Teacher development workshops
e) Monitor groups as they are working to check
Classroom management
In this Unit we will:
XXConsider techniques and strategies for classroom
management
XXIdentify ways of improving our classroom
management
XX Become more familiar with activities in New
Challenges 2
XXComplete tasks for the teacher portfolio
First things first
It’s important that we become good managers of
our classrooms and that we develop techniques and
strategies for doing this. In your study group or on
your own, think about how you:
Make sure everyone in a group is working on
the activity.
Make the classroom a dynamic, stimulating
environment.
Get students to stop at the end of an activity.
Feedback
Effective classroom management makes for better
lessons. This is particularly important when we are
teaching teenagers. We need to be organised and to
plan and think ahead so that classroom events run as
smoothly as possible.
Task: have a look at New Challenges 2 pages 28 and
29. Which activities on this page do you think are
settlers and which are stirrers? How can you alter the
organisation of one of the activities to change it from
a settler to a stirrer?
Setting up pair and group work
Teenage students like doing group work but they
don’t always spend the time doing exactly what we
asked them to do. This isn’t a reason for not doing
group work with teenage classes. It means we need
to set up a procedure for starting and managing pair
and group work.
Task: look at the following stages for setting up and
monitoring group work. They are not in the right
order. Decide what the correct order is. Note: We don’t
use all these stages all the time.
a) Tell students when they have about two more
minutes.
b) Tell students which roles to allocate to group
members, for example, someone to keep them
on task, a time-keeper, a note-taker, a language
monitor (someone who makes sure they only speak
English).
c) Tell students who is in each group and tell them
where each group is going to sit. Students move to
their new groups.
d) Students finish their group work.
16
everything is OK. Don’t monitor too closely as this
will distract students.
f) Give students instructions for the group work,
including how much time they have. Check the
instructions with different groups in the class. If
necessary write the stages and time on the board.
g) Students start their group work.
h) Elicit feedback from the groups on the outcomes of
the tasks and on how well they feel they worked in
their groups.
Answer key: c, f, b, g, e, a, d, h
Students soon get used to procedures for group and
pair work. It’s important to always check instructions
thoroughly by, for example, asking students to tell
you what they have to do, to give a clear time limit
and to monitor groups and pairs as they are working.
Teenage students are developing an awareness of
their own learning styles and of how they learn. We
can help students develop this awareness by asking
them to reflect on what they have done in group/pair
activities, on how successful they were and what did
and didn’t work well in their pairs/groups. They can
then identify strategies for improving group/pair work
in subsequent lessons.
Task: have a look at New Challenges 2 pages 93–94.
Think about the instructions you would give students
for the Unit 11, Exercise 10, page 47. How much time
would you give them for this activity?
Classroom layout
The organisation or layout of the classroom can affect
the classroom dynamics. In most classrooms it’s
possible to make some changes to suit the types of
activity, your preferences, and students’ learning styles.
XXArrange the furniture into work stations so that
groups of five or six students can work together
during lessons.
XXMove the tables to one side. Students move their
chairs so that they are in one large circle. You are
part of the circle.
Task: think of one activity to suit each of the
classroom layouts above. How can these layouts have
a positive effect on the classroom dynamics?
Monitoring
We monitor students to make sure they are doing
what we asked them to do and that they are not
having any problems. Monitoring students when they
are working is not always easy. When we approach
students they often stop talking. You’ll find that
you develop your own techniques for monitoring,
depending on the focus of the activity. We monitor
differently for skills activities and for language
practice activities where the focus is on accuracy. Here
are a few general ideas and suggestions:
XXTry monitoring students from a distance. Stand back
and ‘tune in’ to different pairs in turn.
XXMonitor students from behind rather than by
standing in front of them.
XX Stay silent when you’re monitoring. Only give
students suggestions or ideas if absolutely necessary.
A nod or a smile or a good is usually enough.
Task: think of two other techniques for monitoring.
Your presence in the classroom
Your position in the classroom affects the classroom
dynamic. When presenting language to students it’s best
to be at the front of the class where everyone can see
and hear you. There are times when it’s best not to stand
at the front of the class though. When you’re checking
answers from an activity, for example, you can stand at
the side of the classroom. This takes the focus off you
a little and lets students interact with each other more.
When a student or group of students are presenting
project work it’s better to stand or even sit at the back
of the class. This reminds those presenting that the
audience is the whole class, not just you, the teacher.
Some teachers are wanderers. They don’t like standing
still. This can be very off-putting for students when
teachers are presenting language or giving instructions.
