Classroom Management in Secondary Education

There are two kinds of adolescents: those who want to learn and those who don’t. Regrettably, the latter often form the majority. However, ‘knowing’ English improves employment prospects. So tell your class why they are learning English, and that while your lessons may be fun, they will always be purposeful and should be taken seriously.

For mutual success you need an orderly and courteous environment. Good classroom management leads to effective lessons and effective lessons lead to success. There are different ways of creating a disciplined classroom and there are different types of discipline, I’m not advocating ‘authoritarian’ discipline, this is hollow; good discipline is based on respect. If you are courteous and avoid shouting, if your students are polite to you and among themselves, then you have established a great learning environment. This may mean that students initially have to line up outside your door so they enter in an orderly manner; you may ask them to stand while you say ‘good morning’ and set out the day’s lesson objectives . . . do whatever is necessary to start the lesson with all faces focused on you and all minds aware that they are about to start a serious learning activity. After a month, you will find the atmosphere becomes more relaxed and thereafter you may only need to raise your voice on rare occasions.

To bring a disruptive student to attention start with the icy glare, halt proceedings and focus your victim with fork-bending eye-contact. Once the class has gone quiet – they will because they love a bit of drama – lower you voice and say what needs to be said

s-l-o-w-l-y. Theatrical timing is vital. Never shriek, that just makes you look silly.

Get each class used to the fact that there is a time to listen, a time to talk and a time to write, and it is all carried out in the target language – without exception. Unless it is pair-work, never give students the opportunity to chat. Numerous, varied, easy to understand but challenging tasks are important ingredients of good discipline. Be sure to have a ‘heads down’ part to each lesson so students can monitor their own progress. Draw each lesson to a close by reiterating the objective then ask students to stand and do a rapid, fun, spot test: four or five questions may be enough. If it is a small class, allow students to leave once they have answered correctly.

Working with teenagers means appearance matters. Be sure you always look tidier, more organized, more professional than they do. Everybody judges by appearances, even if they say they don’t. Adolescents are fixated on appearance; if you look a mess, they’ll assume you are one.

The basic rule is that the teacher is the boss – end of subject. Using this formula, you will be the ‘best teacher ever’ because your students will achieve the best results of which they are capable.

  

Author: Jane Arrendondo

Courtesy: US Embassy

Collected by: Mr. P. K. Jayaraj & R. Gangadhar, RIESI, Bengaluru