
– Tap on the shoulder to say “you’re next”, or “are you paying attention?” – Patting a student on the back or touching their shoulder to say “good job”
§ Use Hand signals
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General expressions for classroom language
I’m sorry. What are we supposed to do?
Can you say it again, please? Can you play it again, please?
How do you say . . . in English? How do you spell . . . ? How do you pronounce . . . ?
I don’t understand. I don’t know.
Is this right? Is this OK?
What does … mean?
Copyright © Cambridge University Press (Cambridge University Press, n.d.)
Model Classroom Language for pair work and group work Checking answers
I think that’s right / wrong.
What do you think?
I do / do not agree.
What did you put / write for number one? How did you answer number one?
Let’s ask the teacher about this.
Copyright © Cambridge University Press (Cambridge University Press, n.d.)
Model Classroom language for pair work and group work Role-‐playing ac?vi?es and sharing informa?on
You start. / Let’s start.
I’ll be…you be…
It’s my turn. / It’s your turn.
Who’s going to begin?
Which role are you going to take?
Whose turn is it?
I think we are finished. What should we do?
Copyright © Cambridge University Press (Cambridge University Press, n.d.)
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Show APPRECIATION
• Use words of thanks § “I liked it when…” or “I felt good when…”
• Use I-‐messages
§ “I feel… name the feeling when describe the situation or behavior.”
Hopes for the classroom
Students • Be involved • Feel comfortable while
involved in intellectual activity
• Listen to one another as well as to the teacher
Teachers • Be in general control • Allow and encourage
originality in students • Look “relaxed and matter-‐
of-‐fact…giving information about…appropriateness or correctness… rather than criticizing or praising.”
(Stevick in Lewis 2002)
Conclusion: The Five P's of Classroom Management
• Powerful curriculum all planned and ready to go -‐ meaningful, useful, relevant, with opportunities to be creative and emotional
• Prerequisites are in place -‐ teacher and students are in relationship with each other, as are students with students
• Parameters are clear at all times -‐ general and specific ground rules, procedures, and directions
• Participation is expected and nurtured -‐ students are actively engaged and on task; direct instruction provides for student involvement
• Positive attitude -‐ teacher models a positive mental attitude towards students and classroom activities
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References • Brown, H.D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language
pedagogy. Longman. • Bilash, O. (2010). Classroom language. In Improving second language education.
Retrieved from http://www2.education.ualberta.ca/staff/olenka.bilash/Best%20of%20Bilash/classroom%20language.html
• Lewis, M. (2002). Classroom management. In Richards, J. & Renandya, W. (eds.),
Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice (pp. 40-48). NY: Cambridge.
• Llurda, E. (2004). Non-native-speaker teachers and EIL. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, Vol. 14. No. 3.
• Kirkpatrick, A. (2010). Learning English in ASEAN: Myths and principles. Retrieved from http://www.camtesol.org/2010conference/plenary_sessions.html
References (con’t) • McKay, S. L. (2002). Teaching English as an international language. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
• Medgyes, P. (2001). When the teacher is a non-native speaker. In Celce-Murcia, M. (ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language, 3rd edition (p. 429 – 442). Heinle & Heinle.
• Tanner, R. & Green, K. (1998). Tasks for teacher education: A reflective approach. Longman.
• Thanasoulas, D. (2002). Motivation and motivating in the foreign language classroom. The Internet TESL Journal, VII (11).
• Ur. P. (1996). A course in language teaching practice and theory. Cambridge.
Image Resources
• Cambridge University Press. (n.d.). Let’s Talk, Teacher Support Classroom Language. Retrieved from http://www.cambridge.org/us/ESL/letstalk/support/language.htm
• Collaborative learning home. (2009). In Collaborative learning wiki. Retrieved from http://collaborativelearning.wetpaint.com/