Students need to be able to focus on the teacher at these
points in the lesson. At other times, it’s fine for teachers
to move around and, in fact, this can enhance the
dymanics and energy of the classroom.
Task: have a look at New Challenges 2, Module 6.
Find one activity where you can position yourself
centrally at the front of the class, one activity when
you can stand at the side of the room, one activity
and when you can sit at the back of the class.
Learning styles and learner
characteristics
When deciding which students will work together
in groups or pairs, it’s important to consider their
learning styles and characteristics. Putting two very
dominant students together for pair work could
be problematic. On the other hand, two very shy
students can work very well together. It’s sometimes
a good idea to set up groups which include students
with a variety of learning styles. They can support and
learn from each other. However, such groupings are
not always appropriate.
Task: think about your class. Which students work
well with other students in the class? Which students
do you have to pair or group with more care? Why is
this? How do you manage it?
In the classroom
XXDevelop your own steps and strategies for setting up
and managing pair/group work.
XXMonitor students when they’re working but try not
to disturb them.
XXTry different classroom layouts. The students can
help you move the furniture.
XXTry positioning yourself in different parts of the
classroom during a lesson. How does it feel? What
effects does it have on the students?
XXVary the student roles during group work to suit the
activity. Try out different ones.
XX If you realise students have misunderstood instructions
for an activity, stop the groups and give them the
instructions again before you restart the activity.
Remember,
plan your classroom management before the lesson.
moving tables or chairs doesn’t take long and
students can help you.
teenagers like variety and change in the classrom. It’s
refreshing.
you are the manager of your own classroom.
Over to you!
Here are a few ideas and activities to help
you develop your understanding of classroom
management with teenagers:
Ask a colleague to observe part of a lesson and ask them
to focus on your presence in the classroom e.g. How
much do you move about? Do you always stand/sit at
the front? If you don’t have a colleague who can do this,
set up a video camera instead.
Try setting up student groups at the beginning of
the semester or term. Think carefully about the mix
of students in each group. Use the same student
groupings for a month and monitor how this works.
Do the students learn to work better together because
they are always in same group? Do some groups just
not work? You can always change groups before the
month is up if there are problems.
TP Try out different classroom layouts for different
activities. Make notes in your portfolio about how
they seem to work and what their effects are on
students’ behaviour. Discuss the different layouts with
your students and elicit how they feel about them.
17

Classroom management
In this Unit we will:
XXConsider techniques and strategies for classroom
management
XXIdentify ways of improving our classroom
management
XX Become more familiar with activities in New
Challenges 2
XXComplete tasks for the teacher portfolio
First things first
It’s important that we become good managers of
our classrooms and that we develop techniques and
strategies for doing this. In your study group or on
your own, think about how you:
Make sure everyone in a group is working on
the activity.
Make the classroom a dynamic, stimulating
environment.
Get students to stop at the end of an activity.
Feedback
Effective classroom management makes for better
lessons. This is particularly important when we are
teaching teenagers. We need to be organised and to
plan and think ahead so that classroom events run as
smoothly as possible.
Task: have a look at New Challenges 2 pages 28 and
29. Which activities on this page do you think are
settlers and which are stirrers? How can you alter the
organisation of one of the activities to change it from
a settler to a stirrer?
Setting up pair and group work
Teenage students like doing group work but they
don’t always spend the time doing exactly what we
asked them to do. This isn’t a reason for not doing
group work with teenage classes. It means we need
to set up a procedure for starting and managing pair
and group work.
Task: look at the following stages for setting up and
monitoring group work. They are not in the right
order. Decide what the correct order is. Note: We don’t
use all these stages all the time.
a) Tell students when they have about two more
minutes.
b) Tell students which roles to allocate to group
members, for example, someone to keep them
on task, a time-keeper, a note-taker, a language
monitor (someone who makes sure they only speak
English).
c) Tell students who is in each group and tell them
where each group is going to sit. Students move to
their new groups.
d) Students finish their group work.
16
e) Monitor groups as they are working to check
everything is OK. Don’t monitor too closely as this
will distract students.
f) Give students instructions for the group work,
including how much time they have. Check the
instructions with different groups in the class. If
necessary write the stages and time on the board.
g) Students start their group work.
h) Elicit feedback from the groups on the outcomes of
the tasks and on how well they feel they worked in
their groups.
Answer key: c, f, b, g, e, a, d, h
Students soon get used to procedures for group and
pair work. It’s important to always check instructions
thoroughly by, for example, asking students to tell
you what they have to do, to give a clear time limit
and to monitor groups and pairs as they are working.
