Teacher Discussion Forums

claire9332003 · Joined: 12 May 2006 Posts: 2

hello, everyone!
i am a so-called teacher teaching Public English test as a student pursuing my degree. i
the problem is i can teach lessons well ,but my class management experience was frustrating Mad

.things gets worse when one or two naughty boy keep asking me irrelevent questions which is pretty annoying!
because of this , i had nightmare that all the students wouldn't listen to my words and run out of the classroom leaving me in cold......
what can i do? i need your help!!!

bluerose · Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Posts: 5

I also have management problems , I tries lots of methods but my students are not interested in learning English what can I do?

zuu2343 · Joined: 21 Sep 2005 Posts: 3

I tend to use choices alot. I give a student a choice of two things they can do and let them choose. Of course both things are winners for me. If they refuse I tell them what the consequence will be. I prefer a detention with me so that I can further try to work with this child at whatever task they are refusing to accomplish. I try to make parent contact and this seems to be the most effective in getting a response from the child. When you don't have parent accountability then the administrative referrals come into play. Sometimes I can start to write one and the student immediately stops the problem behavior and I never have to send the referral. Overall I feel that consistency in actions is the most effective form of discipline. If you say you are going to do something make sure you do it. One time of faltering on this and you're done, have lost all credibility with students and it'll take you the rest of the year to get it back.

Mister Dean · Joined: 01 Nov 2006 Posts: 9

Hello,
I use a series of fallible strategies. The main one is writing the name of the boy or girl who is playing about down on the blackboard or on a piece of paper(which is then discreetly thrown away at the first opportunity). It is like the speed cameras you go slower simply because you think there might be one around the next bend.

There was one boy in my class who was boycotting the whole thing so I said to him that he would lose his break if he didn't get three small green cards from me.

I give him a card twenty minutes into the lesson when I catch him behaving and then twenty minutes after that- finalizing with the last card just as the bell is going and I am out of the door breathing a sigh of relief that I got through one more class with him both behaving himself and working througout the class. He may have lapses but they are usually more and more rare.

I give prizes for speaking in English such as chocolate bars once a while- not too often or it costs a bomb. I think that this generally gets the kids more conscious about being on their best behaviour. But you gotta be careful for children who can't eat chocolate(don't want any allergic reactions)

Well best of luck
Dean

Sally Olsen · Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 8:12 pm Post subject:

Here are some other ideas
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/teacher/viewtopic.php?t=1351&highlight=

kisi · Joined: 14 Aug 2006 Posts: 24 Location: China

I saw an article with title : Classroom Discipline and Fun Games : An Unhappy Marriage. But I kind of see games as classroom management tools. Here are a list of games that bring fun with discipline.
ESL Kids Games : www.english-4kids.com/games.html

seadreamer · Joined: 09 Feb 2008 Posts: 3

hi all.. We all live the same problems in our classes. Discipline is a crucial subject to be solved. But there is not one solution or method. You should try different methods for each student. Sometimes reward system is good,but sometimes you should just talk with your students and listen them.

Emily Jia · Joined: 07 May 2008 Posts: 8 Location: Beijing

Maybe you are too kind towards them. As a teacher, you should know that you are the ruler and you have the right to control them. When you stand on the platform, you should be very confident. If you are not very confident, they will look down upon you. On the other hand, you should improve yourself in terms of your own ability and knowledge. When they admire you, you will be willing to listen to you. Don't worry, believe in yourself. Good luck.

Senorita Daniels · Joined: 22 Dec 2004 Posts: 202

Maybe you just need to have five minutes at the begining of class for students to ask questions (in English) that are relevant to class or current events. Some kids just want to share news with people, like one of my students who told me she lost a tooth, my cousin's daughter who decided to announce her mommy's pregnancy at the family Christmas party, or just a talkative kid who just wants to say what happened before I walked into the classroom. Hopefully, they can get it out in that short time. I would make sure that everyone who wants to share gets a chance to tell one story before having permission to tell another.

yaaaaaaaan · Joined: 03 Nov 2008 Posts: 9

xulingkay · Joined: 15 Nov 2008 Posts: 1

in classroom management, grouping is every important. dedive the whole class into several group, and then encourage them to compete with each other. of course rewarding system should be set and used. reward the good, and give chance to the bad to be good.

EnglishRaven · Joined: 13 Feb 2007 Posts: 30

Very common issue...

You might find some ideas for positive reinforcement in your classroom at this link:

http://www.englishraven.com/ttools_posrein.html

The main downloads and teacher guides are located in the members download area, but you can still access images on the page link above which show you the general idea.

All the best,

~ Jason

shelleyvernon · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Posts: 49

It's nice to read such a constructive thread.

I particulary like what "zuu" says higher up - making parent contact and sticking to your guns - if you make a threat you must carry it out or you will have zero credibility in no time!

Often naughty kids get more attention than the good ones. Let's say Patricia is playing up. Instead of saying; "Patricia, stop that now or you'll get a detention", try something like, "look at how well Sean is doing today, well done Sean for being such a good boy." or "Sally you have been so good today, would you like to give out these books for me?"

This way Patricia gets NO attention, she doesn't have her name used and she does not feel special. Then if she continues to play up you can go to the next stage where you approach her and ask her, but without using her name; "would you like to have extra homework or would you like to sit properly and learn something?" This gives her the power to choose.

And always be professional, so that means you never lose your cool!

All the best
Shelley
http://www.teachingenglishgames.com
Games, stories, songs, plays and skits for fun and effective learning

mesmark · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 276 Location: Nagano, Japan

Here's a podcast on classroom management with young learners
http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2006/04/classroom-management-for-young-learners/

If you want to go the way of motivational charts, you can find printable sticker charts here: www.stickersandcharts.com You can also print out award certificates here: www.123certificates.com

Additionally moving your class to all English really can help with some minor discipline problems. Here's a podcast on how to go about that:
1: http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2006/05/creating-the-english-only-classroom/
2: http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2006/06/the-english-only-classroom-revisited/

Hero · Joined: 05 Jun 2011 Posts: 2

I'm a former college math professor and thinking about getting an ESL certification, moving abroad, and teaching English. But I'm worried that I'll face the same problems abroad that I faced here, that is, lazy and rude students who expect easy A's, and administrators who always side with the students. I hope that I can find an environment that's not quite so hostile toward teachers.