The family

Education
Why problems occur
Self-esteem Factors

Boredom
What the teacher does

Code of conduct

Preventing problem
Problem Interest and enthusiasm
behaviour
Professionalism
Behaviour Teachers and students
Rapport between teachers
and students

Act immediately
Focus on the behaviour not the pupil

Reacting to problem Take things forward

behaviour Reprimand in private
Keep calm
Use colleagues and the institution

Set clear guidelines

Please speak Choose appropriate tasks

English Actions
Create an English atmosphere

Use persuasion and other inducements

 Problem behaviour and what to do about it

Problem behaviour can take many forms, for example: disruptive talking,
inaudible responses, sleeping in class, tiredness and poor attendance, failure to
do homework, cheating in tests and unwillingness to speak in the target
language. Other contexts: insolence to the teacher, insulting or bullying other
students, damaging school property, refusing to accept sanctions or
punishments.

A Why problems occur

There are many reasons for problem behaviour. I can stem from a student’s
reactions to their teacher’s behaviour, from other factors inside the classroom,
or from outside factors:

 The family: Sometimes indicipline can be traced back to a difficult home

situation. So student’s experiences in their families have a profound
influence on their attitudes to learning and to authority.

 Education: previous learning experiences of all kinds affect students’

behaviour.

 Self-esteem: It is vitally important if effective learning is to take place.

Self-esteem may result partly from teacher approval, from students’ peer,
r as a result of success.

 Boredom: When the choosen activity is inappropiate, students

sometimes show their lack of interest by behaving badly.
 External factors: Some external factors may affect students’ behaviour
too, for instance, if they are tired they will not be able to concentrate.
  What the teacher does: A lot will depend on how we behave in class,
especially when problem behaviour first takes place. Students who feel
their self-esteem to have been damaged by the way we discipline them
are more likely to be badly behaved in the future.

B Preventing problem behaviour

Teachers can use a lot of strategies to avoid problems occurring in the first
place, because preventions is always better than the disciplining cure.

B1 Creating a code of conduct

Effective classroom management has to do with establishing a code of conduct,

specially with younger learners. This is a useful tool to let students “know where
they stand”. Include the students’ own opinions in the code of conduct.
When a teacher and students have divergent views abut what is acceptable and
what is not, the teacher should take their opinions into account, but ultimately
the teacher will have to firm about what he or she is prepared to accept. Thus,
when a code has been democratically arrived at, is has considerable power.

B2 Teachers and students

The way we teach, and the relationhip we have with students, can help to
prevent problem behaviour from ever occurring.

 Interest and enthusiasm: Students who are interested and enthusiastic

do not generally exhibit problem behaviour. Interest can be also be
generated by a teacher’s performance, so when teachers plan their
classes, they need to bear in mind the need for such qualities as
flexibility and variety.
 Professionalism: Students generally respect teachers who show that they
know what they are doing. This can be demonstrated by evidence that
teachers have invested time in thinkig about and planning their lessons.

 Rapport between teachers and students: The rapptor we have with our
students can be greatly enhanced by making sure that we listen to what
they say with interst, and that we look at them when we talk to them.