SUBJECT ASSIGNMENT:

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES AND REFLECTIONS ON PRACTICE

Luz Amparo Cuero Valencia

COFPMTFL99168
Luz Andrea Bolaos Benigno
PEFPMTFL2118447
Yuly Andrea Urrea Jimnez
COFPMELE2120254
Daniel Eduardo Castellanos Amaro
COFPMELE2167844
Adriana Manjarrez Snchez
MXFPMTFL1240395

Group: 2016-02

Dr. Eugenia Falabella

Tutor

May 22nd, 2016

Index

Assignment CMTRP

1. Justifying weather or not the following Urs patterns of interaction are Student-centered or
teacher-centered...............................................................................................................................4
1.1. Group work.......................................................................................................................................4
1.2. Closed-ended teacher questioning....................................................................................................4
1.3 Individual work..................................................................................................................................4
1.4. Choral responses...............................................................................................................................4
1.5. Collaboration....................................................................................................................................4
1.6.

Student initiates, teacher answers................................................................................................4

1.7.

Full-class interaction....................................................................................................................4

1.8.

Teacher talk..................................................................................................................................5

1.9.

Self-access...................................................................................................................................5

1.10

Open-ended teacher questioning..................................................................................................5

2. Error Categorization...................................................................................................................5
3. Group Work: Explaining whether or not the some situations would be corrected..................6
3.1. Students are writing a paragraph about a holiday in ones or twos.....................................................6
3.2. Students are discussing the question of pollution in small groups....................................................6
3.3. Students are debating on the rights of women in an open class focus...............................................6
3.4. Students are discussing role-playing a public meeting after reading a text, and are preparing their
side of the argument.................................................................................................................................7
3.5 Students are giving the answer to a listening comprehension exercise in class feedback...................7
3.6. Students are checking a grammar exercise in open class..................................................................7
3.7. Students are giving the teacher examples of the target structure used to and the teacher is writing
these examples on the board....................................................................................................................7
4. Individualization in the language classroom..............................................................................7
4.1. Readers.............................................................................................................................................7
4.2. Response to listening........................................................................................................................7
4.3. Workcards.........................................................................................................................................8
4.4. Textbook questions in class...............................................................................................................8
4.5. Worksheets........................................................................................................................................8
4.6. Textbook exercises for homework....................................................................................................8
4.7. Varied tasks.......................................................................................................................................8
4.8. Research...........................................................................................................................................9
5. Mixed- ability groups in SLA environment................................................................................9
6: Using L1 in the classroom..........................................................................................................10
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Assignment CMTRP

6.1. If you give instructions for activities in the mother tongue, you deprive students of an important
opportunity to be exposed to natural L2 use..........................................................................................10
6.2. Students should be allowed to ask the teacher (in English) if they may say something or ask
something in their own language and all other use of their mother tongue should be prohibited...........10
6.3. Teachers could sometimes use mother tongue text s with students, but comprehension tasks should
always require students to produce English...........................................................................................10
6.4. If students translate the meaning of new vocabulary they will develop the mistaken idea that there
is a one-to-one correspondence between words in English and in their own language..........................11
6.5. Instructions should always be given in both languages but in English first..................................11
6.6. Translation should never be used with young learners....................................................................11
7. Justification of Statement referring to Teacher Thinking......................................................11
7.1. Teacher thinking refers not just to the way we think as teachers, but also to what effect the way we
think has on our teaching.......................................................................................................................11
7.2. Our beliefs as teachers affects our classroom management more than any other factor in the
classroom...............................................................................................................................................11
7.3. Examining our pre-, inter- and post-active decisions as teachers is the best way to investigate our
thinking as teachers................................................................................................................................11
7.4. As teachers we are doomed to repeat teaching behavior that we learnt through our apprenticeship
of observation.......................................................................................................................................11
7.5. There is always a mismatch between a teacher espoused theories and his/her real classroom
behavior.................................................................................................................................................12
7.6. Teachers beliefs, which are formed early in life, are very difficult to change................................12
7.7. As teacher will usually have a deeply-rooted (possibly unconscious) view about who his/her
learners are, and this view is related to how the teacher believes languages are learned.......................12
7.8. Taking into account the affective climate in a classroom is likely to affect a teachers classroom
management decisions...........................................................................................................................12
8. Multiple Intelligences & Collaborative/Cooperative learning...............................................12
in Classroom Management............................................................................................................12
8.1. Multiple Intelligences.....................................................................................................................12
8.2 Collaborative/Cooperative Learning................................................................................................13
References.......................................................................................................................................14

