DEVELOPING CLASSROOM SKILLS

CONTENTS
 The roles of a teacher  The roles of a learner  Managing large and mixed ability classes  Managing group work activities

If you are a gardener

 What would you plant?  Flowers, schrubs, bushes, big trees ..?

What is a teacher?
 Actors? Always on the stage  Orchestral conductor? Direct conversation and set the pace and tone  Gardeners?plant seeds and then watch them grow

The roles of a teacher

 Facilitator - Facilitate learning in a learner-centred lesson  Controller -in charge of the class & activity taking place -tell learners,organise drills -exemplify the qualities of teacherfronted classroom -transmission of knowledge
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The roles of a teacher

 Organiser -organising students to do various activities -getting students involved -giving information to students -telling them how to do activities -putting them in pairs/groups -closing things down when time to stop
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The roles of a teacher

 Assessor -offering feedback on performance - corrections and grading students in various ways Critical issue here is Fairness -we have to be sensitive to the students possible reactions -students want credit for good performances and constructive criticism for poor performances
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The roles of a teacher

 Prompter -encouraged students when they lose the thread of what s going on -or when they are unable to proceed -occasionally offer words/phrases suggesting students say something -prompting has to be done sensitively, encouragingly and with discretion

 Participant -join in the activity not as a teacher & to take part in a discussion -Reasons : to enliven things up from the inside -caution : since teachers can easily dominate the proceedings, great skill and sensitivity is needed to avoid this situation
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Resource
 Offer guidance as to where students can go for the information  encourage students to use resource materials for themselves  Teachers must be helpful and available
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Tutor
 Working with individuals /small groups , pointing them in directions they have not thought of  -more personal contact so that learners feel that they are supported

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Observer
 Observe what students do to give useful group and individual feedback  Watch to judge the success of the different materials and activities that they take into lessons

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Performer
 knowing that different teachers act differently  individual teachers vary their behaviours, depending on what they do, gives us insight into classroom behaviour

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The teacher as a teaching aid

 Teacher as teaching aid  -mime & gestures  -language model  Provider of comprehensible input -the ways we use our voice, the ways we model language, employ gesture and expression are important teaching skills
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The roles of a learner

 Cognitively and Actively participating.  Responsible for their own learning Learners have different roles according to their learning styles  Concrete learners Learning strategies: games/pictures/films/cassettes  Analytical learners Learning strategies : Studying grammar/reading newspaper/problem-solving/studying alone  Communicative learners Listening to native speakers Using English for communication outside class Learning new words by hearing them  Authority-oriented learners Prefers teacher s explanation Studies grammar Likes to write everything in a notebook
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Managing large classes

 Catering to the students needs -provide opportunities to use the language -provide for individual practice in listening n speaking activities -effectively be carried out through pair work and group work -an effective technique is to team teach : a colleague working with you, demonstrating teaching points and acting as facilitators
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Managing large classes

 Organising student-centred activities -demands careful planning -group work/pair work as well as self directed learning -plan organisation of seating positions and movement of tables n chairs

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 Organising the physical environment -clean, well arranged classroom with attractive wall-displays to stimulate learning

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Managing mixed ability classes

 A language class that is made up of : highly proficient, proficient and low proficiency students  Careful thoughts are :  -Student organisation: whole class, groups, pairs, individual - Begin with a whole class approach -Teaching-learning materials: graded objectives using and devising materials of different levels of complexity

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Managing group work activity

 Students are organised in groups according to either  : mixed ability (heterogeneous)  :same ability (homogeneous)

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Managing group work

 Decide on the appropriate size  Plan the movements of students so that they get into groups effectively  Devise appropriate activity  Allow them to use what English they know  Allocate enough time  Do not change the composition of a group  Give clear instructions  Do not interfere with group work unless students requested for help  Do not correct errors  Allow for feedback

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TUTORIAL
 Analyse learner s role and teacher s role  Discuss ways of managing  - large and mixed-ability classes  - group work activities

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