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Unit 5 Overview Managing a class is serious affairs as this will have serious repercussions in the future if not done right from the word GO. Teachers have different personalities and skills so we should mention here what they should be. 1) Good Organizational skills 2) Confident & They must Inspiring 3) Firm, Patient, Flexibly, Friendly, and sometimes Dominant. The above qualities will come into play when managing classes & activities. Further to this they must make the atmosphere in the class as relaxed as possible. Methods Several methods can be applied at different times according to the situation at hand, Eye contact, Gestures, and Voice. Eye Contact: this is used in many ways we will mention just a few e.g. ?To maintain discipline. ?To show students that they are all involved in the lesson ?To show understanding ?To encourage contributions. ?To signal students to start, stop or get a move on Gestures: are more international and used very frequently. Advantages ?Convey the meaning of language ?Manage the class – e.g. to reinforce instructions ?To add visual interest ?To increase the pace of the lesson ?To reduce the need for verbal explanation Voice :Has to have correct clarity, range, variety, this insures students carry out instructions. Voice can also be made loud or low according to the situation at hand. Pronunciation is very important here, this helps in understanding and answering. Using student’s names further helps in many ways. Voice control will come automatically with the activities which will be taking place at that time. A dull monotone or low voice will only create boredom. Grouping of Students: This subject is quite vast but we can just touch a few points of importance, A)Class size & Furniture, always take importance B)For Activities which can takes place there. C)Electricity as some third world country classrooms do not have this There are several ways of groupings of students all have their Pros & Cons e.g. Whole-class grouping, •Positive a sense of belonging •Negative Puts of shy students Students working on their own •Positive Individual attention and pace of learning fast /slow •Negative No integration with students Pair work, •Positive Increases student talk time & integration •Negative maybe student does not like their partner Group work. •Positive Encourages students to cooperate and negotiate •Negative Some group members may dominate and passive students Arrangements of Classrooms. This can make or break the atmosphere of the class; we must put emphases here on types furniture provided, age of students, students background & size of class. Here there positives and negatives. Listed below are a few examples a).Orderly Rows: very formal b).Circles and horseshoes: less dominating by teacher c).Separate table: good for lecturing Blackboard Writing This action is where your back is to the students which have a negative effect; to avoid this maybe you could use an overhead projector. Ways of avoiding this is writing the information on the blackboard before the class comes in or asking the students to use the blackboard. Use hold up poster/pictures with the necessary information. Giving individual attention This is where the teacher will be loved or hated. He/she must first know all the names of the students using name cards will help here ,spend equal time with everyone help slow learners and not let fast learners take the lime light. Here the teacher must be fair and encourage the class and be an inspiration. Teacher talking time and Student talking time. Simple rules must apply here; keep the English language must be below of standard of the class thus understanding is much easier. Use gestures, mime or posters to get students to be fluent. Give correct instructions and monitor the class well for mistakes. TTT & STT is the vital ingredient in speaking English. Giving instructions These must be precise and to the point, keep to a lower language level. Be consistent and as much as possible use real objects or visual clues. Make sure instructions are understood by all members of the class and always see the feedback. Make sure of using simple words but repeating will eventually make perfect. Establishing Rapport Here is where trust and getting along with class plays a vital role. A few important factors are listed below 1 Knowing names and making names known to the whole class. Use name cards 2 Being confident 3 Being friendly, patient, enjoying the job, finally smiling a lot. Maintaining Discipline Factors affecting these are many here are few examples, age of students, motivation, reasons for learning. This is where the teacher has to be a little authoritative but yet friendly. If the teacher has a problematic student he should seek advice from fellow staff members as they would have had similar situations and know how to deal with them. Reasons for problem behaviour:factors common to this problem family, low self esteem, peer pressure etc Preventing problem behaviour: few answers to this is being punctual, prepared , consistent, further more if the teacher makes a threat than that should be carried effectively and immediately . Responding to problem behaviour: here are a few important suggestions, act immediately to the crises at hand, stay calm but in control do not lose your temper, maybe even re- arrange class seating or teaching techniques.