Some Classroom Management Problems, their Reasons and Solutions

I would like to share with you some ideas about classroom management.

Here are the problems, their reasons and my solutions.

Problem

Often when her class are about to embark on an activity it occurs to her that all the whispers and puzzled faces mean that they haven't a clue what to do. 

Possible reasons

a) instructions weren’t clear for students;

b) instructions were too complicated;

c) classroom management wasn’t on a proper level;

d) pre-task activity was omitted;

e) task is not appropriate for the students’ knowledge.

f) few auditory learners in the class.

Solutions

a -b) make clear, short and slow instructions again; use visual help; use body language, gestures, eye contact, facial expressions; don’t speak low monotone or a high-pitched voice , it can be difficult to understand or grating to the ears; speak on the right volume, don’t speak too fast..

c) solve problems with discipline, insist on attention during the lesson(even if you must dedicate to it the whole lesson ), explain your students that their poor knowledge is the result of their disorganization.

c) work in groups, monitor and help weak pairs. Call the strongest pair to the blackboard to present their work to the class.

d) do the pre-task activity with the class, translate or explain in English the new vocabulary.

e) check if students are ready for the task according to their previous knowledge.

f) use a lot of visual support and flash cards. 

Problem

One group of students has no interest in learning English and she wonders why she is wasting her time. 

Possible reasons

a) this group of students have fallen behind their study;

b) the activity doesn’t cover their learning style;

c) the group was formed from one learning style students or students all with the same low learning skills.

Solutions

a) uninterested group of students needs extra work to cope with their educational problems;

b) a teacher has to adopt the activity to her ‘uninterested group’ learning style;

c) correctly reform the group.

Move properly

Sitting behind a desk or standing on a dais creates a "distance" between the teacher and the students. Try to have an aisle and enough space between the rows so that you can easily reach those at the back. This way you can talk to individual students, allow the shy ones to ask questions quietly without the fear of embarrassment, as well as check their work and help them .

Some movement on your side is essential, because it allows the students to focus on you. 

Stepping forward to emphasise a point, small steps towards different sides of the class lets the student feel that the teacher is taking genuine interest in what he or she is saying 

Problem

Every time she puts the students in groups but they just talk in their L1 and usually about topics unrelated to the class 

Possible reasons

a) the topic is not interested to the students;

b) students have little vocabulary to speak the topic;

c) bad group formation, no leader;

d) low motivation and little control from the teacher.

Solutions

a) find the topic challenging the age group of your students;

b) practice the new vocabulary, use different aids to support all types of learners;

c) change group members to balance their group work, avoid close friends in the group.

d) Monitor, advise and motivate the students with brilliant marks and praise.

Problem

The course book she is using is terrible. It is too easy for the students and they get bored easily. She doesn’t want to spend hours planning as they don’t seem interested anyway

Possible reasons

a) low motivation;

b) boring lessons;

c) the course book is not relevant to the students’ abilities and knowledge.

Solutions

a-b-c) It's important to keep to the program, not to the course book, change the book when possible; if not, add some readers and grammar books; prepare songs, chants and games on the topic you need; do projects, involve students in self-study, encourage to go to the library and use the Internet; use a lot of different visual, auditorial and kinesthetic materials; look through your classroom management, correct it, make your lessons lively. 

Average: 3.9 (15 votes)

Submitted by Irinaglez on Sat, 08/12/2023 - 05:58

Hello!
Thank you for sharing your experience. Knowing what to do in each situation is important while reading others' experiences helps us reflect on ours.

Submitted by yessinia on Sat, 08/12/2023 - 04:24

Good night, some advice, what strategy could I use or what could I do, when I am reviewing the homework or explaining to the students that they did not understand and the other children are stopping, bothering their classmate, etc., what measures or what should I do to avoid these acted on, some tips, what could you give me? thanks for your kind reply

Submitted by Philippa on Mon, 08/14/2023 - 07:34

In reply to by yessinia

Hi Yessina,

Thanks for your question. It can be difficult to manage the rest of the class when you're trying to give students individual feedback. It could be a good idea to have some "fast finisher" activities planned for the students who have already finished or who don't need so much support. You could ask them to create some revision questions or vocabulary games for the rest of the class, for example. There are some more ideas in this webinar: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/news-and-events/webinars/webinars-teachers/finished-teacher-what-do-fast-finishers-young-learner

You might also find some other ideas in our free course for teachers, Classroom management for primary: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/training/classroom-management-primary 

I hope that helps, and good luck!

Philippa 

TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by Irinaglez on Sun, 08/06/2023 - 09:11

Hello everyone!
Thank you for sharing your experience. It's sometimes difficult to know what to do on the spot while teaching. Whatever we do, let the learning environment be the place students want to come back.

Submitted by Ariola Sula on Sat, 05/05/2018 - 11:05

Is a very helpful and well worth it.All of us face situations like these in our classroom.

Submitted by edwinbrito on Fri, 02/22/2013 - 22:41

Thanks for the good tips. I find them very useful. I learned about the importance of classroom management. Without it there is not effective instruction. Your approach of looking for possible reasons to identify the source of the problem and after that come out with solutions makes a lot of sense. Many times the solutions we apply are not adjusted to the situation. I also like to see the psychological side of classroom management. I find very useful watching how professionals do it, them I borrow or copy their techniques. This Psychologist explains some very good classroom management techniques to help improve our classroom management: http://youtu.be/X1wRkd7c6lA love it! :D

Submitted by Yuliya Hilchuk on Wed, 06/22/2011 - 17:41

Dear SonyaM,

Thanks a lot for your ideas! They are definitely worth taking into consideration! The reasons of the problems and their solutions are of a great value to me. I'm sure your pieces of advice will help me to avoid a lot of mistakes in my classroom management.

Dear Georginahudson,

Thank you for your comment, but I must add that I was working over "Classroom management..." during my ETTO course(2009) in a group together with a few talented English teachers. I strongly believe that sharing ideas with experienced and young colleagues is very beneficial.

Best Regards to you

and to my ETTO (2009) friends!

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