Master in Teaching English as a Foreign Language

FUNIBER-UNEA

Classroom Management
Techniques and Reflections on Practice

PRACTICE ACTIVITY

Names: Ana Flavia Faria Smith and Heydi Porras Mainato

Group: FP_TEFEL_2023-10

Date: January 13th, 2024

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 INDEX

● TASK 01 ………………………………………………………page 03

Task 01, question 01…………………………………..pages 04

Task 01, question 02……………………………………page 04-05

Task 01, question 03 ………………………………….. page 05-06

● TASK 02…………………………………………………… ...page 07

Task 02, statement C analysis ………………...........page 08-09

Task 02, statement E analysis ……………………....page 09

● References ………………………………………………….page 10

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TASK 1. REFLECTION EXERCISES.

Read the reflection and answer the questions. Scriviner 2012 presents the following
reflection of Ken Wilson in his blog (2010):

Source: Scrivener, J. (2012). Classroom Management Techniques. Cambridge:

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 1. How do you feel about the reflective question: “it isn‟t a big chunk of your
time, is it?”. What implications does it have for some teacher‟s management
of classroom time? Do we consider activities in terms of time consumption
or in terms of assumed utility? Justify your answers with arguments from
the materials and the readings.

According to Kerdikoshvili (2012), effective classroom management involves creating and

maintaining an environment conducive to learning. Therefore, this author argues that a
teacher‟s main job concerning classroom management is pre-teaching (lesson planning,
the types of activities, etc.) and while-teaching (classroom organization: arrangement of
desks, blackboard, explanation of the activities, teacher-student and student-student
communication, managing discipline, etc.). Considering Kerdikoshvili‟s ideal, it seems
evident that the classroom environment is determined by certain aspects such as the
physical setup of classrooms (the arrangements of tables and chairs and the availability of
resources) and time management. Hence, answering the first and second questions: if
teachers spend some time with the arrangements of desks in order to create the right
environment for teaching and learning, that is time well spent. On the other hand, if the
time spent on it does not work for the activity proposal, that time invested is a waste.

Another important aspect to consider is that students understand classroom instructions at

the beginning of classrooms in order to avoid time-wasting, confusion, a lack of effective
practice, and a possible loss of control (Funiber, 2023). Similarly, Kerdikoshvili (2012)
states that “effective classroom managers establish and communicate certain rules and
procedures right from the start in order to help classrooms run smoothly and efficiently."

Moreover, teachers have to analyze the potential of the material they will use to teach, link
previous lessons to the following ones, drop tasks when there is any inadequacy, select
ways to present the activities, and decide how much time will be spent on teachers‟ talk
and learners' practice (Kerdikoshvili, 2012). Considering all the aspects previously
mentioned and answering the last question, an effective teacher who is willing to
effectively manage classrooms should take both aspects into consideration: activities‟ time
consumption and their assumed utility.

2. To what extent does Wilson‟s story cater for individualised learning? What
advantages and what drawbacks can you identify with the „procedure‟
described? (Ur, 1996:236) Explain your answer.

In a traditional classroom, teachers are likely to make decisions based on their intentions
rather than considering how these intentions impact their students (Funiber, 2023). This

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may deprive students of having an active role in the classroom, as the teacher is the one
who makes decisions in the classroom. In turn, communicative language teaching and
humanistic approaches highlight individualization, which refers to students‟ control in
terms of “how and what they learn” (Funiber, 2023, p. 37).

In the context that Wilson (2010, as cited in Scrivener, 2012) presents, it seems that there
is no individualization at all. In this case, students did not decide how to work in terms of
the seating arrangement since the guest teacher was the person who asked the students
to move the chairs and the desks in order to form four teams of eight, which were
distributed in rows. Additionally, the students did not have the opportunity to decide what
they wanted to learn, as the guest teacher was in charge of the activity, which means that
the topic of the class was probably already selected.

