ESPECIALIDAD INGLES

TEMA 22

VARIABLES A TENER EN CUENTA EN LA ORGANIZACIN DE LA CLASE

DE LENGUA EXTRANJERA INGLESA: AGRUPACIN DEL ALUMNADO,
DISTRIBUCIN DEL ESPACIO Y TIEMPO; SELECCIN DE
METODOLOGAS, PAPEL DEL PROFESOR, ETC...

ASPECTS OF CLASS MANAGEMENT: PUPIL GROUPING, SPACE AND

TIME MANAGEMENT, METHODOLOGY SLECTRION, ROLE OF THE
TEACHER, ETC...

1. INTRODUCTION.

2. PUPIL GROUPINGS.

a. Lockstep.
b. Pair work.
c. Group work.
d. Individual work.

3. SPACE AND TIME MANAGEMENT.

a. Space management.
b. Time management.

4. THE ROLES OF THE TEACHER AND LEARNER.

a. The teachers role.

b. The learners role.

5. METHODOLOGY SELECTION.

a. Selection of activities.
b. Planning principles in methodology selection.

6. SUMMARY.

7. SYNOPSIS.

8. BIBLIOGRAPHY.
1- INTRODUCTION.

In this topic we will analyse various aspects of class management which we

must take into account for achievement of effective teaching. These aspects
include the student groupings, the space and time management, the methodology
selection and the role of the teacher.

This topic is of prime relevance since class management involves the efficiency
of the teacher and the learning activities.

2 PUPIL GROUPINGS.

We will first discuss the pros and cons of various interaction patterns: lockstep,
pair work, group work and individual study.

It is advisable to use the different groupings.

2.1 Lockstep.

Lockstep is the traditional teaching situation. All the students work as a

group with the teacher ( they are locked into some activity ) and the
teacher acts as controller and assessor.

This type of grouping is used when the teacher provides feedback or

gives instructions.

a) Advantages.

Lockstep has certain advantages:

The whole class are concentrating and the learners attention span
is then improved.
Everyone can hear what is being said.
The students get a good language model from the teacher.
Many students find lockstep very comforting.

b) Disadvantages.

There are also reasons why the use of lockstep alone is less than
satisfactory:

Students working in lockstep get little chance to practise. Besides,

they do not use language in real-life situations.
Lockstep usually goes at the wrong pace: either the teacher is too
slow for the good students or he/she is too fast for the weak
students.
 2.2 Pair work.

a) Procedures for pairwork.

It pairwork is to be successful, certain procedures need to be followed.

I. Make sure the students know exactly what the have to do.
Explain the activity and practise as necessary.

II. Divide the students into pairs ( taking advantage of the way the
are seated ). Depending on the type of activity, make sure that
students take it in turns to initiate and respond ( e. g. ask and
answer questions ).

III. Carry out selective checking, walking round the class and
listening in Join in with a pair from time to time, especially with
those students who are likely to need your help. If you feel that
an activity is going badly, stop it, re-present it to the class and
let the students start again.

IV. Control noise level by stopping an activity and asking the

students to start again more quietly.

V. Gauge the amount of tune an activity should go on for. Stop the

activity when most students have had a reasonable amount of
practice.

VI. Provide any necessary feedback. Tell the students how well they
have done.

b) Advantages.

Pair work has the following advantages:

It increases the amount of students talking time as they are presented with
opportunities for productive practice.

It develops socialization skills and attitudinal contents (cooperation,

participation, autonomy and responsibility), which contribute to create a good
atmosphere in the classroom.

c) Disadvantages

However, pair work has several disadvantages:

The students will sometimes use their mother tongue. Apart from selecting
activities which we can be reasonably sure are not beyond the level of the
students and in preparing them if necessary with some essential language
 (especially in the early stages), there are a number of things we can do to help
overcome this problem:

Explain to the students why they are doing activities of

this kind: i.e. that this is an opportunity to use English.

Demonstrate whenever possible how they can get

round difficulties , i.e. through alternative expressions.

Encourage the students to consult us if they have real

difficulties.

Ask them at least from time to time to impose self-

discipline, e.g. through a penalty system which requires
them to pay a small fine if they use the mother tongue.
This can be done in a fun-like way so that the students
actually enjoy catching one another out.

Incorrectness is another problem as many students think that if they are not
corrected, they do not learn.

Teachers sometimes worry about noise when pair work is used.

2.3. Group work

a) Organising group work.

a) Forming groups. The size of the groups should be worked out in relation to the
total number of students in the class. As a general rule, we could say that there
should be 5-8 students in each group and not more than 5-6 groups in the class.
The teacher should normally form the groups, usually on the basis of mixed
ability ( i.e. good and weak students together) since as a rule learners do help
one another.

b) Group leader. Each group should have its own leader. The function of the
group leader is not to dominate the group but to coordinate their activities and to
serve as a link between the group and the teacher.

c) The role of the teacher. These are some of the things the teacher must do:

Select activities carefully. The teacher should ensure that the activities
can be done reasonably well with the language the students have at their
disposal.