Teenage students are developing an awareness of
their own learning styles and of how they learn. We
can help students develop this awareness by asking
them to reflect on what they have done in group/pair
activities, on how successful they were and what did
and didn’t work well in their pairs/groups. They can
then identify strategies for improving group/pair work
in subsequent lessons.
Task: have a look at New Challenges 2 pages 93–94.
Think about the instructions you would give students
for the Unit 11, Exercise 10, page 47. How much time
would you give them for this activity?
Classroom layout
The organisation or layout of the classroom can affect
the classroom dynamics. In most classrooms it’s
possible to make some changes to suit the types of
activity, your preferences, and students’ learning styles.
XXArrange the furniture into work stations so that
groups of five or six students can work together
during lessons.
XXMove the tables to one side. Students move their
chairs so that they are in one large circle. You are
part of the circle.
Task: think of one activity to suit each of the
classroom layouts above. How can these layouts have
a positive effect on the classroom dynamics?
Monitoring
We monitor students to make sure they are doing
what we asked them to do and that they are not
having any problems. Monitoring students when they
are working is not always easy. When we approach
students they often stop talking. You’ll find that
you develop your own techniques for monitoring,
depending on the focus of the activity. We monitor
differently for skills activities and for language
practice activities where the focus is on accuracy. Here
are a few general ideas and suggestions:
XXTry monitoring students from a distance. Stand back
and ‘tune in’ to different pairs in turn.
XXMonitor students from behind rather than by
standing in front of them.
XX Stay silent when you’re monitoring. Only give
students suggestions or ideas if absolutely necessary.
A nod or a smile or a good is usually enough.
Task: think of two other techniques for monitoring.
Your presence in the classroom
Your position in the classroom affects the classroom
dynamic. When presenting language to students it’s best
to be at the front of the class where everyone can see
and hear you. There are times when it’s best not to stand
at the front of the class though. When you’re checking
answers from an activity, for example, you can stand at
the side of the classroom. This takes the focus off you
a little and lets students interact with each other more.
When a student or group of students are presenting
project work it’s better to stand or even sit at the back
of the class. This reminds those presenting that the
audience is the whole class, not just you, the teacher.
Some teachers are wanderers. They don’t like standing
still. This can be very off-putting for students when
teachers are presenting language or giving instructions.
Students need to be able to focus on the teacher at these
points in the lesson. At other times, it’s fine for teachers
to move around and, in fact, this can enhance the
dymanics and energy of the classroom.
Task: have a look at New Challenges 2, Module 6.
Find one activity where you can position yourself
centrally at the front of the class, one activity when
you can stand at the side of the room, one activity
and when you can sit at the back of the class.
Learning styles and learner
characteristics
When deciding which students will work together
in groups or pairs, it’s important to consider their
learning styles and characteristics. Putting two very
dominant students together for pair work could
be problematic. On the other hand, two very shy
students can work very well together. It’s sometimes
a good idea to set up groups which include students
with a variety of learning styles. They can support and
learn from each other. However, such groupings are
not always appropriate.
Task: think about your class. Which students work
well with other students in the class? Which students
do you have to pair or group with more care? Why is
this? How do you manage it?
Teacher development workshops
In the classroom
XXDevelop your own steps and strategies for setting up
and managing pair/group work.
XXMonitor students when they’re working but try not
to disturb them.
XXTry different classroom layouts. The students can
help you move the furniture.
XXTry positioning yourself in different parts of the
classroom during a lesson. How does it feel? What
effects does it have on the students?
XXVary the student roles during group work to suit the
activity. Try out different ones.
XX If you realise students have misunderstood instructions
for an activity, stop the groups and give them the
instructions again before you restart the activity.
Remember,
plan your classroom management before the lesson.
moving tables or chairs doesn’t take long and
students can help you.
teenagers like variety and change in the classrom. It’s
refreshing.
you are the manager of your own classroom.
Over to you!
Here are a few ideas and activities to help
you develop your understanding of classroom
management with teenagers:
Ask a colleague to observe part of a lesson and ask them
to focus on your presence in the classroom e.g. How
much do you move about? Do you always stand/sit at
the front? If you don’t have a colleague who can do this,
set up a video camera instead.
Try setting up student groups at the beginning of
the semester or term. Think carefully about the mix
of students in each group. Use the same student
groupings for a month and monitor how this works.
Do the students learn to work better together because
they are always in same group? Do some groups just
not work? You can always change groups before the
month is up if there are problems.
TP Try out different classroom layouts for different
activities. Make notes in your portfolio about how
they seem to work and what their effects are on
students’ behaviour. Discuss the different layouts with
your students and elicit how they feel about them.
17