Techniques and Tips for Teaching Large Classes.
Okay, I'm happy to hold
my hand up and admit that this topic was my suggestion. My daughter is about to
start teaching in China, and her classes will contain around 40 students each.
Not able to give her advice from my own experience, I turned to the experts who
take part in #ELTchat on twitter every Wednesday- and they came up trumps, as
usual .
The chat was made up of
teachers from around the world- some with experience of teaching large classes,
ready to impart their knowledge. Others were there to gain information, or even
just to commiserate with / take their hats off to those who taught large
groups.
@Shaunwilden started the ball rolling by asking how these
classes differ, apart from size. At this point the numbers began to appear:
people taught classes of 25, 27, 32, 38 and 50. Classroom management appeared
to be one answer to his question.
Another was the fact that
these classes often contain mixed abilities, language levels, motivation,
needs, interests, and goals. Certainly, many classes may present as mixed
ability, but when working with 40 students it might prove difficult to measure
effectiveness.
Does language acquisition
actually take place in a large class?
How do you
make opportunities for students to speak?
@SophiaMav
and @AnitaJankovic suggested
splitting the students into smaller groups. But it isn’t easy to monitor so
many groups. Even spotting mistakes needs the teacher to be aware of what is
happening in the class. @theteacherjames suggested
that giving worthwhile feedback would be a challenge, and Shaun thought that
monitoring wouldn’t really be much use.
Using the more able
students as TAs was a popular idea, as was the idea of splitting the group so
that the teacher could concentrate on the weaker students.
@MarjorieRosenberg
suggested that large classes can be livelier and more rewarding than
reticent smaller classes. @shaznosel asked
how it would be possible to ensure that the weaker students were engaged and
producing language.
James thought that large
classes gave reluctant students a place to hide.It was suggested that a group
should only have 3 members to avoid any of the students coasting.
Sophia agreed that it was
important to find active roles for students to avoid them ‘lurking’. @CotterHUE
thought that teachers were not reassured that they could reach all students and
help with their goals in large classes.
@timjteacher suggested
alternate assignments to focus on different student needs. Again you have the
problem of monitoring and giving feedback in an effective way.
Technology
to the rescue?
@naomishema
uses edmodo to help her students feel ‘noticed’. Her students have the
perception that they are being given individual attention. The asynchronous
communication ensures that everyone has time to connect with the teacher.
@joannacre
suggested study groups with students recording themselves for homework.
Shaun thought that phones
would be available so the teacher could utilise the text function.
How does
the teacher cope with 40-ish names?
Naomi found remembering
names challenging.
Anita found that seating
arrangements were helpful.
@prese1
used a register with a photo next to each name.
At the very least name
tags would seem to be necessary!
How can the
needs of ALL the students be met?
Ask students to draw up
class rules at the start. Turn it into a contract so that they know what they are working
towards.
Concentrating on the
weaker students is alright up to a point. The more confident learners also need
the teacher’s attention or they could become bored and disruptive. The teacher
needs to know the class well enough to know who is weak and who is just
underperforming.
@louisalix68
told us about a school where she worked with large classes. Each class
had 2 teachers so each could concentrate where needed.
Naomi said that her
breaks were always taken up by the weaker students.
Challenges are needed for
all students, so providing material that lets learners progress at their own
pace is key, but difficult for a teacher to prepare and stay on top of without
putting in a lot of time in the planning and marking stages.
@toulasklavou
thought that large classes are not ideal for learning unless the teacher
is skilful and the students motivated.
Should you pair weaker
students with stronger ones? It was suggested that the weaker ones could feel
intimidated, so the pairing of complete opposites wasn’t very practical.
Is the
situation easier with a class of teenagers or adults?
Tonight’s participants
thought that teaching adults might be better, as paying their own fees would
motivate.
They could also be more
demanding as they are looking for good returns for their money. Teens could be
more difficult to manage and are less tolerant of the differences in
likes/dislikes of others. Finding topics to engage is more of a challenge. If
the teacher has to be concerned with discipline issues it is harder to get them
to learn.
So,
activities?
Naomi suggested having an
answer key on the teacher’s desk for a group using worksheets. Students send a
representative of the group to check the answers or look at hints. As there are
always fast finishers it keeps everyone engaged and busy- great peer work in
action!
@vmorgana
gave us a useful link Large
Teenage Classes: some strategies to enjoy the lesson! http://t.co/ocSnhO7T via @barbsaka in Japan.
@CotterHue
offered an idea for students to work on a series of questions with a
partner and then add follow up questions.
@lewiswaitt
includes his students in the preparation of resources for class and limits the
amount of pre-made material.
@leoselivan
shared another useful link with many immediately applicable ideas and
tips from Penny Ur http://t.co/txHxdHNgG5
@designerlessons
collaboration on projects. This
would engage all the students but might be difficult to monitor effectively.
For some learners using
drama or humour might work, but it wouldn’t suit everyone.
What about
the Class environment?
There was a discussion about the nature of the
chairs and/or desks in the classroom. Being able to physically move the tables
can turn a large class into small manageable units. Some of tonight’s
contributors worked in places where this was not an option; chairs were in
serried rows, bolted to the floor, or even had no appreciable space to set
books out on. Some of the options were unsuitable for left-handed learners!
Students being taught in a lecture hall have very limited options for
collaboration in groups unless the teacher is creative J Anita explained that
the online portion of her classes was essential. Did the setting also mean that
some teachers lecture, or just go through the motions when faced with a large
class in a unprepossessing environment.
What should be avoided?
·
Correcting individual written work during class
time
·
Activities that involve moving about the
classroom
·
Going into class unprepared
·
Think about the syllabus
·
Mingling
·
Giving so much homework that you have no free time
What would
you do for a first lesson with a large class?
Provide a couple of packs of cards. Deal one
out to each student. The number on the card is the number of facts about
themselves that the student has to share.
Rory’s dice – lots of
them so they can be used in a large group- students can write up the story.
And don’t forget to check
out the links above- some excellent ideas there!
Thanks to everyone who
joined in the discussion. The tweets flew and the advice just kept on coming.
I’m sure that this chat will help people who find themselves in the position of
teaching large classes in the future J