EFFECTIVE CLASS MANAGEMENT: A PRACTICAL APPROACH

MARY UNDERWOOD

UNIT 1: KNOW YOURSELF• GOAL: What sort of person is a good teacher?• FOCUS ON: Language ability, personal talents,

knowledge and teaching skills.

• LANGUAGE ABILITY• TALENTS• SPECIALIST KNOWLEDGE• GENERAL KNOWLEDGE• TEACHING SKILLS• ATTITUDE TO DISCIPLINE• OPPORTUNITIES FOR SELF-DEVELOPMENT

UNIT 2: KNOW YOUR SCHOOL• GOAL: learning to solve problems, not only to avoid

them.• FOCUS ON: the ‘philosophy’ of the school; the

attitudes and interests of the other teachers; who is responsible for what; your own responsibilities and rights; the normal pattern of behaviour of staff.

• THE ‘PHILOSOPHY’ OF THE SCHOOL

• OTHER TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES

• THE EXTENT OF YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

• THE GENERAL PATTERN OF STAFF BEHAVIOUR

UNIT 3: KNOW YOUR STUDENTS• GOAL: learn about the importance of teaching approach;• FOCUS ON: the importance of knowing your students in

order to help them to learn more happily and effectively.

• THEIR NAMES• THEIR BACKGROUNDS• THEIR INTERESTS• THEIR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING ENGLISH• THEIR ATTITUDES TO ENGLISH• KEEPING RECORDS

UNIT4: AN ENCOURAGING CLASS ATMOSPHERE

• GOAL: learn about some practical ways of maintaining motivation.• FOCUS ON: the ways in which the general atmosphere in the class

can assist learning and how the behaviour of both students and teacher can contribute to the atmosphere.

• Giving a sense of purpose to the class• Ensuring that English is spoken• Balancing fluency and accuracy• Using appropriate language• Giving encouragement• Involving all the students• The place of examination and tests• Extra-curricular activities

Unit 5: THE CLASSROOM ITSELF• GOAL: learn about the advantages of the communicative

language possibilities related to the physical conditions of the classroom.

• FOCUS ON:• The lightness/brightness• The temperature and the fresh air• The acoustics• The lines of vision• The layout of the desks/tables• The possibility of moving desks/tables• The other furniture• The facilities for displaying pictures/charts• Exploiting opportunities for communicative language uses.