Classroom management

If we want to manage classrooms effectively, we have to be able to handle a

range of variables. These include how the classroom space is organised,
whether the students are working on their own or in groups, and how we
organise classroom time. We also need to consider how we appear to the
students, and how we use our most valuable asset - our voice. The way we talk
to students - and who talks most in the lesson - is another key factor in
classroom management. We also need to think about what role, if any, there
may be for the use of the students’ mother tongue in lessons. Successful
classroom management also involves being
able to deal with difficult situations.
Our physical presence can play a large part in our management of the
classroom
environment. The way we move and stand, and the degree to which we are
physically demonstrative can have a clear effect on the management of the
class. Most importantly, the way we can respond to what happens in class, and
the degree to which we are aware of what is going on, often marks the
difference between successful teaching and less satisfactory lessons.
All teachers, like all people, have their physical characteristics and habits, and
they will take these into the classroom with them. But there are several issues
to consider which are not just matters of personality or style and which have a
direct bearing on the students’ perception of us.
Organizing tasks
The success of a task in bringing about learning and engaging students depends
not only on good initial task design but also on how you run it. It is worth
thinking carefully about the way you give instructions, provide ongoing support
during the task process, and give feedback at the end.
Instructions
Class attention
Everyone has to be listening when you are giving instructions; otherwise,
students
may do the task wrong, or waste time consulting each other or getting you to
repeat yourself. It is worth waiting an extra minute or two before you start
giving
instructions to make sure that everyone is attending. This is particularly true if
the
task involves getting into small groups or pairs. Once they are in groups,
students’ attention will be naturally directed to each other rather than to you.
And if they have written or graphic material in their hands, the temptation will
be to look at it, which may also distract them.
Repetition
A repetition or added paraphrase of the instructions may make all the
difference.
Students’ attention may wander occasionally, and it is important to give them
more than one chance to understand what they have to do. Also, it helps to
present the information again in a different mode: if it’s not too long, both say
it and write it up on the board, and/or ask students themselves to recap the
main points.
Brevity
Students – in fact, all of us – have only a limited attention span; they cannot
listen
to you for very long at maximum concentration. Make your instructions as brief
as you can. This means thinking fairly carefully about what you can omit, as
much as about what you should include! In some situations, it may also mean
using students’ L1, as a more accessible and shorter alternative to a long and
difficult English explanation.
Examples
Very often an instruction only ‘comes together’ for an audience when
illustrated by an example, or preferably more than one. If it is a textbook
exercise, do the first one or two items with the students. If it is a
communicative task, perform a “rehearsal’ with a volunteer student or two, to
show how it is done.
Checking to understand
It is not enough just to ask ‘Do you understand?’; students will sometimes say
they did, even if they did not, out of politeness or unwillingness to lose face, or
because they think they know what they have to do when in fact they have
completely misunderstood! It is useful to ask them to do something that will
show their understanding: to paraphrase in their own words or, if you have
instructed in English, to translate into their L1. This also functions as an extra
repetition for those who missed something earlier.
Ongoing support
One of the basic functions of a teacher is to help the students succeed in doing
the learning tasks: it therefore makes sense to provide support in the course of
the task itself. In a teacher-led interactive process, this involves such things as
allowing plenty of time to think, making the answers easier through giving hints
and guiding questions, or confirming the beginnings of responses to encourage
continuations. In group or individual work, it means being ‘there’ for the
students, available to answer questions or provide help where needed.
On the other hand, we also want to encourage students to manage on their
own, and not to be too teacher-dependent. So this means treading a narrow
line between providing help when students really could not do the task
successfully without it, and holding back or challenging them when you know
they could, with a bit more effort, manage on their own.
In either case, it needs to be clear to the students that you are involved and
aware of what is going on.
Feedback
It is important to provide a feedback stage whose main aim is to ‘round off’ the
task: by evaluating results, commenting on the work done, and signaling an end
to this activity as preparation for moving on to the next one. Showing
appreciation for the results.
Usually, a task based on group and individual work has a clear outcome that
can be used as the basis for a full-class feedback stage. If it is problem-solving,
elicit and discuss the solutions that different groups have come up with. If it is a
brainstorming activity, pool their ideas on the board. If it is a discussion,
comment on their suggestions and ideas. Such procedures may not be
necessary for language learning, but they show that you relate to and
appreciate what the students have achieved.
Summarizing and evaluating
In some cases, there are no obvious final results you can relate to in full class –
for example, if you have been doing a teacher-led exercise and providing
feedback
as it was going on, or if the students have been doing writing assignments that
need to be checked individually. However, even in such cases, there is still a
need for a brief full-class feedback session. This may review the main learning
points that have been the focus of the task and may provide evaluative
comments: appreciation for the work accomplished, mention of aspects that
need further work, or singling out particular students for praise.
To manage a class successfully, the teacher has to be aware of what students
are doing and, where possible, how they are feeling. This means watching and
listening just as carefully as teaching. This will be difficult if we keep too much
distance or if we are perceived by the students to be cold and aloof.
Awareness means assessing what students have said and responding
appropriately.
We need to be as conscious as possible of what is going on in the students’
heads.
It is almost impossible to help students learn a language in a classroom setting
without making contact with them in this way. The exact nature of this contact
will vary from teacher to teacher and from class to class.
Finally, it is not just awareness of the students that is important. We also need
to be self-aware, to try to gauge the success (or otherwise) of our behaviour
and to gain an understanding of how our students see us. The teacher’s
physical approach and personality in the class is one aspect of class
management to consider. Another is one of the teacher’s chief tools: the voice.
Perhaps our most important instrument as teachers is our voice. How we speak
and what our voice sounds like have a crucial impact on classes. When
considering the use of the voice in the management of teaching, there are
three issues to think about. Teachers need to be audible. They must be sure
that the students at the back of the class can hear them just as well as those at
the front. But audibility cannot be divorced from voice quality: a rasping shout
is always unpleasant.
Teachers do not have to shout to be audible. Good voice projection is more
important than volume (though the two are, of course, connected). Speaking
too softly or unpleasantly loudly is both irritating and unhelpful for students.