Higher TESOL Courses

Classroom managementIn order to manage classrooms effectively, a teacher must be able to handle a range of variables. These will be discussed individually. • The teacher in the classroom All teachers, like all people, have their own physical characteristics and habits which they take in to the class with them. But there are a number of issues to consider which can have a direct bearing on the student’s perception of us. 1. Proximity: Teachers need to be conscious of the distance between them and their students as this distance can tell a student whether the teacher is monitoring, modifying behavior, or being cold. 2. Appropriacy: Deciding how close to the students the teacher wishes to be while working is a matter of appropriacy. So is the general way in which teachers sit or stand in classrooms. 3. Movement: Some teachers spend most of their time in the classroom standing in one place which can be very boring for the students and then there are those who walk the entire time again making the students nervous. Though movement depends on personal style, a teacher must find a comfortable balance. 4. Awareness: In order to manage a class successfully, the teacher has to be aware of what students are doing and how they are feeling. This means watching and listening as carefully as teaching. Teachers must be able to respond to what is going on in the classroom. • Using the voice A teacher’s most important instrument is his voice. Voice can have a crucial impact on students. The following issues must be taken into consideration: 1. Audibility: clarity, quality, projection 2. Variety 3. Conservation: take great care of their voices by breathing correctly, and avoiding shouting. • Talking to students The manner in which teachers interact with their students is a skill and crucial in establishing a rapport with them. The following techniques can be employed when talking to students: 1. Adapting language: Rough tuning is the simplification of language which parents and teachers make in order to increase the chances of their being understood. 2. Physical movements, gestures, facial expressions, and mimes. • Giving instructions There are two general rules for giving instructions: 1. Instructions must be kept as simple as possible 2. Instructions must be logical The teacher must check that the students have understood what they are asked to do. • STT & TTT:A good teacher maximizes STT and minimizes TTT as it is the students who need to practice and not the teacher. Also consider TTQ – teacher talking quality. This means that teachers who engage students with their stories and interaction, using appropriate comprehensible input will be helping their students to understand and acquire the language. Good teachers use their common sense and experience to get the right balance between STT and TTT. • Using the L1-mother tongue Where teachers and students share the same L1,its existence and potential value cannot be defined. The teacher should create an english environment and english should be used predominantly in the class. However, Li can be employed when explaining complicated instructions, when students need individual help or encouragement and when other methods of explaining meanings of abstract concepts and particular vocabulary have failed. In situations where the students and teacher don’t share a single L1, students can be asked to explain the differences and similarities between their L1 and english. • Creating Lesson stages Engage-Study-Activate are the different stages in a lesson. Students should be made aware of the end of a stage and the beginning of another through the way they(teachers) behave and things they say. When there is variety in a lesson, the students don’t feel bored and if the teacher explains each stage while also summarizing at the end, the students stay enthusiastic. • Different seating arrangements 1. Orderly rows 2. Circles and horse shoes 3. Separate tables All of the above mentioned seating arrangements have advantages and disadvantages. Based on the task, the seats should be arranged. • Different student groupings Whatever the seating arrangements in a class, students can be organized in different ways. They can work: 1. As a whole class 2. In groups 3. In pairs 4. Solo Good teachers are flexible and use different class groupings for different activities.