On the one hand, the advantage of the lack of individualization is that teachers may take
control over students and create the activities they want since planning and the selection
of activities based on the diverse learning styles will not be time-consuming with an
individualized approach (Ensign, 2025). On the other hand, the disadvantage of the lack
of individualization is that it may hinder students‟ motivation. Some researchers support
the idea that enhanced motivation is conditional upon learners taking responsibility for
their own learning (Lamb 2001; da Silva 2002; Sakui 2002a; Takagi 2003; Ushioda 2003,
2006, as cited in Benson 2001). Another disadvantage is that students do not have the
opportunities to develop “interdependence and responsibility" (Funiber, 2023, p. 37),
which is the goal of individualization. Additionally, learners‟ needs are not taken into
consideration as an individualized approach.

According to Funiber (2023, p. 37), individualized learning in the context of conventional

classrooms can be achieved when some of these individual factors are considered: speed
for work, competence level, topics of interest, and language skill interest. Teachers should
prioritize individualization because it seeks to promote greater responsibility and
autonomy among students in their learning process, taking into account their needs.

3. Considering Ur‟s statements in our module, do you think the technique

described could be used with mixed- ability groups? If so, would this always
result in more successful SLA for learners?

The procedure described by Wilson might not be used with mixed-ability groups if the
teacher does not implement an individualized approach in which students‟ abilities are
taken into consideration. According to Ur (1996:302, as cited in Funiber, 2023), the
concept of ability encompasses more than just a learner's immediate observable

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performance; it also includes their potential for learning. She considers that students‟
performance is not necessarily a straightforward outcome of their potential. According to
Ur, a learner's current proficiency may have been shaped by various factors like previous
learning opportunities, the quality of past teaching, and varying levels of motivation, which
may have influenced their present abilities. When students‟ abilities are identified, the
teacher may be able to create heterogeneous groups by mixing low-ability students and
high-ability students.

In terms of SLA, Long (1985, as cited in Funiber 2023) stated that the implementation of
mixed-ability classrooms could be favorable since students of different levels of
proficiency have the opportunity to negotiate meaning. Additionally, creating mixed-ability
groups in large classes may be beneficial since keeping good discipline in large classes
may be a problem (British Council, 2020). In accordance with Funiber (2023), the intention
behind group work is evident: to fragment the larger class into smaller, more manageable
segments. Therefore, creating mixed-ability groups in large classes, as in Wilson‟s class,
involves generating a collaborative environment in which students help each other, as “the
teacher is very much less able to attend to every individual in the class” (Ur, 1996:30, as
cited in Funiber, 2023, p. 44). Considering the aspects previously mentioned, it seems
that the technique described by Wilson may not result in a successful SLA context.

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TASK 2
1- Below, we have listed some common assumptions in the field of TEFL. Do you
strongly agree or disagree with any of them? Choose two statements that would
make you react in either directiON, explain how they would relate to each other, in
the light of the bibliography of the subject, and try to reflect on why they made you
feel strongly in either approval or disapproval.

a) As teachers we are doomed to repeat teaching behavior that we „learnt‟ through

our „apprenticeship of observation‟.

b) If students translate the meaning of new vocabulary they will develop the mistaken
idea that there is a one-to-one correspondence between words in English and in their own
language.

c) If you give instructions for activities in the mother tongue, you deprive students of
an important opportunity to be exposed to natural L2 use.

d) Our beliefs as teachers affect our classroom management more than any other
factor in the classroom.

e) Teachers could sometimes use mother tongue texts with students, but
comprehension tasks should always require students to produce English.

f) There is always a mismatch between a teachers „espoused‟ theories and his/her

real classroom behavior.

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We have chosen to analyze letters C and E. Both statements are concerned with the use
of mother tongue in foreign language teaching. As Yadav (2024, p.581) highlights, “the
debate over the use of L1 in foreign language teaching hasn´t been settled yet. On the
one hand there are teachers who reject the use of L1 or fail to recognize any significant
potential in it and on the other hand, there are those who massively overuse it. For Yadav
( 2014) -“Target language should be used as the medium of instruction when possible and
the mother tongue when it is really necessary”.

C- If you give instructions for activities in the mother tongue, you deprive students
of an important opportunity to be exposed to natural L2 use.

We strongly disagree with this statement since it is sometimes necessary to use the L1 in
order to help students in their learning process. The L1 may serve as a foundation when
students need to communicate since it may produce confidence and lessen frustration in
students (Prodromou, 1995:63; Atkinson, 1987:422, as cited in Funiber, 2023).

