Before you read any further, ask yourself the following questions and answer them honestly.

Are you teaching English until you find something more fulfilling or interesting to do with your life, that is, how seriously do you take this profession?

What do you love and hate about this job?

What qualities do you share with other teachers you admire?

What is your ‘Achilles heel’ as far as being a teacher is concerned?

What would you like to be doing in 5 years time as regards this profession?

The previous questions were basically designed to help you determine whether it is worth your while to read any further. What is meant, in other words, is that classroom management is something needs thought, reflection and action, something that anyone who wishes to provide something of value to teaching must pay serious attention to. Anyone who is not serious about EFL would not and should not be concerned about classroom management issues.

Well, if you are still with me, now ask yourself the following questions which have more specifically to do with classroom management:

• Do you include all your students in your lesson and what activities do you get them to do.
• Do you mostly follow the book or do you modify the material given to you.
• How do you handle ‘selfish’ students you try to monopolize your time and attention?
• How do you handle disruptive students and how do you feel when you have to confront them?
• How often do you discuss classroom issues with management and other teachers?

Let’s start with the first question. Most us of believe that we do try to include all our students in our lessons, however if observed by another teacher, this may not be the case. Of course, a lot of this depends on class size, but the truth is that in most cases, one or two students take up a far greater proportion of class time in terms of active oral participation than others.

Let’s start with the first question. Most us of believe that we do try to include all our students in our lessons, however if observed by another teacher, this may not be the case. Of course, a lot of this depends on class size, but the truth is that in most cases, one or two students take up a far greater proportion of class time in terms of active oral participation than others.

The question is, is this always negative thing? Well, it can be negative if the dominant students dominate what happens in the classroom and the course in general. It can also be negative when the quieter students feel left out and that they are of less value than the ‘loud ones’. When the more expressive students feel it is their right to occupy as much class time as they feel inclined to having, then the more reserved may disappear into the background and feel intimidated in terms of speaking out.

On the other hand, enforcing equality in terms of student talking time may not always be feasible or even desirable. Some students may feel reluctant to speak in front of the rest of the class and this may cause them stress and demotivate them in terms of continuing with the language. At the same time, other students who have something to express may feel stifled and oppressed when they are limited in this way, which may also demotivate them. Also, when a good class discussion is taking place and the language is flowing, it is often counter-productive to interrupt so that others who may have no desire to participate say their piece. As far as involving all your students in your lesson is concerned, begin by establishing a policy in which all students are given an equal opportunity to participate in any given activity.

In this way, the more reticent students will not feel left out, and as the course develops, may come out of their shells and participate in a way that they feel comfortable with. Also, vary the kind of activities which students have to perform, because some activities which are not necessarily speaking may involve and motivate students. And finally, as regards speaking activities and students being provided adequate speaking practice, pair and group work activities provide a solution as long as they are well managed and have proven successful in the classroom.

In the final analysis however, including all students in the class is really a matter of how each students feels individually and whether that student feels included. Our role is, as far as this possible, for each student to feel involved in the process and to feel they have gained something from our lessons.

As concerns the second question, it is important not to be a mere appendage to any given book that you are using. The reason for this is that you will be become very predictable, unimaginative and really BORING. When this happens no one will be paying attention to you, (and for good reason) thus managing the class will be extremely difficult. When your eyes are not glued to the book when you are teaching, when you are listening and looking at the students when you are teaching, when are paying attention to them and not to what the next answer to the next question in the book is, then you are managing the class and teaching. If you are not doing this, then it is time you did. How do you modify given material you may ask. That is in the next issue, folks.

As regards the selfish students who demand more of your time than is appropriate, this is a thornier issue to deal with. First of all, we need to define what a selfish student is and what exactly the limits are in terms of how far a teacher is expected to go in helping a student. The fact is that few institutions set clear guidelines as regards this issue but I believe that almost all of us have experienced students who make great demands on us concerning answering questions, explaining grammatical phenomenon determining course content for the whole of the class, etc. It is true that in many cases these students have legitimate points to make and are truly interested in learning, however we need to also take into account the “silent majority” who may not share these ideas and may wish us to get on the course material instead of getting bogged down answering questions that are basically inconsequential or simply irrelevant.

When faced with such students, it is best to set out what your policy is as regards what you are willing to do and not do and what kind of balances you would like to see exist in the classroom. This can be done with the whole class present and then reinforced when you speak the ‘problem’ students privately. A follow-up discussion with management would also be a good idea so as to have support in any other following moves that occur later on. What is important, however in all this procedure is that you remain in charge of the situation because if you don’t, you may be faced with a rather difficult year.

This leads very nicely to the next problem, and it is nasty one, how you deal with disruptive students. The first and most important thing is to deal with the problem immediately and not ignore it hoping that it will go away all be itself. The longer it builds, the more it sends the message out that disruptive behavior can go on with impunity. The second step is not to lose your cool, but be firm and consistent and most importantly to keep your word and do what you promise or threat. The message will be sent loud and clear and all will understand.

There may be occasions where you will be challenged but if you stick to your guns and are consistent, things will smooth out and the year will be manageable. You should also keep in mind that in a disruptive class the quieter members of the class are suffering, they are not learning and are not being allowed to learn because a handful of disruptive students have arbitrarily decided for this not to happen. As a teacher, you need to be able and willing to engage when disruptive behavior occurs. Your presence and style should make this felt.

This takes us to the last point which is discussing discipline problems with other teachers and with management. It is an important aspect to being a teacher since we should not be living and working in a vacuum. These are things that bother teachers that they lose sleep over and make life unpleasant. If you are sharing a class another teacher and have a disruptive student, it may be a good idea to confront the student together, in a friendly way of course. It will at least create an element of surprise and make the student think twice about his/her behavior.

The most crucial element in this whole area is the role management. Management ultimately must make decisions about how the school is to be run, what image it wants to have and what the limits are in terms of student behavior and obligations. When these limits are clear to all, then a teacher’s job to manage the class is made much easier.

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