Work out the instructions for an activity carefully. Keep instructions

simple, and if necessary use the mother tongue.
 Present the activity to the class. Give plenty of examples and give the
students a trial run.

Monitor the students performance. While the activities are in progress,

the teachers main task is to move around the class and to listen in
discreetly in order to find out how the students are getting on. The
teacher should not, as a rule, correct mistakes of language during a group
activity but make a note of them and use them as the basis of feedback.

d) Provide feedback.

b) Advantages

Group work offers the following advantages:

It increases the amount of students talking time.

It gives the students the opportunity of using language to communicate

with each other.

It develops socialization skills and attitudinal contents.

c) Disadvantages

Group work has the same disadvantages as pair work: use of the first language,
incorrectness and noise.

The size of the groups depends on the activity type, whether it is a dialogue, a debate, a
game, etc. When the class is divided into two groups, we speak of team work. Team
work is not often used because it involves less pupil participation.

2.4. Individual Study

We must try and let students work on their own and at their own pace at some stage
during the class.

This type of grouping can be used for reading and writing work.

3- SPACE AND TIME MANAGEMENT

3.1. Space management.

Space bears a direct relationship to the activities to be done, and an indirect relationship
to the methodology.

There are different ways of organising the classroom:

 a) Traditional seating arrangement. The students sit in rows facing the teaching. It
is up-front teaching: the teacher is at the front of the class as the focus.

There is not a close relationship between the teacher and the students. Therefore
this seating arrangement does not foster communication.

This type of class arrangement is suitable for the beginning and the end of the
lesson, the representation stage, and individual work: exams, written exercises,
compositions, silent reading. This distribution does not favour communication,
and the position of the teacher is of distance and difference with respect to the
pupils.

b) Circle, teacher out. This kind of arrangement favours communication, since the
pupils can see each other. As the teacher is out, the pupils feel more comfortable.

This type of arrangement is suitable for debates, discussions, games. It is typical

of the methods Community Language Learning, Total Physical Response and
The Silent Way.

c) Circle, teacher inside. The role of the teacher is to provide help when necessary.
It is suitable for every kind of communication activity.

d) Horse shoe. The students are seated in a semicircle and the teacher is in the
middle. It is suitable for every kind of activity: drills, games, debates, etc. This
grouping favours communication.

e) Boarding meetings. It is used for activities involving a lot of material (reports,

project work ). The desks are placed together and the pupils sit around.

f) Streams. The pupils are seated in two parallel rows facing the blackboard or
facing each other. The most suitable activity to use this type of arrangement is
the debate.

g) Mix and mingle. Every student is in a different position, all looking at the
teacher. This type of arrangement is suitable for many oral games.

h) Learning stations. The class is divided into groups of 4, 6 or eight students,

each group like a station in which different activities are done and where the
pupils can change positions.

3.2. Time management

Time plays a decisive role in the learning process, since we can plan objectives,
contents and activities according to the length of lessons.
We must take into account the psychological characteristics of our pupils and design
varied and short activities as their concentration span is short.
On the other hand, w should plan realistic timings for the completion of certain
activities (games, discussions) and design activities for the end of the lesson, in case we
run out of material.

We will now present the different types of timetable:

a) Open timetable. It allows the students to plan the activities of the day, and so
requires careful activity: planning and material organization.

b) Flexible timetable. Lessons can be shorter or longer. The advantage of this type
of timetable is that it is adapted to the needs of the syllabus.

c) Traditional timetable. There is a fixed number of fifty-minute lesson given by

the same teacher in the same classroom.

d) Modular timetable. The school day is divided into modules of 20 minutes. The
English lesson may cover two successive modules one day, three the next day,
two the next day. There are certain activities that can be done in one module, like
conversation in small groups.

4- THE ROLES OF THE TEACHER AND LEARNER

4.1. The teachers role.

The role of the teacher, then, will depend to a large extent on the activity type. We will
examine the roles of controller, assessor, prompter, participant and resource.

4.1.1. Controller/ Conductor

The teacher acts as a controller at the presentation stage, at the practice stage and in
lockstep activities.

At the presentation stage, the teacher checks that all the students have understood the
form and meaning of the new language item.

At the practice stage, the teacher elicits responses, provides cues in drills, works out the
instructions for the activities and check that the pupils are doing the activity in the
proper way.

4.1.2. Assessor

The teacher will correct the students mistakes at the practice stage. He /She should also
assess how well they are performing.

On the other hand, the teacher will encourage self-assessment. In this way the pupils
will become more responsible, autonomous and independent, and they will get more
involved in the learning process, which is very important, as it is the centre of learning
and a point of reference.

The teacher must also assess his/her own work as teacher.

4.1.3. Organiser

The success of many activities depends on good organization and on the students
knowing exactly what they have to do.

The main aim of the teacher when organising an activity is to give clear instructions and
get the activity going.

