Classroom
Management
Classroom Survival
Disclaimer
"In order to discover the rules
of society best suited to
nations, a superior intelligence
beholding all the passions of
men without experiencing any
of them would be needed.”
~ Rousseau
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A Nightmare
Language Teaching
Classroom Management
Classroom Dynamic
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Foreign Teachers managing in
English.
Korean teachers using Korean
to manage in the English
classroom
Teachers working in strict
English Only environments
Management
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Must be comprehensible for
students
Must be effective when
delivered in English
Must be reasonable for the
language classroom
Rules
And consequences
Rules in the classroom
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All classrooms have some
rules.
Make sure rules are clear,
appropriate and necessary for
your classroom.
Creative positive rules.
Rules
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Ms. Sara’s Rules
Respect yourself and others
 Keep the school safe for all
students
 Listen when others are talking
 Keep your area clean
 Be prepared for class
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Involve the students
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Publishing rules is a first step
Create activities using the
rules
Ask students to provide
feedback on rules
Allow students to create and
add rules to the classroom.
Sample Activity
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Rules reviewed with students
Students play a board game
On the game students see
positive and negative examples
of the rules
 Students state what the example
represents
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Positive and Negative
Examples
Consequences
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Consequences should be
consistent with rules
Consequences should
encourage better behavior
next time.
Consequences do not have to
be disciplinary measures.
Ms. Sara’s Consequences
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Respect
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Others will not respect you.
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“You called your friend a name.
Your friend called you a name. You
need to have respect.
Safe
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The classroom is dangerous
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“You rolled on the wheels and fell
out of the chair. That’s not safe.
You need to be safe.”
Rules and Consequences
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Encourage good behaviors
Help students understand the
effects of negative behaviors
Teach students to care about
their actions and the actions
of others
Student Centered
Classroom Management
Let the student manage
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Identify the basic procedures
of each classroom.
For each procedure determine
possibilities for student
managers or officers to
mediate
Promotes student
responsibility
Procedures and Officers
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Attendance
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Announcements
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Attendance keepers
Hands Up
Behavior
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Student Officers
When possible…
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Public School Teachers
Many public schools promote
some form of student
responsibility
 Try to find out what roles
students are taking in your
school
 Use these roles in the classroom
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Points and Rewards
Additional Strategies
The problem with rewards
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Students come to expect
compensation for
performance
Students only use positive
behaviors when being
observed
Students demand rewards for
certain performances
Can you use rewards?
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Yes, but consider
Don’t provide consistent
rewards
 Don’t reward performance
 Be fair with rewards, reward all
 Rewards should be earned by
everyone together
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Points systems
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Students earn point in team
Establish clear guidelines for
earning points
Guidelines are not behaviors
students can “fake” to get points
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Examples
Help others be successful
Explain difficult words to your friends
Show students how to do it
The “why” or “what” question
with points
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Teacher what are points for?
Teacher what do I get?
Students earn the points.
 At the end of the year every
team that earned points will
receive recognition.
 All teams have received some
points.
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Discipline
And Punish?
Discipline
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Many classrooms do use
some kind of disciplinary
measure.
First try to avoid moving
towards discipline
“Withitness”
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A teachers withitness can
dramatically reduce problems
in the classroom that might
call for discipline
Withitness refers to how well a
teacher knows what is
happening in the classroom.
Using Withitness
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When teachers notice things
happening that could lead to
discipline consider
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Proximity (move towards students)
Removal (take away distracters)
Remind touch (place a hand on
shoulder or elbow of student
Eye contact (let the student know you
see them)
Non-verbal indication (a shake of the
head, or a hand signal to stop
behavior)
When it is necessary
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There are times when it is
necessary to use a disciplinary
measure in the classroom.
As with rules, make sure your
discipline policy is clear and
appropriate for students.
Publish discipline policies.
When using discipline be
consistent
Ms. Sara’s Discipline Policy
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Verbal Warning
Five minute standing time out
(standing at desk with students)
Second verbal warning
Five minute out of group time out
(away from group or outside of
class)
Third verbal warning
Removal from class
Other strategies
For student management
Know your students
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Your students know you
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There is a great deal of power in
being able to use student
names. Find a way to know your
students to you can encourage
good behavior or discourage
bad behaviors.
Ms. Sara’s Chart
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Seating charts are excellent
Other tips and strategies for
students management
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Model good behaviors
We all have bad days, when this
happens model for students
how you deal with anger,
frustration, sleepiness, anxiety
etc.
 Show students how to handle
these same issues to help
students learn to manage
behaviors
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State it and forget it
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Don’t address rules once a
year.
Incorporate rules and good
behavior practices into regular
class activities
 This helps to remind students
and encourage them to practice
good behaviors in your
classroom
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Work Shop
Group and Share
Consider the following
situations. What can you do?
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Students have just entered
class.
They are playing superman
with the chairs with wheels.
Inappropriate Questions
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Everything is running smoothly.
You are talking about health
and body issues. A student
ask you how many times a day
you go to the bathroom.
Everyone in class starts
laughing.
Inappropriate behaviors
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You have to reach down to
get the chalk you dropped off
the floor.
One of your students goes for
the Korean “똥침” (ttong chim)
Inappropriate Language
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Students are working on
classroom tasks and activities.
Everything is going very well
when suddenly one of the
students yells out very loudly a
Korean vulgarity.
Open Discussion
For more information
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You can download this
presentation at
www.saradavila.com/english