Ruling the Unruly: Classroom management and solutions

Time of the Presentation
Day: Monday April 18th (also Tax Day in the USA ;-}
Time: 10:25am-11:10am
Room: 6
SIG: Teacher Development

English teachers in the tertiary and adult education sectors are often left on their own when confronted with poor behavior in the language classroom. In this workshop, we will discuss the challenges and possible solutions to several discipline issues. The speaker will also ask participants to express their frustrations and encourage others to offer solutions to their colleagues.

*Summary*
Often seen as a virtual taboo, classroom management can be a tough subject to broach with teachers in the higher and adult education sectors. New teachers are often shocked and ill prepared for a lack of discipline in certain areas of the world. Many teacher training courses and materials only briefly mention “problem classes” and nothing is available for those dealing with attention deficit issues, learning disabilities, and large, multi-level classes. Moreover, language teachers face the added challenge of maintaining discipline in classes while using the students’ L2, which can have less of an affect than the L1.

In this workshop, the speaker will discuss various levels of disruptions (e.g. mobile phone use, chitchatting, sleeping, refusal to participate, outbursts), offer some solutions (e.g. setting up a rules system and defining consequences) and discuss the challenges (e.g. gauging the best tactics, staying consistent, getting feedback, and dealing with the lack of or gaining administrative support). The speaker will also provide attendees with useful materials, including a set of class rules that have been tried and tested with several groups of hard-to-manage students.

Not one classroom is the same, and of course some of the problems and solutions presented in this workshop will be country specific. But it will offer attendees food for thought on how they can improve their students’ behavior as well as their own.