TEFL Liberty North Carolina

Choosing to focus on discipline in the classroom stems from my personal experiences, perception of what will be important to gain familiarity with in my tefl career, and the specific need of teaching young learners. The research into this subject ought to provide solid insight into how to maintain order in the classroom, without taking away from the joyful nature or ‘fun factor' of the class. In my short experience as an efl teacher, children have very short attention spans. Here in South Korea, they spend most of their day at public school as well as at academies in the afternoons and evenings. So, teaching young learners english here can be a challenge because students are tired, or not interested in another class (let alone an english class). Many of them just want to play, or talk to their friends, but most of all, do something fun. I've learned that one should not spend too much time on one activity as well. There was a time—recently—where I chose to have the class play the ‘Words in a Word' game. The game was fun, but after 20 minutes or so, it was all but clear that the students were getting bored. My having to ask students to be quiet actually increased during the game, which slowed all other subsequent activities. In taking away some the freedoms of Korean young students, I got them to pay attention. I believe it is very important to stay calm and not take anything said personally as well. What I've learned/found through this tefl course as well as through doing some research, is that a good, interactive lesson plan is the greatest preventer of classroom disruption (teflBOOTCAMP [teflbootcamp.com]). By having a schedule for the students to follow, disruption should be ameliorated, as they will have things to do. The article also mention that all activities should take, when it comes to children: their age doubled minus two. This is integral to effective discipline control. One has to be a man or woman of their word, too, if they are to teach. If they said they would ask a student to leave or would take away some classroom freedoms, and the time comes to do so and the teacher doesn't do it, the student could surely think that the teacher doesn't mean what he or she says. So, they could just choose to say what they want. Understanding behavior modification and psychology could provide much value as an efl teacher to juniors or children. Giving a child attention for unwanted behavior is a bad idea (teflBOOTCAMP [teflbootcamp.com]). By rewarding the well-behaved child next to the misbehaving child, a teacher can work towards disarming the disruptive student of their defiance. But even students who don't want to talk can be a problem. Here in South Korea, some students say, “Why should I study english? I'm Korean!” These students can get disruptive, and it doesn't mean they are incapable or less able to carry out the lesson, but that they don't want to participate. A sound, creative and manageable lesson plan ought to remedy this situation somewhat. However, sometimes this is not enough, and so clear consequences should be communicated to the class, and followed up on if students do not take heed to the rules given. http://teflbootcamp.com/tefl-skills/student-discipline-efl-classroom/ http://suite101.com/article/classroom-management-and-discipline-in-the-esl-classroom-a235894