Teach English in Taihe Zhen - Chongqing

Seating arrangements in the classroomThe way in which we arrange the position of the students and ourselves is important and greatly depends on the space we have available, type of chairs and tables, the materials available, the age of our students, their personality and their nationality. You might feel that it?s better to pair a weak student with a stronger student for pair-work activities. When doing group, work you will want to mix pairs because it adds variety. It will be less of a routine if the students get to work with different people and personalities. This can also be an effective way of dealing with pairs that do not work well together or have problems when working together. When planning a seating arrangement the teacher has to consider a number of issues. The type of activity and the answer to the following questions should help in deciding which is the most suitable for each lesson or stage of the lesson. How will it affect the classroom atmosphere? Is it conducive to classroom control? Will it allow for maximum student talk time(STT)? Is it possible to do all planned activities? How will the size of the group affect the arrangement? How will the teacher and student relationships vary in each case? There are many different ways to arrange a room. Each way has advantages and disadvantages. A few ways to arrange a room are: orderly rows, circles and horseshoes, and separate tables. The first way to arrange a room is with orderly rows. This has been the traditional form of seating for many years in many schools. Some advantages of this form of seating are that it allows the teacher to move freely around the room, the students have a clear view of the teacher, the teacher has a clear view of all the students, it makes lecturing easy, allows the teacher to maintain eye contact and also helps reduce discipline problems. It?s also great and effective for whole classroom activities. This is probably the best way of seating for larger classes of twenty five or more students. With these larger classes it?s often the only solution. A disadvantage to this arrangement is that it has a very formal feel. The next way of seating arrangement is Circles and horseshoes. This form is usually better with smaller classes. This is where the teacher and board are situated at the open end of the arrangement. With this form it makes the teacher?s position less dominating and is easier to set up pair work. It also allows students to be more focused on the lesson and can have eye contact with all the other class members. In this situation the class has a more intimate feel to it. With this arrangement the position of the teacher is important. The last form is separate tables or desks. With this arrangement the classroom has an even more informal feel to it. It?s easier for the teacher to work with individual students or small groups without disturbing the rest of the class. This arrangement is useful with group work but can create discipline problems. A disadvantage is that the teacher will have a harder time maintaining eye contact with all the students. When arranging a classroom you must also keep in mind where you as a teacher will be located. It?s best if all the students are able to see you throughout the class. These are some forms you can arrange a classroom. Remember when arranging seating in the classroom to take into consideration the space available, type of chairs and or tables, materials available, age of the student, their personality and nationality. Also be aware of the number of students and how it will affect the class as a whole. It?s great to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each form and then choose which is better for you and the students.