CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT - Assignment

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

Task 1

Though the implementation of these activities may reflect different degrees of

interaction, along a continuum ranging from student-centered to teacher centered, we
consider that the following activities are the most student-centered. We have arranged
them in a way that tries to reflect that continuum we mentioned before, going from most
to least student-centered:

 Self-access: This type of activity can typically be seen as centered on the needs
of the students, though we may find that it could be used in a completely
different manner, because the activities that the students have to carry out may
be chosen by the teacher without regards to the type of students they are
directed to, or their particular needs or expectations.

 Individual work: The focus is mostly on what the individual learner is able to
produce on its own, thus this type of activity may provide the flexibility
necessary so as to cater for the differences in individual learning styles.

 Collaboration: Although this type of interaction goes in the opposite direction of

individual work, the fact that the students can have instant feedback from their
equals enhances their own individual productions.

 Group work: The students have the chance of speaking in a more or less free
fashion, and with a common goal to achieve, which usually gives them the
chance to focus on the objective of the task, rather than on their use of the L2,
resulting in more chances for developing fluency and probably self-confidence
as well.

 Full-class interaction: If the students are free to discuss the topics in a

somewhat open environment, rather than being expected to follow a certain
close, teacher-selected, pattern in the debate (i.e., of the type “use the first
conditional to present your ideas”), we can classify this type of interaction as
student-centered.

 Student initiates, teacher answers: Depending on the degree of “freedom” the

students have to ask, we may consider this type of interaction to be student-

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centered. If, on the other hand, the activity only continues when the students
provide the specific questions the teacher is awaiting, we could even classify
the interaction as teacher-centered.

On the other hand, the following types of interaction are more teacher-centered. We
have organized them, in this case, from the least to the most teacher-centered:

 Open-ended teacher questioning: Though the questions are set up and

selected by the teacher, the fact that the responses can be, at least, more
varied, gives some relevance to the role of the students.

 Closed-ended teacher questioning: It is the teacher alone who decides what it is

to be asked and what the expected answers are, and so the role of the students
is nearly completely passive. Also the type of answers expected from learners
in this type of activities (usually yes or no as answers) reflects their passivity.

 Choral responses: In this case we can also see a passive participation of the
students, reduced to the mere repetition of what the teacher has modeled.

 Teacher talk: This type of interaction is typically teacher-centered because we

see that (s)he chooses what to say, how to say it, how much time to talk, etc.

Task 2

Grammar Pronunciation Meaning Appropriacy

- She suggested us - Oh, of course! - - She went to the - (student in pub)
to go home. you’re Peter, aren’t library to buy a Give me a beer.
- I go always to you? (rising book. - (Mike speaking to
France for my intonation on aren’t his boss) That’s a
holidays. you) load of rubbish,
- How you come to - I don’t like mate.
school? traveling by sheep.

We would include those examples as representative of grammar errors because the

collocation pattern of the verb “suggest” is the following:

 Suggest + NP

 Suggest + that + sentence

Thus, the error in this case is of a syntactic nature, since the student is assuming a
different collocation pattern for that verb. In the case of “I go always …” we also find a
grammatical error, in this case, derived from an incorrect positioning of the adverbial

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“always”. The sentence “How you come to school?” presents a grammatical error as
well, because the student is not including the necessary auxiliary verb “do”.

In the category “pronunciation error” we include the sentence “Oh, of course…”

because the speaker is using a different type of tone in the question tag, and we would
also include “I like traveling…” as the student is clearly mispronouncing the word “ship”,
rendering the appropriate vowel sound /I/ as /i:/.

Inside “Meaning”, we would only include the sentence “She went to the library…”, for
in this case it is clearly the misinterpretation of the word “library” as opposed to the
evidently necessary word “bookstore”.

Inside the category “Appropriateness”, the sentence “Give me a beer” may be

included, because the speaker could have been expected to be more polite in her
request. We would also include the sentence in which Mike speaks to his employer,
because we assume that in that type of hierarchical relationship the employee is
expected to use a more formal register.