Assignment CMTRP

1. Justifying weather or not the following Urs patterns of interaction are Student-centered or
teacher-centered.
Communicational exchange between student and teacher is a vital part of teaching English as a foreign
language. According to the scholar, Penny Ur (1999), there is a variety of patterns of interactions which take
place in a classroom when teaching English as a foreign language.
1.1. Group work
This is a more learner-focused design of reciprocal action because the student participates actively in the
assignment that the teacher is giving. In this case the group members have more opportunities to interact
among each other so that they can use the language more effectively; in this case, theyre acquiring the
language. In this type of interaction students are willing to fulfill the assignment without teachers
monitoring so that they can help each other becoming more autonomous.
1.2. Closed-ended teacher questioning
In this teacher-centered type of interaction the teacher is in control of the situation asking yes/no questions
and the students talk to the teacher just to answer the questions. The pupil has no opportunity to choose who
to talk to and the teacher always decides who answers removing the opportunity from the ones who want to
speak. This type of interaction is not demanding at all for the students as they have no time to make an
answer up, resulting in a low level of understanding.
1.3 Individual work
This is a more independent pattern of instruction. Students are the center of the activity; however, there is a
lack of interaction among peers resulting in students inactivity. Using this type of activities we can apply
Gardners (1995) multiple intelligences explanation so that we can identify how the students acquire
knowledge better. Students can work at their own speed, teacher can monitor and check which student takes
more time doing a task to support them.
1.4. Choral responses
As students don't have the opportunity to process information and give original and unique answers, it is a
teacher-led type of activity. This pattern provides the teacher with opportunities to take control of the lesson
and it is also a teachers decision to give immediate, eventual, individual or group feedback. In this case,
teacher supervises the activity deciding in the class what the students should response and students just wait
for the teacher to ask more questions.
1.5. Collaboration
In this situation, students work together in order to learn a topic or accomplish a task. As a more student
centered type of interaction, students are more autonomous in the way that they can assign roles and tasks to
each member of the group.
1.6. Student initiates, teacher answers
We agreed that this is a balanced type of exchange. We can see both students and teachers engaged in the
activity. Students are always thinking about a particular and original question and then there is an
immediate answer from the teacher. Students and teachers have the same amount of participation.
1.7. Full-class interaction
This model of interaction is student-centred. The students do a language task as a class and the teacher can
intervene occasionally. Students create their own rules, choosing the speed and difficulty of the task. The
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Assignment CMTRP

students always takes a leader position so that he or she can built leadership skills in a process that is
cultivated by a passion for learning the target language.
1.8. Teacher talk
This activity does not involve students interaction. It means that is a teacher-centered type of interaction.
The pattern always allows the teacher to take control of the situation by deciding who answers and in what
moment. It is also the teachers decision when to stop the student and when to give feedback.
1.9. Self-access
This is a student-centered activity in which students are 100% autonomous to choose their own task and
speed, and are always free to choose what to learn and how they learn. This activity involves less teacher
intervention as they are acting as facilitators in the task.
1.10 Open-ended teacher questioning
As a group, we agree that this is a shared-responsibility type of activity. Teachers and students both
participate in the task by asking and giving answers. Students also have the opportunity to create their own
answers. However, sometimes the activity focuses on student responses, but when the teacher is the one
asking, the task focuses on him or her. This is why it is a student and teacher centered interaction process.

2. Error Categorization
This chart shows each one of the errors requested to analyze. It has been divided in two parts: Statements
& Error Category and correction.
Statement
How you
school?

Error Category and correction

come

to Grammar (The auxiliary is missing)

Correct form: How do you come to school? The speaker should use do if
the interaction is about daily routine.

I go always to France for Grammar (word order -collocation)

my holidays.
Correct form: I always go to France on my holidays. The adverb of
indefinite frequency should be between the subject and the verb.
I dont like travelling by Meaning (wrong spelling)
sheep
Correct form: I dont like traveling by ship
The word ship is confused by the word sheep .
(Mike speaking to his Appropriacy
boss) Thats a load of
It is impolite to say to your boss Thats a load of rubbish, mate. a correct
rubbish, mate
level of formality should be used in this situation.

