LARGE CLASS STRATEGIES

Prepared by Mr. Nay Onn

Content
I. Introduction
II. Problems and cures
1. Teaching in large class
2. Classroom management
3. Monitoring in class
III. Conclusion

Prepared by Mr. Nay Onn

I.

Introduction
Being a English teacher, you may
experience all sizes of classsmall
classes, medium-classes and large
classes. In this unit you are going to talk
about problems and strategies to deal
with those problems often, or
occasionally happening in large
classes.

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II. Problems and Cures

1. Teaching in large classes
Communicative teaching is possible in
large classes
Teachers usually say that they cannot do
communicative teaching in large classes
because communicative techniques
require resources that teachers and
schools dont have such as worksheets,
cards, pictures, furniture moving, etc.
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However, teachers who understand

techniques and how to adapt them and
also know about the effective classroom
management can do communicative
teaching in large classes. Good
techniques do not need lots of material
resources, but they do get students to
work together, help and learn from each
other and this makes students the most
important resources of all.

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2. Classroom management
A. Good management routines and
procedures are essential for successful
teaching and learning in large class.
In large classes, it is very important to
create a productive environment. You want
your students to be motivated to continue
learning. Without a well-thought plan of
classroom management, the class rapidly
becomes disorganized, the activities slow
down and students become discouraged
and bored.
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Classroom management includes routines

and procedures teachers use to make
learning more effective. Starting and
finishing a lesson, giving clear instructions,
organizing pairs and groups, timing and
checking, etc. are all classroom
management jobs.

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B. Discipline, order and routine

Discipline
Without discipline and order, large classes
can quickly become chaotic, if students
are very lively, or deadly boring if students
are the quiet type. Think of discipline in
positive way: discipline creates order and
motivation.

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Order and routine

Order and routine prevent boredom. So
teachers must be organized and plan the
classroom routines they want to use in the
class. Below are the seven routines
teachers can introduce:
-Punctuality: If possible try to arrive first so
that you can prepare the room. Stand near
the door so that you can have individual
contact with students as they come in.
Greet them by their name if you can.
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-Preparation: Prepare all the materials for

your lesson and have it all organized for
quick and easy display, distribution and
collecting in.
-Managing the class: Teach your class
how they are to move into different
techniques and teach them signals which
will tell them when to move, when to stop
talking, etc.

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-Get things ready: Get students work as

soon as they sit downe.g. place marked
homework on their chairs before they
arrive.
-Classroom jobs: Get students to take
responsibility for classroom jobs, erasing
the board, collecting in homework, etc. Try
to involve worker students these nonlinguistic jobs. And this will give them a
sense of pride and usefulness.
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-Students body language: Whenever you

have a new class, train them in how they
will attract your attention. You can ask
them to raise their hands and ignore
shouting out when they have something to
say, to wait for silence before speaking
once the lesson started.
-Time arrangement: Bring the lesson to an
end before the bell and give yourself
enough time to give a conclusion a set
homework. Leave the classroom last.
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C. Five reasons why classroom

routines are important:
1. Students have confidence in the teacher
because they him as a well-organized
person.
2. There is more time for real learning
because classroom management jobs
do not take so long.
3. All students are involved and do not
have time to get bored.
4. The routines are predictable, so
students do not get confused.
5. The routinesPrepared
create
order
and security. 13
by Mr. Nay
Onn

D. Sharing responsibility for classroom

management
A large class is a busy place with a limited
amount of time to be effective. There are
strong arguments for the teacher to share
some classroom jobs with students. Some
of these are: teachers save time, teachers
can monitor the classroom more effectively,
improve class discipline by giving students
a sense of usefulness, build up in students
the feeling of cooperation and teamwork.
However, students have to be trained to do
these things.
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3. Monitoring in class
A. Good monitoring is essential for
successful teaching and learning
Monitoring is one of the most important
procedures in effective teaching and
classroom management. Monitoring
means the teacher moves around the
class.

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B. Fourteen tips for effective

monitoring
Here are the list of tips for good
monitoring:
1. Talk to students from different parts of
the class, not just the front.
2. Make sure you can move around the
room easily, without going to the way
you came.
3. Make sure there is space for you to
move through between the back chairs
and the back walls.
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4. Get students to produce a small

number
of responses that you can
see easily. 15 responses is too many to
monitor quickly, but 5 answers is easier.
5. Decide on easy, short responses for
exercises.
6. Organize responses so that they can be
seen easily.
7. If students work in pairs or groups,
make sure they produce the same
responses.
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8. If students responses can be easily

seen, the teacher can make good
management decision: How much
more time to give to students, etc.
9. Never ask Have you finished?. A
teacher should know if students have
finished
by effective monitoring.
10. Never say Lets go through the
exercise
together.
11. Dont waste time on long checking.
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12. If students have to give good, clear

responses, it is much easier for them to
check each others work.
13. Students learn from actually trying to
use English, not from checking.
14. Good monitoring helps students learn
because they spend more time doing
the technique and because the teacher
can give better feedback.

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III. Conclusion
This unit shows that difficult circumstances
are not an obstacle to good teaching.
Accordingly, teacher should observe the
class more carefully with effective
comments on each situation in order to
make good conclusion for your future
class or a solution for unexpected
problems happening in a class, of 40 or
50 students, which is known as large
class.
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