Nope. Fifty at the most but does that disqualify the idea?Originally Posted by russellsimpson
Instead of giving them 50 minutes to eat, give them 15. It's not like anyone can claim you didn't let them have time for lunch.
---Update---
Once again, you're mistaking THEORY for REALITY.
In REALITY how do you manage large classes Stamp? With large doses of positive reinforcement? Fuck me running, you must be a teaching GOD!!!!!!
THEORY is really great when you're sitting at a bar, REALITY is for those who actually have to have tools and techniques to manage a classroom. Could you shed some light on your experience in managing large classes or even managing something as simple as say, as website?
I did that, didn't I?
Off-topic mate.
Positive re-enforcement alone works well with up to fifteen students, imo.
After that one should always have the heavier equipment ready.
Have I mentioned chalk ?
But on a serious note....
If you are western trained you can pretty well throw much of what you've learned out the window when you arrive triumphantly into a class of cheering students in a class of sixty.
I used to hand out yellow cards as positive re-enforcement.
The students would write disparaging remarks and draw unwholesome picture on the cards.
Sometimes secret phone calls were revealed.
I always kept all the cards in circulation. It got to the point where students would look forward to collecting the cards just to be up on the latest gossip.
Worked well.
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if teaching speaking/listening to large classes of 50/60 students, the goal shouldn't be to get the class quiet, so only your voice can be heard, IMO.
unless it's an exam where all the students aren't allowed to talk, the goal should be to get the students talking.
even when teaching grammar points or introducing an activity, you can be calling students by name to stand up and answer a question, etc. or have a few students come to the front of the class to help demonstrate what is being taught.
keeping the class moving along and the students interested.
as long as the boys in the back aren't making too much noise so the students you are interacting with can be heard, then let them be, IMO.
and during class activities, go up to the kids in the back of the class who aren't joining in (because they're bored and/or don't understand) and get them involved in the activity by talking to them and having them do something at their ability. some of them actually appreciate the effort.
Last edited by Farangrakthai; 19th October 2012 at 23:46.
"Fear and Guilt are your only enemies. Love and Awareness are your true friends" -
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That's positive reinforcement.
Stop lecturing/sulking and do something good like putting on a movie.
You should have an assistant in a class that size. In fact, you shouldn't have to do any kind of disciplining at all... but you do and that's the reality of it.
On your return to the next semester at school I would escort the first kid (who gets out of hand) down to the office and leave him there to explain to the admin staff what's going on. Don't make any small talk with him or the teachers. Let them figure it out and wait for them to come to you with questions.
This should fix things right away. If it doesn't then just keep taking them down (one at a time) to the admin office till the students and the other teachers get the idea.
Losing your cool never works and you'll lose respect of all the students, not just the ones who don't give a rats ass about you or learning English.
It works... well it has for me on the occasions when the assistant hasn't shown or has snuck off, thinking that me coming into the class is some kind of free period for him or her!
Good luck and keep this thread updated on what you do and how it works...
Some fantastic advice chaps - many Thanks
I'm going to spend some time trying to work out what to try first - almost looking forward to these classes now !
One point I made before and maybe needs re-enforcing is the fact I teach both TSM classes 3 times per week.
Lesson 1 - Extra Reading.
Lesson 2 & 3 Double period - Normal class & Extra reading.
One of the issues may be, as Beavis pointed out, they are bored of seeing me 3 times per week.
Plus the double period does not help whatsoever.
I'm thinking that I should vary the extra reading classes and have several options available depending on the interest level.
Perhaps a selection of English/American movie/sitcom clips would make the extra lesson(s) more interesting - I could create worksheets for the students to attempt after the clips.
I already utilise a team based competition - using activities and various tasks for the points.
But overall I am looking forward to trying these suggested methods - Thanks
^sounds good....also think about their attention spans when you plan the lessons. i try to keep things within a 10-15 minute range, longer then that and students drift away.
fred
Won't your schedule for the next term be different? You might find you teach them at a different time of the day, when they're not tired and instead are full of energy. lol.
I like the suggestions others have made about 'positive re-inforcement'. I also agree that as long as students at the back are not being disruptive it can be best to just leave them alone or just involve them in a way that does not try to extend them beyond their level of ability.
One thing you can try with incessant talkers is to ask them to answer your questions - get them to stand up and answer in front of the whole class. You can then either try to be suppotive and encourage the student to get the answer right, and give praise etc. Or you could just laugh and call the student a buffalo and get all his/her classmates to join in with the name calling! A teacher I knew used to do the second of these to great effect - it became a game where students would raise their hands to the sides of their heads and make buffalo horns, and the whole class would shout out buffalo and make buffalo noises. It actually worked at focussing attention and the noisy 'bad boys' at the back stopped the talking in his lessons.
But the best advice I could give you is not to spend so long worrying about this or trying to plan how to deal with it. Especially now you're on holiday. Just see what happens in class, see how your new schedule looks, and go with the flow.
Gosh.
I sure can imagine a number of ways that idea could go south.
That's very sound advice I think.
I really hope my schedule has changed and for the better !
Thanks TopCat.
Most of the suggestions here are good but it all depends on how much support you can get from admin and how much influence/power the students and their parents have.
Just to add to this:
I used to write the time that the lesson ended (and breaktime/lunch began) on a corner of the whiteboard. Say, 10.15.
Then, when I found myself in a distressed state due to the level of kerfuffle I would erase a number and change it +1. 10.16 DIDN"T SAY A WORD when I did this. It was important. Deadpan face. Full on poker. Thought of dead kittens. Then continued
When the Kerfuffleometer's needle hit the red again, back to the board. 10.17
Sooner or later, one of the kids would suss out what the score was and relay the message to the rest of them.
Then, as order was gradually restored, I would return to the board and write us back to break time, minute by minute, until we back to 10.15. Or not - you have to follow through or you can never use it again. A minute or two's wait in the classroom won't hurt.
They'll get your drift.
Observe, if you will, my analysis of the problem using the Kerfuffle Scale (TM). Hyperbole is used here to indicate teacher threats, bribes, entreaties to be quiet, screaming and weeping, and so on. You can add your own.
Note the steep drop-off after Point 6 on the chart. That's when they realised that they weren't going to get their raw hotdogs on time.
Last edited by Anna Key; 24th October 2012 at 21:05.
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