Assignment CMTRP

She suggested us to go Grammar

home.
The verb suggest is not followed by an object pronoun that refers to the
indirect object. Correct form: "She suggested that we go home.
Oh, of course! - Youre Pronunciation - (Intonation).
Peter, arent you? (Rising
Falling intonation must be used when tag questions are used expecting the
intonation on arent you).
other person to agree.
(student in pub) Give me Appropriacy.
a beer.
The student is talking to a stranger doing his work, so the student should
have asked for a beer in a formal and more polite way instead of giving a
command. Appropriate forms: Can I have a beer, please? Could I have a
beer, please? Or a beer please?
She went to the library to Meaning. (Language interference-false friend).
buy a book.
The lexical item bookshop or bookstore should be used to avoid
misinterpretations. Correct form: She went to the bookstore to buy a book.

3. Group Work: Explaining whether or not the some situations would be corrected.
3.1. Students are writing a paragraph about a holiday in ones or twos
Yes. The final work should be corrected when students have finished and handed it in to the teacher.
Teachers should give written feedback, highlighting the mistakes by writing some symbols depending on
the type of mistake, e.g. SP for spelling mistakes, GR for grammar mistakes, WW for wrong word, etc. so
students can reflect on their mistakes and self-correct.
3.2. Students are discussing the question of pollution in small groups
Yes. Teachers should take notes of the mistakes students make while talking in order to give feedback
preferable to the whole class, writing them on the board, so students will be able to reflect and correct them.
3.3. Students are debating on the rights of women in an open class focus
Yes, but trying to not interrupt the student. Teachers can correct some mistakes by repeating the students
idea in the correct way, if the students answer involves just one sentence. But if the student is involved in a
further explanation and making a lot of mistakes, the best way is that the teacher takes notes and presents
them at the end of the debate so students can reflect and correct them.
3.4. Students are discussing role-playing a public meeting after reading a text, and are preparing their
side of the argument.
Yes. Teacher should be monitoring students work and helping them correcting the mistakes they made
during the discussion in order to help them to be ready for the role-play.

Assignment CMTRP

3.5 Students are giving the answer to a listening comprehension exercise in class feedback
Yes. Teacher should definitely correct students, if they dont give the correct answer, by trying to make
them aware of the mistake or asking other students to help.
3.6. Students are checking a grammar exercise in open class
Yes. Teacher should correct the grammar mistakes immediately after they are made because grammar
exercises are focus on form. A good way to correct these mistakes is by making emphasis in the incorrect
part, so students can identify it and correct themselves.
3.7. Students are giving the teacher examples of the target structure used to and the teacher is
writing these examples on the board
Yes. Similar to the previous case, the teacher should try to make the student aware of the mistake by
emphasizing it, and write the example on the board after the students have corrected it.
4. Individualization in the language classroom.
Analyzing some procedures (activity types) based on Urs (1996:236) suggestions
4.1. Readers.
Students choose individual simplified readers, of varied level and topic, from a school library, and read
quietly in class.
This type of activity stimulates learning processes because students can internalize knowledge and create
new ideas which help them to expand understanding and knowledge. The advantages we can find in this
activity is that in individual reading each student is able to create their own imaginary understanding going
beyond of a real context so that they will create their own thoughtful ideas in a simple form for them
assuming and remembering information easier.
It is a disadvantage if students never socialized what they read because it may present misunderstanding
ideas or concepts. So that in this case it should be a good idea to create an extra activity in order to
complement reading tasks.
4.2. Response to listening
The teacher plays a recorded text on a topical issue, and asks the class to note down points they
understood.
If the teacher presents this type of exercise to the students, it is because she has already taught them the
strategies they need to grasp information from what they are going to get. Then, there is an advantage for
students because focusing on the topic is one of the factors that Penny Ur (1996: 235) suggests for
achieving some degree of individualization within a conventional classroom Disadvantages for this type
of exercise could be that the speed of the audio is not appropriate for their level of competence -Urs third
factor - (1996: 236), that the learners are not used to this kind of exercises nor to the speakers accent and
dialects in the audio; or that the teacher has not helped students to identify strategies for them to get the
most out of what they listen to.
4.3. Workcards
A pile of work cards prepared by the teacher is put in the center of the class, all practicing the material the
class has recently learned, but each different. Each student chooses one, completes it and then takes
another.
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Assignment CMTRP

