How to Ensure Effective Classroom Management with Young Learners

Based on the enormous knowledge obtained from the TEFL online study, it is obvious that one of the cornerstones to being a good Teacher especially an ESL Teacher is having excellent knowledge or skill in managing a class, which serves as a requisite to achieving the aim and purpose of the daily lesson.

This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate NEFE K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.

Definition

As stated by Evertson and Weinstein, they described classroom management as the actions taken by the teacher to create a supportive environment for the academic, social, and emotional learning of students. They further explained that teachers who are committed to effective classroom management ensure a high-quality education by developing caring and supportive relationships with and among students.

Also Read: 4 Reasons Why Vietnam is the Perfect Place For Teaching English Abroad

Working with Children

Little children are naturally easily distracted because they have short attention spans, are spontaneous, and always with energy and enthusiasm. They are still learning how to behave in class but are generally motivated and interested in learning English, especially as this involves visits from a different Teacher who brings a fun puppet.

Therefore, in ensuring effective classroom management in young learners as learned during the TEFL online course, the teacher must endeavor to harness the children’s energy and enthusiasm by collaborating with the class tutor (in the case of an ESL Teacher), be consistently firm but friendly in the course of teaching, follow the routines and lesson times and ensure that activities are varied to win and keep the attention and concentration of the children through the course of the lesson.

Rules and Directions

Right from the start, it is essential to make it clear to the class tutor that support is needed to educate the children in the case of an ESL Teacher. Observation on how the classroom tutor has the children sitting during a class routine, moving from the floor to the tables to help set up routines activities and procedures. As rightfully pointed out by Plato that “students should not be trained to learn by force and harshness, rather directing them to it by what amuses their mind, so that the teacher may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.” Nevertheless, small children need to know where the boundaries lie, so they must understand right from the start that there are expected ways to behave in the class. Hence, being firm, fair, and friendly by the teacher is essential to ensure effective classroom management. Also, according to Spencer Kagan, students should play an active role in setting classroom rules. By allowing the students to help create the rules, the students are participating in classroom community building. Everyone is working together and can clearly understand the rules.

Also Read: Needs and Skills Assessment During the First Business English Lesson

Classroom Routine

Routines provide children with stability by giving them a hint of what to expect thereby making them confident. These routines and procedures of each lesson will assist in effectively managing the class. Though it takes time for the children to fully learn these routines and procedures, this means it is important to ensure that the routine is acquired and understood not minding the time it takes.

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While ensuring routine is being followed, the most important point to consider in successfully ensuring effective classroom management is making the class fun by spicing the lesson up with varieties. Young learners, as learned during the online TEFL course, have a short attention span, hence lessons and routines must be organized so that the activities change regularly and include variety. In my experience, activities require children to sit, stand, move, and think, as well as a chant, sing, and be in silence. Be it as it may, the routines inherent in the lessons form a pattern that the students will gradually recognize and able to reiterate subconsciously which will help them to concentrate as stated by Jacob Kounin, who also believed that if students were engaged in their lessons, they would be less likely to misbehave thereby ensuring a well-managed class.

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