Teach English in ShibantAn Zhen - Changde Shi

Good discipline is one of the key to effective lesson. Not only new teachers meet difficulties to manage students, some veterans in this profession also can face problems. In this summative task I will share my experience how to maintain classroom discipline with young learners. I started to work with young learners (4-7 years old kids) two years ago and it was a big challenge to hold their interest and attention for hours. First thing I have learned about kids: “There is no bad or good students. They are all kids with unique soul, qualities and interests.” I am a teacher and my work is not to put labels about their personalities, my work is: - to find common language with each student: - to help to acquire new language without pushing and stuffing, but with positive respond and interest. How to find common language? There are some tricks below: 1. Teacher’s good mood. It is impossible to share positive emotions and energy if you are empty inside. So, the main goal of each teacher - come to class with “fire inside”. Sometimes it is very useful to close eyes and stay few minutes before class in complete silence, imagine/visualize your class with great discipline, huge interest and great result. 2. Start lesson with something interesting. It can be short video, song, dance, unusual toy, mask or even costume. Something bright, which attracts kids. 3. During the first class establish main rules, for example: - No running; - No shouting; - If you want to say something - raise your hands; - Line up before break and after class. Teacher can give stars, stickers, marks, points for the good job during the class and delete them if kids beak the rules. 4. Use different activity to figure out main interests in the group and each kid. Some of them prefer drawing, others - reading, drama, dancing or craft. Give kids what they like - you get their friendship and attention, which help you to manage class and teach effectively. 5. Good discipline does not mean complete silence and absolute domination of teacher during the class. Teacher should consider with children’s opinion, be flexible with teaching plans and always give kids few minutes to stay “crazy” (let them run, jump, dance, shout). 6. Set eyes contact with kids. It is kind of animalistic behaviour. But we get lots of information non-verbal. Using hand signals, body cues and other tactics can be helpful in getting students’ attention. So, use it to establish ruport. 7. It is very useful to teach kids some rhymes. You can also share lines among students and they will feel themselves as a part of the group. Examples of rhymes: Teacher: Class! Class! Students: Yes! Yes! T: Ears, ears? S: Listen, lesten. T: Eyes on me! S: Eyes on you! T: Mouth, mouth? S: Zip, zip. T: Hands, hands? S: Still, still. Or: T: Attention (loud or with unusual voice). S: One, two. 8. Try to make your lesson interesting and dynamic. Use games, videos, songs, additional materials, your own imagination. There are tons of ideas in our TESOL course and in the Internet. There is no best solution. Every new class is a new lesson not only for student, but for the teacher as well. Teachers adapt basic techniques to find best practices that work in their classrooms. These can change depending on the types of students, classes and experiences. Finding the best discipline methods can take time. Great teachers always look for new and innovative ways to connect with their students to ensure a fun and safe learning environment.