Module 2: Lesson 4 - Classroom management Flashcards
What aspects of classroom management would a teacher need to consider for BE?
- Scheduling
- Managing strong/weak learners
- Classroom layout
- Balance of activities
- Feedback and correction
- TTT (minimize)
- Demonstrating progress
- Homework
Why is scheduling important when teaching BE?
As a rule, Business English students are generally very busy people with many demands on their time. Therefore, setting a day and time for English lessons can be challenging.
Have a clear cancellation policy that both parties have agreed to in advance, as cancelations are more common in this format.
How would a teacher manage strong/weak learners?
The use of open-ended activities, where each student can complete the task according to their ability, is very useful.
As is the provision of further development tasks for higher-level students who are likely to finish basic tasks more quickly.
How would you lay out a classroom for a BE lesson?
Traditional rows: have all the students facing towards a central focus point, such as a whiteboard, seated in traditional rows (board work).
Circular or U-shaped: with students and the teacher seated in a circular format, enabling everyone to see each other, and thus enhancing communication (debates/discussions).
Nested tables: consists of pushing together two or four tables in order to make a larger working space (pair/group work).
How can you ensure balancing of tasks in a BE class?
Ensuring that every activity is relevant to the students will help with this issue, as will balancing high-energy activities with lower-energy tasks, and focusing on a variety of skills through different activities.
Most students will rise to a challenge, and therefore it is important that the material be relatively demanding, without becoming tedious or overly complex. It is essential that teachers follow their planned time allocations, as otherwise, the planned lesson will be incomplete and/or ineffective.
Why is it so important for TTT to be low in BE lessons?
Learners are tired and concentration and motivation is low, so it is important that the majority of the class duration is spent on meaningful student-to-student interaction, rather than the students simply listening to the teacher.
How can you show student progress in a BE lesson?
- Entry and exit level tests, to recording students speaking (with their permission) at the beginning of the course and at the end of the course.
- Doing regular assessments throughout the course in order to maintain progress for the duration. These could take the form of self-evaluation activities, class tests or presentations.
- A key aspect of demonstrating students’ progress is evidencing the lesson objectives against learner goals.
How do you motivate BE learners to do homework?
Communicate clearly to the students that their English abilities will increase exponentially the more time they spend practicing and to encourage them to use English as much as possible outside of the classroom.
Examples: Watch a documentary in English, listen to a podcast in English, talk to their family members in English for an hour every week.
Homework tasks should always reinforce the learning objectives of the lesson and should be valuable to your students’ learning process.
