Teach English in Shuangquan Zhen - Weinan Shi

Classroom management and teacher’s role are closely connected, and I would claim that both are affected by the task being undertaken. I appear to be in good company since the present course states “the teacher must be flexible and change his/her role according to the activity and situation ….” (Unit 5). Jeremy Harmer illustrates the same idea by means of a continuum showing the two extremes of the teacher’s role: controller at one end and facilitator at the other. (The Practice of English Language Teaching: New Edition p. 236). He then moves along the line according to the activity, controller at one extreme being associated with error correction and facilitator with tutoring at the other. My own examples would be introducing the interrogative form of the past tense, where control is an absolute, with correction a close second, depending on the stage of development. At the other end of the spectrum would be a Community Language activity, with the teacher remaining outside the circle and being available only as a facilitator when guidance is required. That being said, I would claim that, in terms of effective classroom management, most lessons have stages where the teacher will have no choice other than that of controller. These are 1. Explaining the lesson aims and the activities leading to their achievement. The explanation and instructions must be clear and unequivocal, and care must be taken to ensure that all the students are involved, focused and understand. Since this activity will usually take place at the start of a class, student focus can only be guaranteed when all chatting has stopped (something that tends to be more difficult in monolingual classes), and the ubiquitous cell-phones switched off. How the teacher achieves this will be up to his/her character and approach. It will certainly call for that indefinable quality that is not taught at college: classroom presence. 2. Organizing the class for various activities, be they pair work, small-group or large-group work. In my experience, this is the point at which a class is most likely to unravel. If it is not to do so, the teacher must have a very clear idea of what he/she wants (preferably having rehearsed the whole procedure mentally) and must have the undivided attention of the students: control again. However, if this latter procedure is not to degenerate into something approaching a military manoeuver, another quality absolutely indispensable to successful classroom management must be brought to bear: teacher-student rapport. Like classroom presence, at its best it occurs naturally as a result of what I call class “chemistry”; but, fortunately, means of achieving it can be taught, or at least encouraged. Top of the list has to be knowing the students’ names: without this (and it is not to be taken for granted) there can be no rapport. Next in importance is encouraging feedback (asking questions, giving opinions and adding information). Here, of course, success will depend on the age/level of the students, but where possible it should be encouraged. Fair and equal treatment of all students is another sine qua non at all levels, along with frequent changing of pair or group partners, always keeping an eye out for any personal animosities/national antipathies. One aspect of classroom management that I have found to be neglected in training is cultural sensitivity. Keith Johnson touches on it briefly (Introduction to Foreign Language Learning and Teaching pp 188, 189) when he mentions opposition to pair or group work in Pakistan because it is seen to detract from teacher authority: and in Vietnam because of the concept of the class being “family”, whose members must never be separated. I myself once encountered opposition to group work on a more practical, but still cultural, basis. A group of Middle Eastern school teachers totally refused even to consider applying group work because “it takes us half an hour to get them settled in their seats. We dare not let them out again.” An aspect of cultural impact on classroom management that I have never seen discussed at training level is that of the conflict between monochronic vs polychronic cultures. The schedule governs the former, while, in the latter, whatever is considered most important at any particular time is attended to … and what is attended to does not necessarily correspond to the schedule. This can have a serious impact on classroom management when it results … as it inevitably does … in tardy arrivals with their accompanying disruption. This is especially significant when instructions are being given on lesson aims and activities. It takes a great deal of skill for a teacher to keep the disruption to a minimum and thus maintain control over such a vital part of the lesson. This is best done by an application of agreements drawn up between students and teacher at the start of each teaching session. What these agreements are, and the extent they are adhered to, will depend to a great extent on student-teacher rapport. However, the problem can be compounded when the local school/college authorities apply a strict and punitive policy of enforcing punctuality in a culture where the concept is, if not alien, certainly not obeyed. The unfortunate teacher is then caught between the Scylla of institutional bureaucracy and the Charybdis of student resentment. Once again, good rapport is vital to successful management, along with a strong application of common sense … another indefinable quality essential to good teaching. These, then, are my brief thoughts on classroom management. I have tried to show familiarity with established authorities, while presenting some aspects gleaned from personal experience. Throughout runs the common thread of that principal element of classroom management: student-teacher rapport. Works Cited The Practice of English Language Teaching, New Edition. Jeremy Harmer. Longman 1993 An Introduction to Foreign Language Learning and Teaching. Keith Johnson. Routledge 2018