Managing the classroom by Jeremy Harmer How to teach English: Managing the classroom by Jeremy Harmer Presented by Keri and Kaan

Managing the classroom Classroom management The teacher in the classroom Using the voice Talking to students Giving instructions Student Talk and teacher talk Using the L1 Creating Lesson stages Different seating arrangements & student groupings

Classroom Management Classroommanagementonline.com Variables Space Students : groups vs alone Classroom Time Appearance Voice Talking to students Mother tongue role Difficult situations Classroommanagementonline.com

Teacher in the classroom Physical Location? Proximity Appropriacy Movement Awareness Standing ? How close ? Still or walking around ? The teacher’s primary responsibility is response-ability (Wilberg, as cited by Harmer, 2007, p. 35)

Self Awareness How our students see us

Importance of Attire (Roach, 1997) “Dress Professionally” “Relationship of GTA dress with student perceptions of affective/cognitive learning, student misbehaviors, and student ratings of instruction” GTA training often disregard “Non-verbal” factors. Attire = attitudes, beliefs, values, socio-economics True? False? Perception is everything Persuasiveness Competence, credibility & professionalism.

…in the Classroom. Different setting = different effects Often no official dress code but strong unofficial preference & effectiveness Dress Seminars ? “One of the reasons the teachers are not paid as professionals is that they don’t look like professionals” (Molloy as cited by Lang in Roach, 1997, p. 129) Respect? Approachability?

Teacher Assistant Attire…. Negative Impact ? Positive Impact?

…Conclusion “In light of study results, elevated TA attire levels create a positive, professional impression on students that is reflected in student attitudes toward the course, the instructor, the content, etc.” (Roach, 1997, p.137) strange-lands.com

Audibility Variety Conservation Audibility Variety Conservation Voice quality – projection – Volume Variety Type of voice Type of lesson Conservation Care of voice – breathing – conserve energy Using the Voice Audibility Variety Conservation

Talking to students Manner Empathy Rapport Teacher – Student  Parent – Child Rough Tuning It is the simplification of language which both parents and teachers make in order to increase their chances of being understood. Adjust language use : Grammatical complexity, vocab use, Tone. Kind of language; what they wish to say & Manner.

Giving Instructions 2 Rules: Simple & logical Check understanding Mother tongue & Translation ilookchina.net

Student Talk & Teacher Talk Student Talk Time (STT) Teacher Talk Time (TTT) Not enough ? Too much ? TTQ Teacher Talking Quality Student centered or Teacher centered ?

Using the L1 L1 L2 Beginner level Advanced level Progression from L1 to L2 Beginner level Advanced level Giving complicated instructions Use L1 when other ways of explaining meaning are ineffective May aid in pronunciation Help make connections and see differences between L1 & L2 L2 should predominate Use L1 only when other ways of explaining meaning are ineffective When is it appropriate to use the L1 in the classroom? It’s pretty obvious that the teacher will need to use the L1 at the beginner level so that the L2 learner can understand what the teacher is saying. The beginner level student will automatically translate into the L1. This is natural. As L2 learning progresses, teaching should use the L2 as much as possible unless other ways of explaining meaning are ineffective and/or take too much of class time. Using the L1 for pronunciation may also be beneficial so that the student can make connections, for example, to make distinctions between the v and b in Spanish. Give example with the words: bueno and verdad. L1 can also be used to make connections or see differences between the L1 & L2, for instance words that are cognates—they look the same in the L1 & L2 and have the same meaning across languages such as most of the words ending in ‘tion’ in English to French or Spanish. At the advanced level, L2 should predominate. The L1 should only be used when other ways of explaining meaning are ineffective or too time consuming.

