Unit 5

WORKSHEET – UNIT 5

When answering the tasks here please refer to any experience you have had in the classroom, or experiences you have noted while observing another teacher, as either a student or onlooker.

Task 1 –How can a teacher use his/her physical presence and voice in the classroom?

I believe it starts with the first impression. Presentation is very important, the teacher has to appear to be a serious person, not boring, but not have the image of a slacker.

The second and most important issue is communicating the message. The message itself can be great but if the messenger is not good it won’t be effective.

The teacher has to speak in a clear voice, simple words, at a constant pace and with a constant tone and volume. He has to use hand a body language to communicate his message and transmit security. He has to engage in eye contact with his students in order catch their attention.

Task 2 – Is there a best seating arrangement for a class?  What are the advantages and disadvantages of the various seating plans?

There is no “Best” seating arrangement for any class, it all depends on the size of the class, the size of the room and types of chairs.

Orderly rows:

Pros:

1.     Allows the teacher to view the whole class.

2.     Makes lectures easy.

3.     Helps teacher maintain eye contact.

4.     Good for whole class activities.

5.     Good for keeping discipline.

Cons:

1.     Space, it only works well in large rooms and with small seats.

2.     Larger students in the front can obstruct visibility.

Horse shoe:

Pros:

1.     Allows students to be more focused on the lesson.

2.     Good for small classes.

3.     Good for pair work.

Cons:

1.     Only good for small class sizes.

Separate table:

Pros:

1.     Classroom becomes more informal.

2.     Allows the teacher to work on one table while another works.

3.     Good for group work classes.

Cons:

1.     Can cause discipline problems.

2.     The teacher can’t maintain eye contact.  

Task 3 – List the different student groupings that a teacher can use and give advantages and disadvantages for each:

There is no “Best” seating arrangement for any class, it all depends on the class and the people in it.

Whole – Class:

Pros:

3.     Allows the teacher to deliver a message to the whole class.

4.     Allows the students to be close to other class members.

5.     Creates a sense of “group”.

Cons:

6.     Shy students don’t participate in class.

7.     Groups or pairs can form within the group that can cause problems.

Student on their own:

Pros:

1.     Allows students to learn at their own pace.

2.     Shy students get to participate.

Cons:

1.     No student to student interaction.

Pairs:

Pros:

1.     Increase student interaction.

2.     Allows the teacher to help pairs while others work.

3.     Allows shy students to express themselves to other students before they express themselves to class.

Cons:

1.     Some students don’t work well together.

2.     Students can start speaking in their native language.

3.     Students may end up working with somebody they don’t like.

Groups:

Pros:

1.     Increase student interaction.

2.     Less conflict if some students don’t like each other.

3.     Allows the teacher to help groups while others work.

4.     Allows shy students to express themselves to other students before they express themselves to class.

5.     Noise.

Cons:

1.     More active group members dominate less active students.

2.     Longer to organize.

3.     Production of material takes longer due to the participation of all group members.

Task 4 – How can the teacher make sure all students are equally involved in the lesson and give individual attention?

Teacher position:

The teacher’s position helps make students involved since he can directly access and/or target students he thinks need help.

Student placement, were the student sits is also important. He should be in a place were he has no distractions from other students or other factors.

The teacher has to get the attention of all students, make them a part of the lesson and he has to use all the tools he has at hand. Those can include:

Dividing the group.

Separating the student from distracting factors.

1 on 1 attention

Know student names.

Don’t ask students in order.

Don’t teach to only a group of students.

Don’t let other student capture the attention of the class.

Task 5 – When is teacher talking time important?

1.     When presenting or reviewing a subject.

2.     Giving instructions.

3.     Setting up activities.

Task 6 – How can the teacher reduce unnecessary teacher talking time?

1.     Clear subject explanations and definitions.

2.     Use gestures and audiovisual aids.

3.     Avoid complex vocabulary.

Task 7 – What can a teacher do to ensure that instructions are understood?

1.     Use simple language.

2.     Be consistent.

3.     Use gestures and audiovisual aids.

4.     Constantly check is your students understand your instructions.

Task 8 – How exactly would you ‘explain’ to a group of elementary students how to complete a gap fill exercise?

First explain verbally what a “fill-the-gap” exercise is. Make an example in the board and solve it while verbally explaining what you are doing. Make another example on the board and have an advanced student solve it. Make another example and have a not so advanced student solve it. Check if the lesson is learned. If not just make other examples.

Task 9 – What can the teacher do to help establish rapport with the students?

1.     Make sure students sitting side by side like each other or simply let the sit were they choose.

2.     Have an entertaining activity before class.

3.     Use a lot of group and pair activities.

4.     Let student correct each other.

5.     Base the class on current issues and subject to get the students involved.

6.     Have a positive attitude.

7.     Give clear instructions.

8.     Have good manners.

Task 10 – List some of the reasons for problem behavior that you may experience in an ESL classroom.  How can/should the teacher prevent it?  How can the teacher deal with problem behavior should it arise?

Some of the reasons for problem behavior are:

1.     Class size.

2.     Lack of respect for the teacher and other students.

3.     Peer pressure.

4.     Boredom.

Problem behavior can/should be prevented by:

1.     Be punctual.

2.     Be consistent be fair.

3.     Be well prepared.

4.     Don’t let your personal issues influence the way you treat your students.

5.     Never loose your temper.

Problem behavior can/should be stopped by:

1.     Focus on the behavior and not the student.

2.     Change the classroom.

3.     Be calm.

4.     Reprimand the problem student after class.

5.     Don’t make threats you cant enforce.