Task 3

1. Students are writing a paragraph about a holiday in ones or twos.

We think the teacher should correct them after the paragraph is handed in, explaining
them the errors/mistakes, if any, and suggesting different alternatives when needed.

2. Students are discussing the question of pollution in small groups.

We think the teacher should stand aside, maybe listening, but not correcting. Her role
might be that of taking notes of the errors and once they've finished perhaps she would
try to find a way to give them some corrective feedback. The teacher could also use
that collected information to design some exercises for the following class.

3. Students are debating on the rights of women in an open class focus.

Same as before, the teacher should leave room for free practice with a focus on
meaning, rather than interrupting and correcting them. We consider we would do the
same note-taking as in the previous activity. In this case we think it would be even

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easier as they are all participating and the teacher taking notes would be less
noticeable.

4. Students are discussing role-playing a public meeting after reading a text, and
are preparing their side of the argument.

In this case we would correct them during the discussion, so as to help them develop a
clear and concise argument.

5. Students are giving the answer to a listening comprehension exercise in class

feedback.

We think that correction is needed in this type of activities, so we would correct during
the task.

6. Students are checking a grammar exercise in open class.

Correction while checking the exercise is necessary in this case, in our opinion, so that
students get the grammatical point right.

7. Students are giving the teacher examples of the target structure ‘used to’ and
the teacher is writing these examples on the board.

We deem this situation similar to the previous one, and so we would provide corrective
feedback while the activity is being carried out.

Task 4

1. Readers. Students choose individual simplified readers, of varied level and topic,
from a school library, and read quietly in class.

This type of activity clearly allows for the catering of individualized learning, yet it
assumes a particular visual and, probably, analytic learning style, so partially limiting
the degree of individualization to those students who profit from reading. We personally
think that this kind of individual work can be done out of the class, unless it is a reading
that has something to do with the next activity. We would use it as homework rather
than as class practice.

2. Response to listening. The teacher plays a recorded text on a topical issue, and
asks the class to note down points they understood.

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This activity can also be said to cater for individual differences from two different
perspectives: on the the one hand, it’s up to the students’ minds to select what they
think is relevant from what they listen to. On the other, the activity may be catering for
different levels of understanding and on their listening comprehension skills. The record
has to be properly selected to have information that all the students can get and some
challenging parts for the most advanced.

3. Workcards. A pile of workcards prepared by the teacher is put in the centre of the
class, all practising the material the class has recently learned, but each different. Each
student chooses one, completes it and then takes another.

This activity is also partially open to individual differences, in our opinion, because the
students have the option of selecting the activities they like. However this depends
heavily on the variety of activities presented, that is, if the activities are all similar and
repetitive, the choice may be fictitious. It may help in that the most advanced will work
more but never get bored for finishing too early. We find it very effective but it may also
create a bigger gap between students. Students that learn faster won't have to wait for
those that have difficulties and those that have difficulties won't feel discouraged.

4. Textbook questions in class. The class has been given a set of questions from the
textbook to answer in writing; each student does them on his or her own.

There appears to be no individualization in this exercise, as all the students have to

carry out exactly the same task, regardless of their particular needs or learning styles.
However, depending on how open the questions are there can be a chance for the
students to develop their ability to express themselves according to their skills.

5. Worksheets. The teacher distributes worksheets which all practise the same
grammar point, but containing various sections with different kinds of practice tasks
and topics. The students choose which sections they want to do, and do as much as
they can in the time allotted.

This activity provides, in our opinion, the same partial degree of individualization found
in the workcards’ activity. That is to say, depending on how varied the activities to be
chosen are, we may say that it could cater for individual differences. Inside the
classroom, this type of activity may turn up to be boring for students that learn faster,
since bonce the grammar point is learned it might be too repetitive for them to go on
working on the same point.

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6. Textbook exercises for homework. The teacher gives three sets of

comprehension questions from the textbook, of varying difficulty, on a passage that has
been read in class; each student is asked to select and do one set.

Also similar to the analysis we propose for work cards and worksheet, we think that
individualization may vary according to the types of activities selected. In this case,
however, we see that at least it’s been made explicit that differences in the level of
proficiency are catered for, as there is a grading in the difficulty of the sets of questions.
A possible drawback of this is that it may happen that students who aren't very
motivated don't try the difficult sets not to make mistakes.