Creating lesson stages Arouse student’s interest Signal beginning of activity or lesson Hold and/or regain students’ attention Signal ending of activity or lesson Engage/arouse interest by letting them know what they will be doing and discussing outcomes or results. Try to maintain element of surprise because students may become bored if they know the ending to the story, so to speak. It is important to signal when the activity or lesson is beginning. To do this the teacher needs to get the students’ attention. I’ve had teachers who had little bells, used their hands to clap, slammed books against desks and even threw board erasers at students to get their attention, although I don’t advocate this approach. What you do will be up to you depending on what you think is appropriate for your class. It is also important to signal when an activity is finished. This can be done by summarizing what was done so that the students have a sense of accomplishment and can leave the class with a positive attitude.

Different seating arrangements Different seating arrangements indicate a number of different approaches. Orderly rows: Pros—teacher has a clear view of all the students and vice versa. Good for maintaining eye contact. Easy for teacher to circulate around the class. Especially suited to showing videos, giving lectures, showing PowerPoint and other presentations, anything that is directed to the whole class. Cons: Not student to student interactive. The teacher must make sure students at the back are participating. Keep individual participation random because the predictability of going row by row will become tedious. Keep them on their toes! Circles and Horseshoes: Suitable for smaller classes. A circle sends a message to the students about equal importance in the class and in participation. Although the teacher is in the dominant position in a horseshoe setting, there is less rigidity than orderly rows. The circle and horseshoe are supposed to lower barriers between everyone seated in these types of arrangements and they tend to be more interactive. Separate tables: Allows teacher to work with a table of students while the other students at other tables continue working. This arrangement is very useful in mixed ability classes, when students work with computers, collaborative activities. Drawbacks to this seating arrangement may be compatibility between students at each table. It also makes it more difficult when addressing the whole class.

More than just seating arrangement “In classroom settings where students are required or elect to bring several items to class, for example, a backpack, jacket, and handbag, in addition to notebooks and textbooks, defining one’s own territory may become increasingly important as a means of comfortably engaging in active learning” (Burgess & Kaya, 2007, p. 872). So keep in mind when setting up seating arrangements that crowding and issues of personal space are equally important as how the seats are arranged.

Different student groupings PROS CONS Whole Class Presenting material (lectures) Drills/practice Creates sense of belonging Less individual attention Inhibition because perceived as more demanding Group/Pair work Cooperative and interactive Increases independence Increases participation Teacher can work with a group while other groups work Compatibility Dominant vs. subordinate May encourage disruptiveness

Different student groupings PROS CONS Solo Students work at own pace Gives students thinking time Allows individuality ? Class to Class Interaction between others May encourage positive feelings and higher motivation Can be time consuming Solo work can also give the student a break from the group-centered nature of language learning. The solo student can also consider own individual needs. Class to class allows interaction between students who may not otherwise meet. In different-level classes interacting, higher level students may feel positive about helping lower level students and lower level students may gain motivation from seeing someone else achieve a higher level and being able to interact with that person. The book says that class to class is good for surveys, discussions, lectures and presentations.

Discussion Questions Harmer does not mention this in the chapter, but to what degree do you think culture (the teacher’s and the students’) plays a role in how the teacher manages the classroom? How important is the teacher’s appearance? Clothes? Grooming? Hygiene?

References 2 homeless men [Cartoon]. (n.d.). Retrieved January 31, 2012 from, http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/s/ shabby.asp. Burgess, B., & Kaya, N. (2007). Territoriality: Seat preferences in different types of classroom arrangements. Environment and Behavior, 39(6), 859-877. Retrieved January 27, 2012, from the Sage Publications database. Can you help me, Mrs. Martin? [Cartoon]. (n.d.). Retrieved January 31, 2012 from, http://classroommanagement online.com. Dress code [Cartoon]. (n.d.). Retrieved January 31, 2012 from, http://strange-lands.com/2010/07/dress-code-for-men- and-women-in-public-schools.html

References Harmer, J. (2007). How to teach English. Essex, UK: Longman Male holding a book [Clipart]. (2012) Retrieved January 31, 2012 from, http://www.graphicsfactory.com/ Clip_Art/ Education/teacher401_138795.html Teaching before and after-edited [Cartoon]. (n.d.). Retrieved January 31, 2012 from, http://ilookchina.net/?s=cartoon