This may be a good strategy for students to go over previous topics as they have the freedom to choose what
to review or even what they need to learn in case there is still something they have not understood. An
advantage in this case is that both, high and low achievers can assume responsibility for their own
learning (Neiman et al, 1978); high achievers because they become more independent learners when they
know that they are succeeding, and the slow-learners because they become aware of the responsibility to
look for their teachers support if they want to succeed.
To bringing this kind of activity to our classes, we will set a time limit and invite students to get in pairs or
groups to help each other, for example: low achievers will be assigned to high achievers.
4.4. Textbook questions in class
The class has been given a set of questions from the textbook to answer in writing; each student does them
on his or her own.
This type of task helps individualization to take place in the classroom because students are always working
by their own and at their own speed. We can say that through this activity student do not have to follow a
groups decision or rules in order to complete the task. On the other hand, students have not the opportunity
to share answers with some partner in order to check for mistakes.
4.5. Worksheets
The teacher distributes worksheets which all practice the same grammar point, but containing various
sections with different kinds of practice tasks and topics. The students choose which sections they want to
do, and do as much as they can in the time allotted.
This activity is good to work with a mixed-ability class due to the variety of activities it has and because
students have freedom to choose the tasks which with they feel more comfortable. This fact also helps
students feel more confident about their abilities.
4.6. Textbook exercises for homework
The teacher gives three sets of comprehension questions from the textbook, of varying difficulty, on a
passage that has been read in class; each student is asked to select and do one set.
Individualization can be seen when students should think about the passage and to do it by themselves.
From our point of view, it is a limited activity because students must choose one passage even though they
cannot do it themselves or even if they are struggling. Students can conceptualize and associate the
knowledge they have in order to answer the questions; this can be linked to the intellectual discipline of the
students. This can also help acquisition and retention of information.
4.7. Varied tasks
The teacher has prepared a number of work-cards based on different language skills and content. There is a
cassette recorder in one corner with headsets for listening tasks, and another corner available for quiet talk.
Students select, work on and exchange cards freely.
This kind of rotating-methodology exercise seems to be suitable for applying the 4 th factor Language Skill
of Teaching point, Penny Ur (1996: 236) recommends teachers to bring some degree of individualization
into the regular classroom. We highlight two advantages the integration of skills (listening, speaking and
reading in this case) and the possibility students have to work at their own pace because no time limit has
been set. Besides, the teacher has the time to help weak learners.

Assignment CMTRP

4.8. Research
The teacher asks the students to form groups of four in order to carry out a web-quest, based on an
environmental issue. Each student is given a specific role and asked to find out particular aspects of the
topic from internet sources, to later share with the other group members. The groups will then arrive at a
consensus, formulate a collective report, and present their findings to the class.
This type of activity allows students strengthen their own understanding because they can use information
properly in order to reach a common goal. We can say that individual learning is effective even though it is
a group task. First, they have to work as individuals, they internalize all the data regarding the research task,
and then they need to choose what they think is the vital information to share with the group. Second, this
activity can enrich the group and individual work because students are working by themselves on a single
task to reach the group work. We can see as drawback in the situation where students need to make a
decision so that the research keeps on track.
5. Mixed- ability groups in SLA environment
We strongly agree with Urs statement that mixed classes provide students with more classroom interaction
and increase their awareness about their differences in terms of language level, learning styles, language
background, motivation, interests, age, and gender among others. Because of that it is relevant to highlight
the writers idea of heterogeneity and heterogeneous classes and we as professionals should recognize
those differences in class; not all students think, act, or learn in the same way when we use the same
methodology. It is our challenge to allocate the appropriate methodologies, suitable materials, activities,
teaching strategies, etc. to ensure their learning.
Our personal experiences show us that teaching to this type of mix-ability groups bring some advantages as
Penny Ur (1996:305) advocates, but there are also disadvantages. Because of that we differ with the idea of
mixed-ability as unnecessary. To support our position, lets mention some of them:
-An heterogeneous class can be a plus as it provides a much richer pool of human resources. As the
learners come from different backgrounds and bring different ideas and experiences to class, their
interaction is much more varied and their learning is more enriching when having them working in pairs
(they can do peer teaching and peer correction)
- The second advantage is related with educational value (tolerance, respect, cooperation, etc.). It is
evident that students interaction can strengthen their relationships by sharing other experiences outside the
classroom after a group or pair work activity. They get to know each other better (find common likes and
dislikes).
- The third advantage is the challenge this type of classes represent for teachers in two aspects: a) we can
develop or put into practice our creativity not only to manage heterogeneity in class but also to create
strategies in which each student working as a member of an entire group will be able to put into practice
knowledge improving and achieving goals in lessons affording their abilities, b) it encourages us to cultivate
our pedagogical knowledge (our professional improvement) learning new techniques and methodologies
suitable for the purpose such as Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) (David Marsh:1994)
and Multiple Intelligences (Howard Garner 1995 because they refer precisely to help learners develop their
abilities to learn a language to communicate his/her life through it.
How we also have to mention two of the possible disadvantages that consider are remarkable in this type of
classes:
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Assignment CMTRP