7. Varied tasks. The teacher has prepared a number of work cards based on different
language skills and content. There is a cassette recorder in one corner with headsets
for listening tasks, and another corner available for quiet talk. Students select, work on
and exchange cards freely.

This activity is clearly the most complete as regards individualization, since not only do
we find that the differences in language skills are catered for, but also differences in
learning styles are taken into account (aural, visual, etc.). Focusing on possible
drawbacks, it may also happen that students choose what is easier for them and they
don't work on the skills they need to reinforce.

Task 5

We don't quite agree with Ur's (1996) perspective on the issue of mixed ability groups.
In our humble opinion, we believe that the author is giving an idealistic, perhaps
utopian view of the topic, from the standpoint of the specialist, who sees the classroom
from the outside. The advantages numbered 1 and 2 in the materials highlight the
human side of teaching such groups, which, important as it is, is not enough to judge
the development of teaching in a FL classroom. That is, we may wind up with an
attractive, “challenging” group to work with, but so difficult to lead and organize that our
students end up learning little English at most.
As regards her third statement, we see it as restricted to a certain type of group, made
up of particular students, who may be responsible enough to collaborate and create an
“atmosphere of co-operation”. Sadly enough we have to say, drawing from Javier's
personal experience, this is the absolute exception rather than the norm. Javier has
been teaching EFL for over seven years, both in secondary schools for teenagers and
adults, apart from being an assistant teacher in semantics and theoretical linguistics at

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university, and he claims that the general rule is that when the teacher is devoting time
to attend individuals or groups with different levels of abilities, the tendency is for the
rest of the students to shirk from doing the task assigned to them, or to start chatting or
doing any other thing but “teaching each other and working together”.
The fourth statement is clearly the one with which we agree the most, since it's
undeniable that teaching mixed ability groups is challenging as it forces the teacher to
be prepared to cater for the wide array of differences among her/his students.
As a general rule, we believe that working responsibly with mixed ability classes may
be beneficial for teachers in charge of few, reduced, groups of students, and who also
have the possibility of devoting lots of time to preparing activities and planning lessons
that fully cater for and integrate the students in those groups. On the contrary, teachers
who are in charge of many large groups of students (say, around ten groups of
approximately 30 students each), as is usual in the context where Javier works, have
fewer chances of creating the necessary environment that will make it possible to profit
from this type of classes.

Task 6

1. If you give instructions for activities in the mother tongue, you deprive students
of an important opportunity to be exposed to natural L2 use.
In our opinion this is not totally true. If the level of the students is low, it may be good
practice to use mother tongue in the explanations of some tasks. It may save time, it
helps the teacher to make sure he is clearly understood and it makes the students feel
more confident.

2. Students should be allowed to ask the teacher (in English) if they may say
something or ask something in their own language, and all other use of their
mother tongue should be prohibited.
We don't agree with this statement. Sometimes students can't express themselves
properly until they acquire certain level of L2. In this case they feel more confident
asking in their mother tongue so they are sure of what they mean. This way they will
feel less afraid to ask and will solve their questions that otherwise wouldn't be asked to
avoid the embarrassment.

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

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We disagree with the use of mother tongue texts in a L2 class. There can be some
spoken explanations or, even in the book ,some short instructions but we don't think
reading in L1 may be useful to learn L2.

4. 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.
We also disagree here because sometimes there is a one-to-one correspondence and
if there isn't that correspondence students may translate using some words instead of
only one or even write a brief description of the meaning in their own words.

5. Instructions should always be given in both languages - but in English first.

Instructions should be given in English except when it may be strictly necessary to give
them also in the L1 for the sake of clarity, particularly, as we say in 6.1 above, in the
early stages of L2 learning. If students don't have a level high enough to understand
the instructions, then they can be given in the mother tongue but, as soon as they are
able to understand them in English it is much better to use it as it helps learning.

