Classroom

Management
and Student
Motivation
Clare Heaney:
Director of Studies
CLASSROOM
MANAGEMENT??
What is Classroom Management
 Effective Discipline
 Being prepared for class
 Motivating your students
 Providing a safe, comfortable learning
environment
 Building your students’ self-esteem
 Being creative and imaginative in daily
lessons
Different for
everyone…..Why??
 Teaching Styles
 Personality/Attitudes
 Not all management strategies are
effective for every learner

Try different strategies to see what works

best for you!!
TASK
DISCUSS WAYS IN WHICH YOU CAN
DESIGN A LESSON FOR STUDENTS WITH A
VARIETY OF LEARNING STYLES.
WHAT STRATEGIES CAN YOU IMPLEMENT
TO TAKE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT INTO
CONSIDERATION?

Prepare in groups and then relay to the class

WHY IS CLASSROOM
MANAGEMENT
IMPORTANT??
 Satisfactionand enjoyment in teaching are
dependent on leading students to co-
operate
 Classroom management issues are one of
the main concerns of beginning teachers
Principles for successful
classroom management
 Deal with disruptive behaviour – have a clear code of conduct
 Teach students to manage their own behaviour
 Focus attention on entire class
 Direct your instruction so students know what is going to happen
 Monitor all groups – move around the room so students have to pay
attention more readily
 Make sure classroom is comfortable and safe
 Over-plan your lesson so that learning takes place
 Keep a steady pace
 Show confidence in your teaching
 Make class expectations clear and realistic and stick to them
 Be consistent – set realistic goals
 Work to engage all students
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
PRINCIPLES
 Make a good first impression
 Come in with enthusiasm and show that you
are excited to be there
THE TEACHER AS DIRECTOR
 Sitting behind a desk creates distance
between the teacher and learner
 Get down to their level when teaching
 Know how to work one on one while not
turning your back to the class
DEALING WITH DISRUPTIVE
BEHAVIOUR
 Remain focused and calm
 Respond decisively
 Follow the school’s policy and procedures
 Avoid confrontation
THE KEY TO GOOD CLASSROOM
MANAGEMENT
 Use consistent, explicit instructions and praise any
attempts to communicate

 Speak clearly using the normal rhythm and patterns

of English

 Use repetition and non-verbal supports

 Observe and interact to ascertain how much the

student understands

 Allow students time to tune into English – they will

understand more English than they can articulate
 Model correct structures
The Old Way” – Teacher-dominated
WHY USE THE NEW WAY??
1. Students pay more attention and learn
better from each other when their
performances and processes of
negotiation of meaning are more closely
adapted to one another’s level of ability
2. Group work is especially effective because
ESL students are often hesitant to speak
in large settings
 SOME CHALLENGES OF
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
 Students find it difficult to participate
because they don’t want to make a mistake
 Students insist on translating every word
 Students speak in their own language
 Students have varying levels of commitment
 Students insist on translating every phrase
into their own language
Motivation: How do we get our
students excited?
TASK
DESIGN A PLAN OF STRATEGIES YOU USE
TO MOTIVATE STUDENTS IN THE
CLASSROOM

PRESENT TO THE GROUP

Motivation in the ESL
Classroom
 Motivation has long been a major problem for
most teachers of English as a Second Language
(ESL) or as a foreign language .
 Motivation in the ESL/EFL classroom is easily
one of the most important factors as most of
our students have low motivation to learn
English. In addition to that, while most of them
have a vague sense that "English will be useful
for my future," they don't have a clear idea of
what that means, nor is that a very strong
motivator; it's too vague and too far off.
First step in tackling motivation problem:
teachers need to understand and appreciate
the role of motivation in language learning.
According to William Littlewood (1987:53):
“…motivation is the critical force which
determines whether a learner embarks on a
task at all, how much energy he devotes to it,
and how long he perseveres. It is a complex
phenomenon and includes many components:
the individual’s drive, need for achievement
and success, curiosity, desire for stimulation
and new experience, and so on. These factors
play a role in every kind of learning
situation.”
Principle Ways of Motivating
Students in the Classroom
 Use Pair-Work or Group-Work appropriately.
Language is best learned through close
collaboration and communication among
learners. Learners can assist each other during
tasks such as writing, dialogues, role plays etc…
Some students find it less stressful to learn
from their peers than their teacher.
Communicative language teaching requires a
sense of community and an environment of
trust and mutual confidence which “pair work”
or “group work” can provide.
 Provide some “friendly” competition. Adults
like to compete as much as teenagers
(sometimes more!!).
1. Quizzes
2. Games (Stop The
Bus/Pictionary/Taboo/Charades

 Cater to their skills and exploit their

talents
 Integrate technology into the classroom:
Web-quests - an online, inquiry-based
activity where students are required to
search for specific information within links
provided by the teacher, and then produce
a report or a PowerPoint presentation
 The Seating Of The Students: determines the dynamics
of the lesson – a simple change in seating pattern can
make an incredible difference to group coherence. Keep
the following in mind:
1. Maximise eye contact (teacher to student and student
to student)
2. Ensure students are seated at a comfortable distance
between each other but also ensure that no students
are isolated
3. Think in advance about how you will organise changing
partners or changing groups
 Role-Play: This is another technique to vary the
pace of the lesson and to respond to the
fundamental notion of variety in teaching.
Teachers are advised to use the role- play
activity in order to motivate their students and
to help the less motivated learners take part in
the lesson. Besides, certain tasks in the
student’s book are followed by a role- play
activity where it becomes a necessity to
undergo such an activity. As good examples of
that we can state the obvious examples of
dramatizing an interview of customer and shop
assistant, doctor and patient conversation, etc..
Also… phrasal verbs () – students prepare a
role-play using the verbs that they have learned –
highly motivating!! ()
 Use Realia and Flash Cards: Realia is an
authentic material that helps the teacher to
overcome classroom artificiality
 Songs: An excellent medium to heighten
motivation in the classroom – grammar,
vocabulary, pronunciation and community
building can all be taught. Teachers can elicit
students’ ideas about the song through
activities such as prediction, mind maps, word
splashes etc… Students discuss questions such
as the feelings in the song, what will happen
next, etc… and write their responses in an
interesting manner. Students may write and
present how the song makes them feel and then
draw a picture of their feelings while listening
to the song. Teachers respond to this
presentation and ask questions. Then, feedback
is provided from the group.
Strategies for success
 Littlecompliments along the way
 Reinforce accomplishments
 Make it a game
 “How many can you get done in 5 minutes?
 Play the game with child
 Role reversal
 Focuson end result
 What is the student’s goal?
 Address motivation directly
Helpful hints
 Give a choice whenever possible
 Use the foundation of your relationship
 Be creative
 Insist on responsibility
 Warn them of the consequences of their
behaviour
“If you want to build a ship,
don’t drum up the people to
gather wood, divide
the work and give orders.
Instead teach them to yearn
for the endless immensity
of the sea”
— Antoine de Saint-Exupery
 THANK YOU FOR YOUR
TIME. DO YOU HAVE ANY
QUESTIONS??