One is the number of students (30-50) that sometimes we have in class contrasted with the little time
institutions allocate for English
The other one is the different learning strategies that some of our students may have (some of them prefer to
learn from their teacher, others learn better working in groups, some others learn best on their own, etc.) so
it may be time consuming for the teacher to prepare many types of activities to try to reach all kinds of
learners level, pace, interest, etc.

6: Using L1 in the classroom.

Justification of the following statements
6.1. If you give instructions for activities in the mother tongue, you deprive students of an important
opportunity to be exposed to natural L2 use
Yes, we agree with this statement because it is the teachers responsibility to be resourceful and work on
how to give clear, concise and effective instructions. As Harbord (1992:351) advocates, if the purpose of
learning a language is to use it as a communicative tool, then the interaction in the classroom should be in
the target language.
6.2. Students should be allowed to ask the teacher (in English) if they may say something or ask
something in their own language and all other use of their mother tongue should be prohibited
Experience has shown that it is not an easy task when dealing with true beginners to prohibit them to use
their mother tongue because they do not have the appropriate vocabulary and grammar patterns to structure
a sentences/questions -they are in their pre-production or early production stages of the language
acquisition/learning process (Krashen & Terrell: 1983)- and they use key words and familiar phrases to
communicate. But if the teacher kindles them to use what they know (the English they know), they get used
to speak in English.
Because of the above, we dont agree with the statement; we better advocate that students should not be
allowed but encouraged to use L2 as it is the target language. More than that, we have to keep in mind
that no matter what, learners are always going to use their L1 in classroom if they have the opportunity; so
it is not a good strategy to talk about prohibition.
6.3. Teachers could sometimes use mother tongue text s with students, but comprehension tasks
should always require students to produce English
Taking into account Harbords contribution (1992:355), it could be said that this type of activity entails two
purposes, one is to make our students aware of the danger of translating everything. The other is to teach
them that when translating we transfer meaning from one language to the other, but taking care of the
function the word or words play in a context to convey a specific meaning (what Danchev (1982: 55) calls
functional translation; we also have to make learners understand that what works in their mother tongue
may not work in English. In this way, we agree with this statement because this activity is suitable for
learners to improve their comprehension abilities and negotiating of meaning for appropriate
communication.

