13.

Classroom Management
1. Interaction between Teachers and Learners (interaction patterns)
To practice critical thinking, students need to participate in the discourse of the discipline to
think, speak, and be listened to. Students will not get enough practice just by talking to the
teacher, and very little by just listening to the teacher. Students develop their skills in a
classroom that provides opportunities for intensive, structured interaction among students. The
interaction between the teacher and the students is an essential part of teaching and learning
process.
Classroom interaction stimulates the student involvement in the classroom. It increases students’
motivation and participation in class.
In English Language Teaching interaction patterns are the different ways learners and the teacher
can interact in the class. Using the right interaction pattern is a fundamental factor in the success
of any activity and the achievement of aims.
Example
The class is doing a dictation activity. The interaction pattern is teacher to the whole group (T-
Ss). Other patterns include pair work (S-S), and group work (Ss-Ss).
T - Ss: Teacher talking to the whole class, such as in presenting a text, explaining grammar,
giving instructions for an activity.
T - S: Questions and answers (dialogues) between the teacher and a student, such as in
demonstration, checking comprehension.
T - S - S: Teacher initiated dialogues with more than one student, such as in role-playing
demonstration and warm-up activities.
S - T: Student initiated conversation between a student and the teacher, such as in asking
questions about a rule or an assignment.
S - Ss: One individual student talking to the whole class, such as in telling a story, reciting a
poem.
Ss - Ss: Students working in small groups, such as practicing conversation, role-playing.
S - S: Two students work in pairs such as practicing a dialogue, carrying out an information gap
activity.
SS: Students doing their work individually such as reading, completing an exercise.
Different interaction patterns can support the aims of different kinds of activities. For example, if
the learners are doing group writing then small Ss-Ss groups are best, but for discussion the
interaction pattern could be Ss-T. Changing interaction patterns can help vary the pace and
choosing an appropriate pattern can help achieve learning aims, for example, making learners
take the place of the teacher (S-Ss) can be very productive.

2. Teacher and Learner Roles

The Role of the Teacher
The role of the teacher undergoes fundamental changes with the delivery of nowadays
educational program in Foreign Language Teaching. As the teaching approach moves from
teacher-centered to student-centered and from a language-based to a needs-based, the teacher's
responsibilities also change.
The primary role of the teacher is to establish conditions and develop activities so that students
are able to practice the language in a meaningful context. It is one of the teacher's greatest
responsibilities to develop in the students a positive attitude to learning English as a foreign
language.
It is the teacher who acts as facilitator, resource person and language model. While planning
lessons, the teacher needs to predict the possible needs of the students and have communicative
language activities readily available to meet these needs. The activities should be designed so
that the students experience a high degree of success. Teachers will also experience greater
success when activities are planned around the students' interests and take into account subjects
that they have some knowledge about.
The teacher is also responsible for creating a positive and supportive learning environment
within the class. Students who feel safe and secure are much more willing to practice English. A
healthy classroom climate promotes risk-taking and allows the students to experiment. Positive
experiences in the classroom lead to an excellent attitude towards language and culture.
The teacher must be aware of the program objectives and ensure that the objectives are being
met. Instruction and evaluation must reflect these objectives.
One of the main functions of the teacher is to discover ways to encourage students to
communicate meaningfully with each other. Instead of actively directing and controlling all
activities the teacher aims to set up conditions for meaningful practice and then take on the role
of a resource person.
The classroom becomes student-centered rather than teacher-centered; the students do most of
the talking and the role of the teacher is to facilitate, advise, assist and offer direction. As the
students most often work in small groups the teacher observes the activities, noting problem
areas for future work. During these activities, the teacher corrects students only if the errors are
so serious as to block communication. That way the students acquire skills that will enable them
to be independent language learners.
Teachers are encouraged to become more knowledgeable about teaching methods. This can be
done through reading and attending workshops, professional development days and conferences.
The Role of the Student
The role of the students is also evolving. Students are becoming more active in their role as
learners and are playing a major part in education process.
In the initial phase of each unit, students are asked for their knowledge that they already possess
on a particular topic. It is this input phase that begins to motivate the students.
Although there are specific objectives and guidelines that need to be met, students who are
allowed some freedom to move within the parameters are more likely to remain motivated and
on task.
As the students realize that the work they do within the class leads them toward their final goal,
they are much more motivated to stay on task. Students are able to personalize their projects and
use their personal abilities and talents.
Students learn in different ways and at a different pace and their final results reflect these unique
differences. As students become more responsible for their own language learning, their success
in the second language class increases.
The steps lessons are organized follow a logical order. Each unit has a beginning (brainstorming,
motivation, introducing the goal or task); a middle phase (where students are involved in
meaningful activities where they learn the language and general knowledge) and an end (where
they complete the task and demonstrate the product.)
First Step: Students and teacher share what they already know about the topic. In the process,
students become interested in the topic and motivated to learn more about it.
Second Step: The goal for the unit is introduced. Students decide with the teacher what they will
need to learn.
Subsequent steps: Students learn more about the topic, focusing on the information they need to
complete the task. Group work and cooperative learning are an important part of this phase.
Final Step: The last part of every unit involves having the students step back and reflect upon the
experience of doing the unit. They try to identify what new knowledge they have gained.

8. Working with Mixed-Proficiency Classes. Autonomy

When we talk about teaching English as a foreign language, first thing that comes to our mind is
high school education. Unfortunately, the picture almost everywhere is the same - large mixed-
ability classes.
If a class is large (24-30 students) it could be handled by specific seating in the classroom or
group work. It is a bit noisier but that way all students will get the opportunity to speak English.
But what about mixed-ability classes? That’s a very common problem. Even if all students
started learning English together, they have still acquired different things because of their
personalities. Each student has specific strengths and weaknesses. Some are good at speaking,
others in writing. But what a teacher wants is all students to feel comfortable and make progress.
There are no firm rules about management of a mixed-ability class, but there are plenty of
techniques which a teacher may use.
Different activities suggest different decisions. For example for some tasks students could be
grouped as weaker and stronger ones in order the stronger to help and motivate the weaker. In
other cases the teacher may group students with similar abilities or to give different exercises to
prevent boredom in strong students and discouragement in weak ones.
Autonomous learning. Nowadays teaching English or any foreign language aims an effective
learning. The goal is acquisition of knowledge to extent that allows students to develop their
skills beyond the classroom. To achieve that result, teachers manage the classes as student-
centered. It doesn’t mean that the classroom is a place where students decide what they want to
learn and what they want to do. It’s a place where we consider their needs and individual
intelligences. The role of the teacher is more of a facilitator, than instructor. The teacher guides
the students and manages the classroom activities. The students are active participants in learning
process and the teacher is a member of the class.
So in specific situations students may be working alone (in pairs or groups):
● Doing listening, writing or grammar exercises; preparing for discussion
● Working together when discussing, suggesting, comparing or brainstorming for ideas
But while the students are working on their own or in groups, the teacher is available for any
advice, guidance and encouragement. And after the activity is finished, the teacher gives a
feedback, makes corrections and answers questions.
Advantages of students’ autonomy: talk more, share ideas, learn from each other, feel more
secure, enjoy using English to communicate.
Disadvantages: some of the students may feel nervous or tongue tied; make a lot of mistakes in
English or speak their native language.