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Unit 5 mainly covered classroom management. A few great points that I would like to take from this lesson are: 1. A teacher should be able to change his/her role depending on the particular activity as well as the conditions of the classroom. 2. Body language can be used for various purposes. For example, eye contact can be used for discipline, as an indicator, to encourage participation, while gestures can be used to make the class interesting, adjust the learning pace, and help convey meaning. 3. Voice and language level should match the level of students you are teaching. When giving instructions, simple language should be used and the language should be at or below the ability of the students. 4. A good suggestion is to use a student's name at the end of a question, so that all students are kept in anticipation. 5. Grouping students can be based on class size, students' personalities, age, nationality, and type of furniture in the classroom. Furthermore, partners and groups should be continuously mixed up, so they have opportunities to speak with other students. This will prevent boredom and give them a chance to speak with students of other speaking abilities, while also giving them new perspectives. 6. A teacher's standing or sitting time will depend on the type of activity and what kind of nuance/classroom environment the teacher wishes to convey. Standing is good when giving directions, while sitting is acceptable when students are reading or during the activation stage. 7. Teachers should try not to turn their back to the class as much as possible. They can do this by using and overhead projector, using vocab cards, pre-writing on the board, and writing little bits of information at a time while speaking in between. 8. It's best to avoid always picking on certain students, such as the shy or quiet ones. Rather, help build up his/her confidence by asking questions you know he/she is likely to know or be able to answer. Praising him/her afterwards is also important. 9. Teacher Talking Time (TTT) should be limited by giving simple yet direct instructions, avoiding jargon, and using gestures. 10. Problems may arise due to multiple factors, but should be handled immediately. A teacher should focus on the misbehavior, rather than the student. Moreover, it is important to keep one's cool. Lastly, don't make empty threats that you cannot keep. Overall, unit 5 was useful for learning about how to deal with certain unexpected situations and problems that might arise while teaching. There were also good tips for classroom setup and classroom dynamics that I plan on using in my own classroom.
