8 Important Tips For Good Classroom Management

Classroom management begins well before the lesson commences and is vital so that the lesson can flow continuously without gaps, therefore, maintaining students interest.

This post was written by our ITTT graduate David D.

1. Seating Arrangement

Strategic placing of student seating arrangements can have a positive effect on the class in a number of ways, pairing a quieter student with a more vocal can have involved the quieter student and gain confidence from the experience. Placing the students' names on the chairs or tables can also help in a variety of ways it can save moving the students later for a planned activity such as pair or group work and the students' mix with different personalities.

Also read: 10+ Activities For Teaching English Winter Camp

2. Preparing Necessary Tools & Materials

Management of the lesson is maintained when the teacher has all necessary resources on hand so the lesson can run fluently as well as the students being equipped with the necessary items and any item the teacher wants the students to focus on to perhaps start the engage phase of the lesson.

3. Building Rapport

As the teacher you should put in some time and effort to learn the students names and monitor each students personality, some students are quieter in nature and by repeatedly asking that student to answer questions they may feel singled out or intimidated try to address all students equally and involve all in the learning activities which will increase student talk time.

Also read: The 5 Best Ways To Build Rapport With Your TEFL Students

4. Setting Rules

The teacher needs to be clear and concise when greeting the students and pleasant in nature when explaining the requirements of the lesson about to be given including any specific requests such as no mobile phone usage during class time and raising of a hand if anybody has further requests or questions during the class.

5. Eye Contact & The Right Voice

To begin the class the teacher needs to maintain eye contact and again speak clearly and at a volume, everybody can hear without being demanding or intimidating, provide variations in the learning process and encourage questions and opinions. Encourage all students to speak and ensure all students respect the speaker, wherever possible add humor to the class which will create a relaxed experience for the students.

Also read: The How-To Guide to Prepare for Your Teaching Job Abroad

6. Encouraging the Students Reguarly

Following an answer or opinion of a student provide encouragement which may prompt other students to also have an opinion or comment, if the entire class has comments or questions the class will learn without even realizing it and the language becomes fun to learn. The classroom can be a stressful place so the teacher must be aware when the students become restless and lose concentration perhaps request feedback from the students at this stage to regain involvement from those students.

7. Structuring the Lesson in an Interesting Way

Aim to maintain variety in the lesson so the energy in the class is evident if several students appear distracted or left out and are not contributing maintain the flow of the class and ask these students if they have any opinions on future lessons or ideas on subjects they may want to learn more about.

Also read: 9 Small Details That Matter When Teaching EFL

8. Dealing with Problematic Behavior

However many lessons in the classroom experience negative behavior with disruptive students. This is where classroom management is vital because of the varying situations. If this the disruptive behavior is observed early, nonverbal gestures towards the student can help so as not to disrupt the rest of the class, these gestures could be as simple as eye contact.

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In conclusion, a classroom with a happy well-organized teacher that has a good rapport with the students will create a relaxed atmosphere for the students to gain knowledge happily and grow confidence and actually enjoy learning.

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