Taken from http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/rookie-teaching-technique-choosing-a-seating-arran.html
Some tips to keep in mind
By Karolina del Carmen Bermúdez Zúñiga
Pre-Service Teacher
School of English
Faculty of Social Sciences
Universidad Latina de Costa Rica
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Post 239
If a
teacher wants to manage the classroom successfully, he or she has to know how
to handle some aspects like how the classroom space is organized, whether the
students are working on their own or in groups, and how we organize classroom
time.
The
teachers´ role in the classroom is really important, how they behave, how they
look (appearance); therefore, educators have to take into account how close
they can be to their students; some of the learners are uncomfortable if the
teacher is close, and for other students they feel that if the teacher is not
close, that means coldness from his/her part. This is also related to the
perception of what is appropriate, in order to work with the students.
Another aspect is the use of the voice. For us
teachers our voice is really important in the class; it must be able to be
heard from the back of the class and to hear students’ voices as well; hence, it
is important for teachers to vary the quality of their voices and the capacity
they speak at, according to the type of lesson and the type of activity it is
being carried on. On the other hand, the manner that teachers talk to students,
the way in which they interact with them, is one of the critical teacher skills
needed in the classroom; however, it requires from educators to sympathize with
the people they are talking to by creating a good relationship with them.
To give instructions to our students it has to be done
very simple and clear. Teachers have to be careful to not speak a lot, because
the students would not have time to practice their English; learners have to
speak in the class, too. About the siting arrangements, it is important to keep
the students working in a specific activity and work with their classmates;
this also depends on the behavior of the students and what it is better for
them.
There are some positive aspects to mention; for
example, the importance of the tone of voice, which is our main tool. Depending
on the tone of voice of the teacher, students can understand instructions
clearly without feeling stressed. Additionally, the behavior of the teacher
with the students is significant to make them feel comfortable, and the
educator has to know how to get close to the students without making them feel
uncomfortable.
Related to the siting arrangement, in my opinion, some
of ideas proposed by Harmer (2007) works, but the students working in groups,
do not work as they have to. From my standpoint, that it is not a positive sitting
arrangement.
To conclude what, I think it is better to use in teenagers’
classes is the use of the horseshoe sitting arrangement, because the students
are closer to each other and can help one another, and the teacher can have
access to the whole class. Also I will use the circle siting arrangement to
make the students work together without missing the control of the classroom,
and it is a really organized method to have the class going on.
References
Harmer, J. (2007)” Managing the classroom” How to
teach English Essex: Pearson
Saturday, March 26, 2016
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