Task 7

1. ‘Teacher thinking’ refers not just to the way we think as teachers, but also to
what effect the way we think has on our teaching.
Exactly. The concept of 'teacher thinking' involves not only what the teacher thinks but
also the effect it has in the decision making and the subsequent effect it has in the
learners' process of acquisition.

2. Our beliefs as teachers affects our classroom management more than any
other element in the classroom.
We would say yes, as it is the framework from which a teacher works. It is an intrinsic
feature that rules the way to manage the situations a teacher finds while doing her/his
job.

3. Examining our pro-, inter- and post-active decisions as teachers is the best way
to investigate our thinking as teachers.
We also agree on this. The decisions we make based in our experience are a clear
result of our deep and unconscious beliefs, plus our conscious analysis of our own
performance in our activity. In the classroom, situations are complex and in many
occasions we don't have a guide or recipe to solve them, so our reactions have a lot to

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do with our personalities, beliefs and experiences and how we reflect on the interaction
between them and our practice.

4. As teachers we are doomed to repeat teaching behaviour that we ‘learnt’

through our ‘apprenticeship of observation’.
We don't agree completely. We learn and then we check if what we 'think we learned' is
what we have to put into practice. It depends on how open-minded a teacher is.
Sometimes we have to find new ways to improve the results in the different situations
we face on daily work.

5. There is always a mismatch between a teachers ‘espoused’ theories and

his/her real classroom behaviour.
Not necessarily. It may happen that there's a discrepancy or lack of coherence in
teachers beliefs and acts and that may lead to confusion in students but it doesn't
happen in every case. Teachers that experience this have to find the reasons by
checking their method, obviously, and then take the measures needed.

6. Teachers’ beliefs, which are formed early in life, are very difficult to change.

Well, it depends to a great extent in the personality of the teacher. We would say that
we redefine our beliefs from experience and reading what the experts say. The more
we understand our own environment and the more experience and reflection we put in
this analysis the more we improve in our tasks. It is also interesting to share your views
with colleagues so you can have your tailor-made method adapted to your specific
situation.

7. A teacher will usually have a deeply-rooted (possibly unconscious) view about

who his/her learners are, and this view is related to how the teacher believes
languages are learned.
We would answer the same as before that it depends mainly in the attitude of the
teacher and on how aware (s)he is of the views (s)he holds. It is not rare that teachers
may approach their actions in a way that clearly contradicts the view on language
learning that they claim to adhere to. In our opinion, experiential knowledge helps us to
find how to work properly. Results are what show us if we are in the right path.

8. Taking into account the affective climate in a classroom is likely to affect a

teacher’s classroom management decisions.
Affective climate in classroom is a very important feature to bear in mind. A good
teacher has to work to promote students' feelings of confidence and to help them be
comfortable to get the best results. Thus this has to affect teacher decisions.

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Task 8

We have found relevant, in our personal views, the idea of mixing different level
students to work together. Ainhoa always thought that the more homogeneous the
class is the better, because she believes we can plan activities that are more student-
oriented. It's interesting how the interaction between more proficient learners with the
weaker ones can lead to a better opportunity for them to develop their abilities at
different levels. Javier, on the other hand, though acknowledging some of its benefits
and partially agreeing with Penny Ur's (1996) position, is a bit more skeptical about the
applicability of diverse activities that cater for different levels in a large group, from his
personal experience with mixed ability groups.
As regards the use of L1 in class, it's been quite interesting to us because we agree to
have taught in both ways. We agree with the idea of using the L1 to make some
explanations more dynamic or to prepare some activities in work group. We also think
that it needs to be used wisely and reduced to the minimum to be effective but not to
deprive students of having contact with L2.
Teacher thinking is the most interesting aspect for Ainhoa, since for her it is the newest
and probably it emerged as a need to explain how reality is different from expected.
She sees it is a very complex and fresh approach to try to optimize the results of our
work and needs a lot of research to be really useful. Both of us agree on that the
concept of 'reflective practitioner' is the most important to improve the results. A
detailed analysis of what we do and what we get is key to adjust our method and get
the best results possible, taking advantage from the theoretical background available to
the teacher and her/his classroom experience.

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