By Margot McCamley
Level:
Starter/beginner, Elementary, Pre-intermediate, Intermediate, Upper intermediate,
Advanced Type: Reference material
Advice and
suggestions on getting students to behave well in class and using an
appropriate level of discipline.
How do we get students to behave in class?
Usually not by telling them to behave, but using behaviour patterns that ensure
they behave.
Let me explain. I teach 18 students aged from
11-15 in the one class, some at varying levels of language ability to others.
This means there is not only a sociological divide but also a language level
divide. So how do I get my students to behave? I use these strategies and they
are ones that all teachers need to try at least once in their classroom to see
which ones work for them.
First ask yourself some questions:
- Have you set a code of behaviour in the
classroom?
This should be set with the students, where
possible so they know the consequences of their behaviour should it not be
socially acceptable to the rest of the group or to you. I always have this code
of behaviour on the board or on the wall on a big sheet of paper. Five or six
key points are sufficient, e.g. I will work hard to learn the language.
I sometimes just have to point to it to remind students of their decision, and
this brings the student back on line... Also the teacher needs to add his/her
code of behaviour too, what the teacher will do for the students, e.g. be
patient, never yell, I will work hard to help you learn the language...etc.
- Are the students really understanding you
or are they missing most of what you are saying?
Very often bad behaviour patterns are because
students do not understand what is being taught to them, and they find no
purpose for the noise coming from the teacher. There is one way to demotivate
students and that is for them to not understand what is really going on. Here
is a clue to bad behaviour - 75% of bad behaviour is accredited to academic
failure - in other words, they have missed vital clues in the learning
process.Make sure your students are having fun. This does not mean games where
students are over active. Fast moving games are not necessarily the answer to
discipline. In fact they often exacerbate the problem.
- What type of troublemaker are they?
Attention Seekers - do they show off to get the rest of the class
laughing?
STRATEGY: Ignore minor behaviours but set a
limit on what you call a minor infringement. Be FIRM and CONSISTENT; when
behaviour is good, give attention to that behaviour - e.g. good, well done.
Power seekers - do they want to put one over you all the time?
STRATEGY: Don't argue or fight
with the student; remain fair and firm about the behaviour; as 'the One-Minute
Manager' said, catch them out doing something good.
Revenge seekers - act defiant, e.g. a student who won't move to
another section of the class when you think his or her behaviour is not acceptable.
STRATEGY: Most of all, don't
act hurt - students see that as a weakness because they have had a reaction;
convince the student that he or she is liked - find the student doing something
good and smile at and commend that good behaviour.
Withdrawn or depressed - gives up easily and then sits in silence.
STRATEGY: Ignore failures, but
counsel regularly. When counselling, always, but always give good news first -
e.g. I like what you did here, then counsel with the bad behaviour.
Lastly, finish with some good news - how the behaviour can be addressed and
then arrive at a solution.
Most of all be FAIR and CONSISTENT.
Now some tips for the Teacher:
I have my bad behavers sit in the front of the
class. This way I can move towards them more easily, maybe touch them lightly
on the shoulder if they are getting out of hand and pause near them. Make eye
contact as you leave.
- Use soft reprimands - Like the One-Minute
Manager
Find time to praise the good work the student
does. If the bad behaviour is minor - ignore whereever possible. Don't yell.
Remain silent until the group settles down. If you have some students on-side,
those who do know what is going on, they will settle the rest of the group
down. Let them be the ones to say 'shush'. Sometimes I simply clap hands a
couple of times and the group comes back on line. Then I speak softly, not with
a loud voice. This has a calming effect on the whole class.
- Encourage even your worst student
When they are behaving well, catch them doing
that. 'Well done'. 'Good work'. It is amazing how soon you get them on-side if
they think you are finding them out doing good work. Counsel when you can and
don’t make it always a bad behavioural thing. I often speak to a student after
class and say how well I think they are doing, sometimes in front of their
friends, because it motivates the rest of the group too.
- Never ball out a student out in class
Just at a convenient time, as you are passing
the student say you want to see that student after class - quietly. It is
amazing how the behaviour changes from that moment on. At the meeting, find out
the cause of the behaviour. Explain that it is not helping the student to
behave in this way, and explain the consequences of the behaviour - there is a
written code which all the students agreed to at the beginning of the course -
it should be ever present. And there should be a code of behaviour which the
school has decided on - that persistent behaviour eventually means expulsion.
- Don't allow yelling at the teacher in class
when the student knows something
Miss, Miss Miss or Sir, Sir, Sir...and standing up and
coming to the teacher all the time is another disruptive behaviour. It can be
VERY noisy if all the students know the answer and they are yelling at you and
you don't want a rush of students coming to you to show you their work.
They soon learn the discipline of putting their
hand up when a response is needed or that you will look at their work at an
appropriate time. This makes for a more productive classroom, and students feel
great when they are chosen to answer and you feel better because you don't have
a headache from the noise.
- Move around in the proximity of the student
when the behaviour is persistent
Not in a disciplinary way, rather in the guise
of helping them with the problem they have. Maybe they don't understand. Move
towards them, see if you can help them, then when you have calmed the student,
walk away with a smile and a well done.
A final message:
- Be INSISTENT
- Be CONSISTENT
- Be PERSISTENT
- But most of all be FAIR
Soon you will get to like your students and
enjoy the class with them.
McCamley, M. (n.d.). Classroom management: Classroom discipline. Retrieved June 18,
2013, from http://www.onestopenglish.com/support/methodology/classroom-management/classroom-management-classroom-discipline/146446.article