Company TESOL Teachers

Classroom ManagementDo I have classroom management problems? When I just became a local english teacher in China, of course I did. Firstly, let’s look at reasons why the children might be misbehaving. Are they bored? Does learning english not engage them? Are they tired with sitting at their desks? Maybe the children find english hard and do not think they can learn it so they hide their lack of confidence by misbehaving. Maybe the naughty child just thinks that the teacher does not like him or her. Or maybe the children are not motivated to be good because they are never praised when they are well behaved. So what can we do when these things happen? We must try to be their leader and help guide them to learn english well in a control setting. After 6 years of teaching in china, I would like to share some good rules for classroom management with you. Be a mentor and not a friend and earn the children's trust by being firm, fair and consistent. Do not try to be the students' best friend. They might laugh at you behind your back. Instead, try to be their mentor, a model for them to copy, not only in terms of learning english but also in terms of how you expect them to behave. You are someone they can trust and come to for help. We should be strict in the beginning. It is harder to become strict if you have been casual and easy-going. The children will trust you if you are consistent, clear in establishing the rules from day one and consistent in applying them. If you are inconsistent or if you yell at the children or lose your cool and suddenly punish a child unexpectedly, put them down, be sarcastic or embarrass them, they will know that they cannot trust you. Trust is the key to having a good relationship with the student. We should praise and encourage good behavior. Make sure you give plenty of praises and encouragement to students who are well behaved. For example, give out tasks to students who are being good and thank them for being well behaved or for doing something quietly. Rewarding students is all part of the process. This does not mean taking them out to pizza or giving gifts, but instead use ideas like verbal or written praise, a positive note to take home to parents, a star on the work, displaying a particular student's work on the wall, being given a seat of honor, being named the student of the day or week, being given a special responsibility such as running an errand for the teacher, doing the role-call, helping the teacher with a class activity, collecting or giving out materials, leading a group activity or tutoring another student. Students like the teacher giving them responsibility. It makes the students feel special and trusted by the teacher. Try to make your teaching style interesting and varied. Use different learning styles so that you reach all the students in your class. Just standing there talking at the board is not going to interest any children. By using a lot of classroom games and activities, you will engage your students in a fun and learning environment. The other advantage of using games is that they engage and motivate the children. If a student is enjoying the learning process, then he or she is far more likely to pay attention. It is important though, to choose appropriate games for your class size and level. So remember, be consistent with the rules, let the students enjoy english, and give plenty of praises. These are the keys to a good classroom management.