Ессе, практичні поради з власного досвіду з вирішення проблем дисципліни "Classroom management, problems with discipline"

     I would like to write some words about a classroom management problem which many teachers face from time to time, I am not an exception. I mean discipline. When I just started to teach at school I worked with the fifthformers, they had been learning language for 4 years at a primary school and had some English teachers during that period. It took quite a lot of time to make a contact with the kids, they tried to find my weak points, it was difficult for me to make them concentrate on the task, organizing group or pair work I faced some problems because children used to talk about their private things more than actually working together to fulfill the tasks. Moreover, I had a student (some teachers called him a “negative leader”) who was always ready to disrupt a lesson by shouting, arguing all the time and even telling “bad” words to the other kids. I tried to find out the solutions, I talked to the other teachers who were also working with these pupils, I visited their lessons, read some information on this problem (many of very useful things are mentioned in our course). I understood that there is not the only correct answer, it is a complex approach, a system of interactions. So, I would like to mention some significant aspects in solving the problem.

    The first thing to do is establishing rapport. It is very important to remember and call children using their names, learn more about their interests and hobbies, find out a little about their background, gather information about their attitudes to English and previous language learning experience. Different ice-breaking activities really helped  to make a good start. I tried to choose topics which are more personalized to provide the activities to get to know each other better and make them more interested in learning the language . At first it really helped when I was the first person to speak, to present my family, to describe my house, hobbies, preferences in books and films.  Having such talks and discussions helped to provide a conductive environment to make children feel secure and motivated, I tried to support and encourage them, cater for their emotional needs, help them realize they can be good at English. As for my “special boy”, speaking about the families we found out that some months ago his sister was born and he felt a little bit jealous, mom had less time for him so he felt lonely and wanted to attract attention but did it in his own way. I always tried to find some warm words to support and encourage him on the lessons and after them , he was the first to help me with the flashcards on the board, I also asked him to play one of the leading roles in our school performance and I was not disappointed. Now I am sure, establishing a good relationship with the children is very significant, as are good relationships between the children themselves. Both are necessary for effective learning.

   The next thing I would like to mention is planning the lessons very carefully: the vocabulary and grammar structures, the amount of oral and written activities, using games, songs, PTR, different interaction patterns, visuals, listening tasks etc should be chosen attentively to cater for kids with different learning styles, increase their interest for the language, motivation, feeling of being involved. A good lesson plan is what we really need, we should arrange the lesson so as to make it involving for all. It is essential to have well-considered sitting arrangement, flexibility and some extra activities to use to change the pace if we see that our children are losing interest or attention.  I always try to consider the level of materials and activities. If they are too easy kids get bored and begin to talk or do other things we would not like them to do. Too difficult tasks will not be done and they will feel disappointed. I also try to give clear instructions for the activities, just some essential key words, which are repeated several times. Moreover, I think, it is obligatory to get responses from lots of different children to give them chance to speak, present their opinion, think and for me to get the feedback and understand real situation.

     Having pair and group work caused some problems with discipline when I just started to work. Some thoughts that really helped me to deal with the problem: the teacher should be very selective about pairing, when we know children better we can make effective couples- a more able child with one who finds things more difficult, a quicker kid with one who needs more time; clear instructions; interesting topic; the teacher is a supervisor and can help if needed; the more pair work we have the quicker children will get used to the idea of pairing and begin to work quietly. It is obvious that having such a work the kid gets much more practice. As for group work, the tasks usually require interdependence: each member is responsible to and depended on all the others and cannot succeed unless all in the group succeed; I try to structure the tasks so that each child can make an equal contribution, then all of them work together for the final report. I also think it is important to give children a chance to evaluate the effectiveness of their group discussing the actions each member has taken to help the group and make its work better.

      I should say that all the things mentioned were quite successful, the children really reacted to my actions. We have less problems with discipline, I do my best to make my lessons beneficial and interesting for the kids. I also learn a lot from them. I will definitely use these techniques again.

     I quite agree that discipline and classroom control have a major effect on the classroom environment and the amount of effective learning that takes place. An effective is one where the teacher is firm but kind and encouraging. Children work, learn and behave best within clear and known boundaries where the rules of behavior are achievable and constant so kids know where they stand. YL should understand, accept and follow the rules in games, in the classroom, at school. There is time to laugh, play, talk loudly, but there is time to calm down. If children are treated badly then they tend to behave in a negative way and vice versa. So we should praise good behavior, comment on good work, support and engage kids with good words, small stickers and stamps, interesting tasks. Never stop looking for clever thoughts and ideas.