How to Master Classroom Management
Show Notes
In this week’s episode, we’re talking all about classroom management. First, we share what makes the biggest difference in structuring every lesson you teach: the task cycle. We discuss what it is, how to use it, and how it can revolutionize your lessons to make them more student-centered and create more opportunities for interactive learning. Then we over over additional favorite strategies for managing an adult ESL classroom naturally and masterfully.
In this Episode
The task cycle, or the “microstages” within each stage/ activity of your lesson. These include: giving instructions, letting students work alone, letting students check in pairs, and conducting whole class feedback
The “burger:” a fun analogy for the task cycle
How to make instructions clear using techniques like ICQs (instruction check questions) and demos
Anchoring: why your placement in the classroom matters and how to make sure you’re “anchored” in the right spot
Minimizing teacher talk: why this is essential and how you can ensure you keep your teacher talk low
Language grade: no, we don’t mean assessment- this is how to simplify your language without sounding unnatural
Task before text: why you don’t want to hand out papers before you finish giving instructions
Monitoring: what you should be doing as the students are quietly working, and how the way you use this time impacts the rest of your lesson
Interaction patterns: the whole class should never just be you interacting with the students. How to mix things up to maximize student interaction and communication
Nominating: how to handle who’s speaking when during feedback and how to ensure all students get a chance to participate
Avoiding echoing: the difference between echoing and “correchoing” and why you should only be doing one of them!