Additionally, learners may not understand certain concepts at all; consequently, students
need to translate those concepts for clarification. As stated by Atkinson, (1987:422, as
cited in Funiber, 2023) this student tendency to translate is natural; for that reason,
teachers should not strive against it. Additionally, Atkinson claims that using the L1 saves
time when the teacher has to explain complex aspects of the L2. According to Yadav
(2014), there is a danger in this permission – that the children will hear very little English.
He believes in a general principle: try to use English as much as possible. Thus, he
suggests the following tips in order to work with both languages ( L1 and L2) when giving
instructions, among others:

● Give instructions in English, but repeat them in the mother tongue.

● Give instructions in English, but try to use as much gesture as possible to
make the meaning clear.
● Give instructions in English, but allow time for the children to process “the
language” before you give another instruction. ( Yadav, 2014, page 576)

According to dual-iceberg‟s Cummins hypothesis, the L1 and L2 may share common

features; therefore, it seems feasible to use the L1 in SLA settings (Funiber, 2023).
However, it does not mean that the mother tongue should be overused since this aspect
“...may deprive them [students] from valuable „comprehensible input‟ (Krashen)” (Funiber,
2023, p. 65).Therefore, it is essential to determine the proper situations and boundaries in
which to use the L1.

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D-Teachers could sometimes use mother tongue texts with students, but
comprehension tasks should always require students to produce English.

Analyzing the statement above, we strongly disagree with the second part of the
statement (comprehension tasks should always require students to produce English). In
the eyes of plurilingual communicative practices and according to Cenoz and Gorter
(2013), it is common for plurilingual speakers to combine elements from different
languages in language teaching, going opposite monolingual principles, where the
boundaries between languages are usually defined, isolating the teaching of English from
other languages.

For these authors, the concept of plurilingualism goes in the direction of softening the
boundaries between languages and it shows that learners use their plurilingual resources
across languages, and this opens possibilities to learn languages in a more efficient way.
Consequently and agreeing with the first part of the statement in analysis, teachers can
work together on the same type of text, communicative event or grammatical structure in
two or three languages so as to reinforce what the students learn in each of the
languages (Cenoz and Gorter, 2013).

According to Littlewood and Yu (2009) there are a large number of potentially valuable
teaching techniques that deliberately exploit the L1 as a basis for learning. Yadav (2014,
p.580, 581) suggests some activities that can be done with L1 in EFL classes:
a) Use mother tongue newspapers for conversation practice, explaining what it is
about in English;
b) Prepare a series of interesting quotations on a piece of paper. They must each
individually write what they understood but in their own language
c) Group A are given a short text in mother tongue to translate into English. Group
B are given a similar length of text in English to translate into the mother tongue.
Groups then give their translations to each other to be translated back into the
original. Finally groups compare the originals with the translated version.

In conclusion to the theories and from some examples of activities above, there can be
many and varied ways of working with L1 in ESL classrooms and not only just one form of
comprehension task, as suggested in the statement analyzed.

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 References

Benson, P. (2007). Autonomy in language teaching and learning. Language

teaching, 40(1), 21-40.

British Council. (2020, May 29). Teaching large classes.

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/professional-development/teachers/managing-
lesson/articles/teaching-large-classes

Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2013). Towards a plurilingual approach in English

language teaching: Softening the boundaries between languages. Tesol Quarterly,
47(3), 591-599.

Clandfield, L., & Foord, D. (2014). Survival guide: using L1 in the classroom.
Macmillan Education. https://www.onestopenglish.com/methodology-tips-for-
teachers/survival-guide-using-l1-in-the-classroom/553739.article#commentsJump

Ensign (2015, October 15). Individualised Instruction.

https://ensigncommerce.blogspot.com/2015/10/individualised-instruction.html

Funiber. (2023). Classroom Management-Techniques and Reflections on Practice.

Barcelona: Funiber.

Kerdikoshvili, N.(2012). A student-centered approach to classroom management in

English language teaching. Journal of Education, 1(2), 53-60.

Wilson K. (2010, August 30). Ten ways to motivate the unmotivated…Ken Wilson’s
Blog. https://kenwilsonelt.wordpress.com/2010/08/30/2465/

Yadav, M. K. (2014). Role of mother tongue in second language learning.

International Journal of research, 1(11), 572-582.

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