Teach English in Kaizhang Zhen - Yuncheng Shi

Discipline is very important in every system of education and needs to be handled with care. In this task, I will focus on the topic: How to maintain discipline in the classroom. Before looking at the techniques on how to maintain discipline in the classroom, I will first of all mention some of the disciplinary problems most teachers of English as a foreign language face and the causes of the problems, in the body of this work below. Materials included in this work is based on my experience as an EFL teacher for the past five years. This piece of work is centered on young learners. I have been an English teacher in my country, teaching English to French students. The students are well disciplined. The school has a disciplinary procedure whereby all the students are expected to respect. The students understand that, as a teacher walks into a classroom, all of them must be quiet, stay focus and listen attentively. My first year as an EFL teacher in Thailand was very challenging. Some of the disciplinary problems faced as an EFL teacher include the points listed below: - Lack of concentration and talking during lessons: This is a very serious problem faced by many EFL teachers. The students can only focus for a maximum of about ten to fifteen minutes. Some can’t stop talking with their friends and some are distracted either by touching their pens, pencils or something else. - Shy and timid: Most EFL students are very shy and timid to stand up and talk in the mist of their friends. They have low self-esteem. - Some classrooms have special students: These special students could be very naughty and indiscipline at times. Some of the students turned to behave like the special students, thus leading to indiscipline in the classroom. - Some students would hardly hand in or even do their homework, and sometimes they can’t finish the class work in time, because they spend much time playing and talking with their friends. Above are some of the disciplinary problems faced by EFL teachers in the classroom. Before mentioning some of the solutions to these problems, I would first of all talk about some of the possible causes of the problems. The causes of the above disciplinary problems are as a result of the following: - The cultural and family background of the students: I experienced lack of concentration in some of my students. After some findings I discovered most of them had family issues such as; the parents being divorced or always fighting. I also found out that most of these students live with their grandparents who pet them so much, and have little control over them. I remembered vividly one of my students attempted suicide because her father separated from her mom. - Most of the young learners don’t understand why they have to study a foreign language. They do not know the importance. I used to ask this question to my students, ‘Why do you study English’? And their response is; because my dad or mom asked me to study. - Most of the students are shy and lack self-esteem because they are afraid of making mistakes and be embarrassed or laughed at, by their friends. - Some students turned to copy the behavior of some special students because children have the altitude of easily copying wrong behavior than good ones. - Classroom organization and sitting positions can also lead to a disciplinary problem. - Sometimes the students are lazy to do their homework due to the fact that, they feel reluctant to read the language believing that the language is not interesting and they won’t understand. They surrender without attempting. After looking at the possible causes of the disciplinary problems, I will proceed by stating some possible solutions below. - Always start the first day of teaching by making rules, that is, classroom rules, and let the students themselves suggest the possible punishments for those who break any of the rules. - Try to know the names of all your students. Many students are happy knowing that the teacher could remember their names. Sometimes students will be scared to be involved in disciplinary problems in the class, for fear that, the teacher could mention their names to the school authority. - The lessons must be fun filled with entertaining activities that will make all the students engage in and learn as well. Try to make the students see the importance of the language and why they have to try hard to know it. - Acknowledge and praise any student who makes an attempt to answer a question or participate in the classroom activities. - Divide the class into groups and they lesson activities should be in the form of a game. Allocate points to the different groups according to their performance. Students love games and will all participate. Sometimes appreciate the winners with prizes such as pencils, candies or others. - Try to know about the culture of your students and also a little about their family backgrounds. - Share the problems with your colleagues and also share ideas on how to handle them. Very serious disciplinary problems should be reported to the school authority. In my school, we have the Professional learning Community (PLC) where the teachers sit in a meeting every month to discourse the problems encountered and think of possible solutions. - Assign responsibilities and leaders to the very slow and naughty students. Try to be close to them, so that you can talk with them and help them. - The sitting positions can be changed every week and it should be organized such that the teacher can get the attention of all the students. To conclude, from the above disciplinary problems, the causes and how they could be managed, I understand that discipline is a very important issue in every system and needs to be handled with care.