CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
Who hasn't ever had a group for whom you feel like stepping away from the classromm and never come back? May be it is the poor level of English, the misbehaviour,or any other reason that make us reflect on whether this is the right career for us. Classroom management tells us that there are many things to bear in mind before blaming it on the students such as: the sitting arrangement, the use of L1, pair or group work, the feedback, among others. Knowing how to handle situations at the right time and in the right way will help us love our career again!!!
Here is a video that reminded me of my days as a Spanish Language Assistant in UK. I'm sure this website will be useful to look at and discuss with colleagues.
Video of teacher in a Spanish class in UK
While doing an essay on working in groups in EFL. I found this interesting website from our colleagues in Costa Rica. This is a country that has taken the learning of English seriously. I know this from a friend that works for the government there and had the chance to meet in a cultural exchange in USA, Sandra Araya.
Revista Actualidades Investigativas Educativas
Group
work in TEFL, useful strategy?
In the field of Teaching English group work has proven
to be effective to learn and acquire the target language. For one thing,
communication naturally flows among students as their chances to talk are wider
than those in a ‘whole’ class interaction. As a result, independence is
promoted because the teacher is mainly a monitor or a facilitator while the
students are discussing, making decisions or fulfilling a task. Harmer (2007) says “Group work and pair work
give the students chances for greater independence.” Advantages like these are
numerous. However; group work also has some drawbacks that teachers should be
aware of, otherwise; the experience of working in groups can become an obstacle
to language learning rather than a useful strategy.
The first disadvantage is that students can become
noisy while working in groups. The excitement of changing their sitting
arrangement and everybody talking at the same time in order to fulfill the task
can make students loud as they are now talking to their peers, not to the
teacher. Students need to know that they do not have to shout to be heard. One
way of avoiding this ‘noise’, is that as the teacher goes round the classroom
checking everybody is working; he/she should also check for noise. So, if a
group is being too loud, he/she stands up next to the group holding a ‘shush’
card. Personally, this has worked very well in my class and is accompanied with
a punishment students previously agreed like being the first to present their
work or assessing their work with a lower grade, provided the noise has
persisted for too long.
Second, together with ‘noise’ comes the use of the
mother tongue; in our context ‘Spanish.’ This is likeable to happen even when
not working in groups. Nonetheless; group work seems to be the perfect excuse
to use L1 more often. The first thing to examine is why the students switch to
their mother tongue. According to Bassano (2003) students use L1 for three
reasons: when the task requires more English than the level they have, when the
instructions are unclear; and when students are invited to experiment. Knowing
this, the teacher should be aware of which of these reasons led the students to
use their L1. Consequently, to overcome the use of the mother tongue the task
the teacher gives should be suitable for students’ level, the instructions must
be clear; and the activities should respond to students’ interest and
motivation.
Third, when students are grouped more mistakes can happen
without any kind of correction. Many teachers believe that if immediate
feedback is not given, then the mistakes will fossilise. On the other hand,
Brown (2009) states that “errors are a necessary manifestation of interlanguage
development and we (teachers) do well not to become obsessed with their
constant correction.” This disadvantage of group work can be converted into an
opportunity to encourage students for self-correction and peer-correction. They
should know that their errors are part of their process and that we also learn
from mistakes. Moreover, students’ independence is promoted through these types
of correction.
Fourth, one of the main disadvantages of group work is
that not all the members are involved in the work assigned. There are usually
one or two students that outstand while the others are passive being silent or
just agreeing automatically. Because of this, some teachers are reluctant to
use this strategy. This situation can be reversed by giving specific roles to
each member of the group and inter-evaluate their participation in the
fulfillment of the task. Another way of dealing with some working and others
not, is suggested by Littewood quoted by Harmer (2007) who may ask students to
number themselves from 1 to 5 (in a group of 5); but they do not tell the
teacher who is who so that later the teacher may call any number. In this way
interest and expectation is created as well as everybody’s participation of the
task.
Although there are more disadvantages that can be
discussed about group work, it can be concluded that these drawbacks can be
overcome only if the teacher is conscious about them happening in the classroom.
The usefulness of this strategy lies upon how teachers’ creativity is used in
order to make obstacles become learning experiences. Teaching our students how
to work in groups is a required skill that goes beyond the English classroom.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the
world. Indeed it is the only thing that
ever has.” (Margaret Mead, American writer)
REFERENCES
Bassano, S. Helping ESL Students Remember to Speak English During Group Work.
TESOL
Journal. 12.1 (2003): 35-36.
Harmer,
Jeremy. (2007). How to teach English.
Essex: Pearson Longman Education.
Ramirez
Salas, Marleni. Grouping techniques in an
EFL Classroom. Article published in Revista Actualidades
Investigativas en Educación (online) 2005. Universidad de Costa Rica. Retrieved
from: http://revista.inie.ucr.ac.cr/uploads/tx_magazine/techniques.pdf
Final quote taken from: http://www.quotegarden.com/teamwork.html
HOW TO DEAL WITH CLASSROOM DISCIPLINE
(Some suggestions bearing in mind 5 factors)
