Teach ESL to Kids

The Key to a Great Class

I believe that effective classroom management is one of the most often overlooked aspects of ESL teaching. You may be given a great curriculum to work with, and all of the materials that you need to teach English. But how many tools are you given to properly manage your class?

Heck, in my first teaching job, I wasn't allowed to punish kids who were acting out! That meant that I couldn't put them in a corner, couldn't properly scold them, couldn't even withhold a reward. I simply had to endure bad behaviour.

I wish I had known then what I know now:

Effective classroom management is the foundation of any good lesson.

Watch Your Language

Working with ESL learners, we have to be very careful of the type of language we use. It's very easy to get frustrated when the kids aren't understanding you. However, this is often because we are using language that is too difficult for them. We are speaking to the students as though they are native English speakers. They are just as frustrated as you! Check out Using Simple Language to read more about this.

Positive Rewards

I'm a big supporter of using positive reinforcement in the classroom. I remember one time I was getting very frustrated with a student, Riki, who wasn't cleaning up. I kept saying "Riki, clean up. Riki, clean up."

After the first few times, I was definitely using my "angry voice". Yet Riki wasn't moving. Suddenly I decided to switch gears and I started praising all of the other kids who were cleaning up. Sure enough, Riki started to clean up.

It's things like this that made me create the Smile System. This has been a very effective classroom management idea. I hope you'll try it out (or something similar).

Time Management

The proper timing of your lessons is another area that ESL teachers need to be aware of. Timing is everything and if you come into your lesson with too much or too little planned, you're going to have a hard time. Proper management of your in-lesson time is essential to maintaining a good class.

Wild Ones

All teachers will eventually face a class of unruly children. It doesn't have to be a nightmare. This is a technique that I have found useful for dealing with these types of situations.

I hope that you find at least one of these suggestions helpful for your class. If you have any ideas that you'd like to share, please contact me. And if you want more classroom management tips or to find out what's new on the site, please sign up for the newsletter.

Love,
Shannon Sensei

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