4.1.4. Prompter

The teacher will encourage the students to participate or make suggestions about how to
carry out an activity when there is a silence or when do not know what to do next.

4.1.5. Participant

The teacher will sometimes act as a participant. This will contribute to create a pleasant
atmosphere in the class, and will also give the students the opportunity of practising
English with someone who speaks it better than they do.

4.1.6. Resource

The teacher should always be willing to offer help if necessary.

4.2. The learners role

One of the major changes in foreign language teaching refers to the learners role.

Whereas in the traditional foreign language methods the learner assumed a passive role,
the teacher being the focus, in the communicative approach the learner plays an active
role and is responsible for their own learning.

On the other methods, such as The Silent Way and Suggestopedia, the students are
encouraged to become independent.

5. METHODOLOGY SELECTION

5.1. Selection of activities

The learning and assessment activities will aim to develop the students communicative
competence and to practise the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and
writing) taking into account that following the Foreign Language Area Curriculum in
Primary Education, aural/oral skills will be stressed over written skills.

The activities will be selected according to the stage of the lesson:

*At the practice stage, we will design pre-communicative activities, which will prepare
the students for using the new language in real communication. The activities will be
oral guided: drills, short dialogues, exercises

*At the production stage, the pupils will do free speaking and written activities which
engage them in real communication: simulations, role-plays, discussions, information
gap activities, problem solving activities, compositions, games, etc.

With regard to assessment, there are many ways of assessing the students progress from
class observation to objective test. Evaluation should be continuous and global.

5.2. Planning Principles in Methodology selection.

On the other hand, we must take into consideration two planning principles in
methodology selection:

a) Variety

Variety mainly means using a wide range of materials and activities in the classroom.
There are many ways of introducing variety within a lesson:

- We can use a wide range of activities and materials.

- We can change the seating arrangements for different activities.
- We can use the coursebook in different ways.

We should introduce variety for three reasons:

- The students motivation will be better.

- Our pupils attention span is short and they thus need to do different
things.
- Lessons will be more enjoyable.

b) Flexibility

Flexibility means the ability to use different techniques, activities and materials
depending on the students level.
6 -SUMMARY

In this topic we have analysed various aspects of class management including

student groupings, the distribution of space and time, the role of the teacher and
the learner, and the selection of methodology.

We also have described briefly the advantages and disadvantages of the different
types of interaction: lockstep, pair work, group work and individual study.

Space bears a direct relationship to the activities to be done, and an indirect

relationship to the methodology.

Time is also a relevant element in the teaching process, since we plan objectives,
contents and activities according to the length of lessons.

The role of the teacher depends to a large extent on the activity type. We have
examined the roles of controller, assessor, prompter, participant and resource.

In the learning process, pupils are responsible for their own learning and should
develop autonomy.

In the last part of the topic we have focused on methodology selection. We have
centred on different types of learning activities according to the stage of the
lesson.

Finally we have enumerated two essential learning principles: Variety and

flexibility.

Variety means mainly using a wide range of materials and activities in the
classroom.

Flexibility means the ability to use different techniques, activities and materials
depending on the students level.

7 - SYNOPSIS

PUPIL GROUPINGS

* Lockstep - Advantages
-Disadvantages

*Pair work - Procedures of pair work

- Advantages
- Disadvantages
* Group work - Organising group work
- Advantages
- Disadvantages

* Individual work

SPACE AND TIME

* Space management - Traditional seating arrangement

- Circle, teacher out
- Circle, teacher inside
- Horse shoe
- Boarding meeting
- Streams
- Mix and mingle
- Learning stations

* Time management - Types of timetable

THE ROLES OF THE TEACHER AND LEARNER

*Teachers roles - Controller

- Assessor
- Organiser
- Prompter
- Participant
- Resource

* Learners roles

METHODOLOGY SELECTION

*Selection of activities - Learning activities - Pre-communicative activities

- Communicative activities

*Planning principles - Variety

- Flexibility
8-BIBLIOGRAPHY

BURT, K.M. & DUKAY, H.C., New Directions in Second Language Learning:
A Guidebook for ESL/EFL Teachers. MacGraw Hill International Book
Company.

CRYSTAL, D. Lenguaje infantil. Aprendizaje y Lingstica. Medico-tcnica.

Barcelona, 1981.

DIXON, R.J. Practical Guide to the Teaching of English. Regent Publishing

Co., New York, 1975.

HARMER, JEREMY., The Practice of English Language Teaching. Longman

Handbooks for Language Teachers. Longman 1983.

This book is a complete guide and reference work for all teachers of English as a
foreign or second language.

HONEY & MUNFORD, Manual of Learning Styles. Cambridge, 1992.

NUNAD, DAVID., Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom.

Cambridge, 1989.

VANK, E. K., The Threshold Level. Council of Europe, 1975.

WIDOSH, H. J., Teaching English as Communication. Oxford U. P., 1978.