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      Classroom management
      Submitted by Ventosa on 12 January, 2009 - 00:28

      Dear English Teachers,

      I wonder if you could give an inexperienced teacher any advice about classroom management especially for university and college-level classroms. I've applied for a position at a university in my country and most probably I will have an interview on the 22th of January. I guess one the interview questions will be about 'classroom management'. I would be grateful if you could share with me your experiences and knowledge about it.

      Any help or advice would be appreciated.  

      Thanks in advance. 

      Average: 4.4 (8 votes)

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      Amir A. Ravayee's picture
      Amir A. Ravayee
      Helpful Tips
      Submitted on 12 January, 2009 - 16:14

      Dear Friend, The following tips can be helpful. 1. Set clear rules for dos and don’ts during the lesson.Make a ‘class contract’ clearly mentioning what the students must and mustn’t do. 2. Praise good behavior.A smile or some encouraging sentences may act well for the ‘noisy’ student who misbehaves.  3. Early treatment may save the lesson.Sometimes it is a good idea to deal with minor incidents privately with the student, usually at the end of the lesson. 4. Flexibility is an important issue in teaching style.The teacher should be ready to change his teaching and the content of the lesson when discipline problems arise in class. 5. If a student causes trouble ask him to change seat.This is a positive way to show to the learner that you have realized the trouble. 6. Have an interesting activity always ready.Such activities may be very useful when you need enough time to establishing a positive atmosphere.

      Amir Abbass Ravayee

       

      zira's picture
      zira
      Code of Behaviour and some more tips
      Submitted on 12 January, 2009 - 17:22

      Dear Amir

      I liked your idea of making a 'class contract'.  This resembles me what we call 'Code of Behaviour' in the classroom with shoulds and should nots both for students and teachers which can be signed and put on the wall in the classroom.  As soon as someone breaks this code you can easily point out on the issue and the signature of the person breaking the rule. It's also a good reminder for teacher.

      I also agree with your idea on flexibility through the course as well as through the lesson.  It's impossible to follow the prescribed lesson plan especially with the university/college students as much will depend on their needs, gaps, wants and even mood sometimes. 

      A good idea is to use pair-work, group-work and team-work sometimes in the form of competition.  My students like it very much.  The more different modes of work, the more dynamic it is the less time students will have to escape from working in the class.

      Any more tips?

       

      Ventosa's picture
      Ventosa
      Thank you
      Submitted on 15 January, 2009 - 22:10

      Dear Amir and Zira,

      I'd like to thank you both for your valuable comments and tips. I'm sure they will be very helpful to me if I manage to be an instructor of English. 

      Best wishes,

      Fulya