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Comments
olina
Always speak to them in English so they have to work to understand you and give instructions in English. Someone will know enough to translate for the rest if they really don't understand.
Put up a banner across the front of the room with all the requirements of the year - either the topics in the book or what you got in your teacher's manual and get them to make sure they can check off each section.
If you have exams or tests for each section, you can run off copies and have them in folders for the students to take as they finish their section of the book. You can give them surprise exams if you think that their partner did most of the work for them and they don't really know the sections, especially at the beginning when they will try to get out of helping each other.
You have to plan for June though because most groups will have finished the book and be wanting something else - that is when you can have fun and do all the extra things that they tell you about in your teacher's manual or just go on picnics, watch English movies and have fun with English.
Instead of yelling, lower your voice until they can barely hear it but say what you were going to say with equal force of body language. That always intrigues students and they will stop to try to figure out what you are saying. Or sing the instructions. Turn off the lights in the classroom so there is minimum stimulation even if it is very dark. Your eyes will soon grow accustomed to the darkness and you will still be able to catch those that are misbehaving.
Did you take our advice and establish classroom rules with the students and conseqences when they misbehaved that they dream up? It is really only two or three students who are taking the lead and if you can get them on your side, your problems will disappear. Follow them home after school and find out where they hang out and what they do, what they are good at. If they know you know where they live, that will be enough of a deterant usually. If you can't do that, speak to them privately after class and ask them if they know how their behaviour is bothering you and ask how you are going to work together to solve the problem. Don't talk to them in a group or they will support one another, not you.
Laugh about the situation and try to remember how you treated substitutes and extra credit teachers. They are always treated with disrespect until the students come to know them so participate in school acitivites as much as you can - watch their games, cheer them on at sports days, admire their paintings or music or writing or helping out the younger ones. Catch them being good.
speakup
Hi!
The real problem, as far as I can see, is the matter of their motivation. We all have some textbooks that we have to cover. Why don't you try to use the book just as the starting point? What I do, I write the words they don't know on the board and when teaching grammar I try to make it fun for them. I don't know how old your students are and what level they are but there are many interesting activities or games for all ages. Or, have you tried with some Internet activities like exchanging e-mails or some collaborative projects with schools from other countries? They can be very helpful. Or, you can try and make a PowerPoint presentation of grammar you want to teach. We all have the same problem of making them concentrate on the textbooks, simply becuase they don't like it. Believe me, when you include some new things, there will be a group of students who will greet it. That could be the first step.
I've been working for 18 years and my students are very successful in passing the Cambridge ESOL exams but we also use the Internet, videoconferencing and do a lot of projects with schools from around the world. The projects helped them learn new things about the partner countries as well as improve their knowledge of English.
This requires a great deal of your energy, but might solve your problem.
Mirjana
shenor
You don't say how old the students/pupils are, and different age groups need different approaches.
Never ever yell at a class, that just amuses them and makes them interested in getting you to yell louder. Just to get attention from a noisy class, I have taken a novel into the classroom with me, waited first to see if I was going to get attention, then when I didn't, I sat down took out my novel and started to read. I completely ignored the class. It usually takes about 10-15 minutes before someone says 'hey, aren't you suppose to be teaching us?' I reply that it doesn't sound as if they want teaching and that I get paid whether I teach or not. I leave it up to them. (you have to be brave here, as the teacher in the next room may appear to find out why your class is rioting)
When I have done this (students aged 16-18) it has worked as there are always students that actually want to learn and they usually get the others to be quiet. Once you have their attention it is better to start with a warming-up activity, getting them to talk to each other, or playing a grammar game (Grammar GAmes by Rinvolucci is excellent), rather than jumping straight into the textbook.
This only usually needs doing once, the next time the class will know that you will ignore them if they are not interested. Surprisingly enough they usually do want to learn.