Following on from my last tip on classroom management about
my red and yellow card system, this one focusses on sending students out. I got sent out of class a few times as a student and it used to scare the pants off me, especially knowing that the Head could pop by and give me a roasting.
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Haven't tried it with adults yet.
Photo by 1200lle |
I like sending students out of my class, especially one or two in the first week of a new course. I think it shows them who's boss and that you have the final say about what happens in your class. How should you go about it though? Here are a couple of tips.
- Minute rule: I don't tend to send students out for long, one or two minutes is fine. Firstly in case they wonder off out the school, and secondly they will miss whatever you are teaching.
- A simple "Wait outside please," while pointing to the door is my usual tactic. It's polite, effective, and you don't have to raise your voice.
- A chat: I always go outside after and have a chat about why I've sent them out. I normally ask them why, explain why whatever they have done is not acceptable and then let them in.
- Set the tone: Like I said above, one or two in the first week is handy just to set the tone. Don't just send them out for no reason. I normally do if they are speaking too much Spanish, not listening, being rude, or not behaving well.
- Check with your director. Double check with your director before you start sending students out. They might not like it and you could get in trouble. Find out what they consider are suitable punishments.
- Don't let it get out of hand. I remember one year I was constantly sending students out and in the end it lost it's effect and students started to laugh (I think some even had a bet between them to see who could get sent out first). It's a useful tool, but don't over do it.
So there we go. Send students out, show them who's boss, and take control of your class. Next tefl tip will be about controlling L1 in your class.
Labels: classroom management, New to TEFL, sending students out, tefl tips