Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Guxiang Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Chaozhou Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language.
This unit concerns classroom management, covering in turn the use of eye contact, voice and gesture, the grouping and arrangement of the classroom, writing on the board, giving individual student attention, the balance between teacher and student talk time, giving instruction, building rapport, and the maintaining of discipline. Firstly, the unit examines the role of eye contact, voice modulation and hand or body gestures in the management of the class, and how each can be efficiently utilized to maximum effect. Using students' names is mentioned here, and the importance of placing a name at the end of a question rather than at the beginning to ensure all students' attention and participation is emphasized Secondly, a look is taken at the grouping of students and classroom arrangement. Student grouping, such as whole-class, smaller groups, pairwork or individual students, should be adjusted to suit the activity, and varied to prevent familiarity. Classroom arrangement, whether in rows, semicircles, individual desks or otherwise, should be determined in consideration of such factors as class size, student-student interaction, the effect on class atmosphere and conductivity to classroom control etc. The teacher's position in the classroom will also need to be varied depending on the current activity and mood of the class. After this, several other miscellaneous issues pertaining to class management are looked over, starting with writing on the board and the importance of minimizing time spent facing away from the class, some methods for facilitating such including the use of flashcards or an overhead projector, prior preparation and having the students write on the board. Giving individual and equal attention to one's students is also important, as is balancing teacher and student talking time and particularly ensuring that unnecessary teacher talking time is eliminated. Teacher-student and student-student rapport is also important to the success of the class, and can be established through encouraging discussion and personal opinions, showing a personal interest, switching up pairs regularly, allowing students to correct each other etc. Finally, the unit focuses on what is arguably one of the most vital and often discussed aspects of class management, namely discipline and class control. While multiple reasons can contribute to behavior problems such as boredom, lack of respect, family problems, class size etc, some of which are unavoidable or beyond the teacher's control; however, many problems can be prevented by punctuality, consistency, being always well prepared for class, showing respect to one's students, and keeping one's temper, among other things. If problems arise regardless, it's important to keep calm and within your school's disciplinary code, acting immediately before the problem escalates and adjusting the classroom dynamics if necessary. I benefited from the comprehensive information given in this unit, particularly the sections on giving instructions and grouping students, and gained a more well-rounded overview of classroom management and different outlooks of some aspects of it.
