1. Classroom Management in Secondary Education
By Jane Arredondo
There are two kinds of adolescents: those who want with fork-bending eye contact. Once the class has
to learn and those who don’t. Regrettably, the latter gone quiet – they will because they love a bit of
often form the majority. However, ‘knowing’ English drama – lower you voice and say what needs to be
improves employment prospects. So tell your class said s-l-o-w-l-y. Theatrical timing is vital. Never
why they are learning English, and that while your shriek, that just makes you look silly.
lessons may be fun, they will always be purposeful
and should be taken seriously. Get each class used to the fact that there is a time
to listen, a time to talk and a time to write, and it is
For mutual success you need an orderly and all carried out in the target language – without
courteous environment. Good classroom exception. Unless it is pair-work, never give
management leads to effective lessons and effective students the opportunity to chat. Numerous, varied,
lessons lead to success. There are different ways of easy to understand but challenging tasks are
creating a disciplined classroom and there are important ingredients of good discipline. Be sure to
different types of discipline. I’m not advocating have a ‘heads down’ part to each lesson so students
‘authoritarian’ discipline, this is hollow; good can monitor their own progress. Draw each lesson
discipline is based on respect. If you are courteous to a close by reiterating the objective then ask
and avoid shouting, if your students are polite to you students to stand and do a rapid, fun, spot test: four
and to one another, then you have established a or five questions may be enough. If it is a small
great learning environment. This may mean that class, allow students to leave once they have
students initially have to line up outside your door so answered correctly.
they enter in an orderly manner; you may ask them
to stand while you say ‘good morning’ and set out Working with teenagers means appearance matters.
the day’s lesson objectives . . . do whatever is Be sure you always look tidier, more organized,
necessary to start the lesson with all faces focused more professional than they do. Everybody judges
on you and all minds aware that they are about to by appearances, even if they say they don’t.
start a serious learning activity. After a month, you Adolescents are fixated on appearance; if you look a
will find the atmosphere becomes more relaxed and mess, they’ll assume you are one.
thereafter you may only need to raise your voice on
rare occasions. The basic rule is that the teacher is the boss – end
of subject. Using this formula, you will be the ‘best
To bring a disruptive student to attention start with teacher ever’ because your students will achieve the
the icy glare, halt proceedings and focus your victim best results of which they are capable.
Author: Jane Arrendondo Page 1 of 11
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Katie Jones. PHOTOCOPIABLE