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Assignment CMTRP

6.4. If students translate the meaning of new vocabulary they will develop the mistaken idea that
there is a one-to-one correspondence between words in English and in their own language
As stated in our subject material (chapter 6.4) regarding the use of L1 in the classroom, in Prodromous
words: ... there will be times when the use of L1 can provide support and security for the less confident
learner, as well as acting as a launching-pad for communicative activities.
With that idea in mind, we are not in favor of this statement.
6.5. Instructions should always be given in both languages but in English first
We strongly disagree with this assertion. Some of Harbords considerations (1992: 351) regarding the use of
L1 is that its excessive use in the classroom is likely to result in: a) teacher or students misconception that
any item has to be translated to be understood, b) students passivity/laziness as they even the ones able to
communicate in the target language- will address their teacher in L1. c) students lack of awareness about
the advantages that using the target language implies for their learning when developing classroom
activities.
6.6. Translation should never be used with young learners
Linking the two languages in certain moments, when it appears to be necessary, will represent a
significant advantage for learners at the initial stages of the learning process when the initial form-meaning
connection has to be established (Jiang, 2002; Cook, 2003; Schmitt, 2008; Liu, 2009) (Cam: 2014). So
we think that never is not the right word.
7. Justification of Statement referring to Teacher Thinking
7.1. Teacher thinking refers not just to the way we think as teachers, but also to what effect the way
we think has on our teaching
TRUE. It is not limited to our thoughts, it also refers to the perception we have, our personal beliefs and
the decisions we make in our teaching practice having as a result the actions we take while teaching.
7.2. Our beliefs as teachers affects our classroom management more than any other factor in the
classroom
. FALSE. It is true that teachers past learning experiences, and also the beliefs of how a second language
should be taught or learnt may affect the decisions we make in the classroom, but research has demonstrated
that it is the social or affective climate in the classroom that influences the most at the moment of making
decisions.
7.3. Examining our pre-, inter- and post-active decisions as teachers is the best way to investigate our
thinking as teachers
FALSE. It is not the best way, we have to consider other factors as well, such as the way in which we were
taught, our beliefs, beliefs about learners, and the affective climate.
7.4. As teachers we are doomed to repeat teaching behavior that we learnt through our
apprenticeship of observation
FALSE. It is true that what we learnt may unconsciously influence our teaching behavior, but that does not
mean we are doomed to repeat it. We are capable of changing those models and adapt them according to the
group we have in class.

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Assignment CMTRP

7.5. There is always a mismatch between a teacher espoused theories and his/her real classroom
behavior
TRUE. Although we are trained to work with a specific methodology and we are given a syllabus or course
book to follow, we always imprint our own belief in what we teach (most of the time unconsciously) and we
become aware of that only when we are observed.
7.6. Teachers beliefs, which are formed early in life, are very difficult to change
TRUE. They are related to our cultural background and as they become habits, they are difficult to change.
An example of this is our delay to adopt the role of facilitator required in learner-centered methodology.
7.7. As teacher will usually have a deeply-rooted (possibly unconscious) view about who his/her
learners are, and this view is related to how the teacher believes languages are learned.
TRUE. As presented in our subject reading material (chapter seven, section 6), it has been suggested by
Meigan (1990) that teachers view their students in at least seven different ways.. and that perception
really influences the way we lead the class (as a controller or facilitator).
7.8. Taking into account the affective climate in a classroom is likely to affect a teachers classroom
management decisions.
TRUE It is said by one of the teachers in Binnie Smiths study (1996:209) that it is so important to build a
supporting group environment to connect with people and make friends. Teaching experience always show
that when the class environment is nice, students enjoy and learn easily.
8. Multiple Intelligences & Collaborative/Cooperative learning
in Classroom Management
8.1. Multiple Intelligences
We have chosen this topic because we consider that the multiple intelligences contributed by Howard
Garner (1990) should be taken into account when planning our lessons due to the variety of students we
have and their different ways of learning. In that way, they will have a meaningful learning experience.
As teachers, we should be able to plan lessons which involve a variety of activities so everyone can get
engaged. For instance, by observing our students and their reaction to different activities, we could discover
their predominant intelligence and learning style so we may try to bring the appropriate material to class,
(for example flashcards, videos, songs, realia, etc.) to make the learning as meaningful as it should, to try to
please. most of the students types of intelligences. Unfortunately, we cannot please all of them at the same
time. But it would be a good idea to keep track of all the students reactions to the activities, which activities
worked better in the class, which ones worked worse, so we can find a balance between teaching and
learning effectively.
In the future, we consider there are going to be more intelligences, due to the development of the way of
teaching, learning, technology, and the world in general. Therefore, it is going to be more demanding and
challenging for teachers to learn and create new techniques to develop meaningful teaching resources and
better ways of learning for our students. Thus, this will allow students to get more variety of lessons and as
a consequence feel more involved and sef-directed and successful in their learning process.
8.2 Collaborative/Cooperative Learning
This is important topic to keep in mind when teaching. It is important because when students are learning a
language, they should interact with their peers. In this way they also develop their interpersonal skills when
sharing their knowledge with others.
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Assignment CMTRP

It would be essential to consider the 6 types of group members suggested by Lewin (1951) when organizing
groups in the classroom, (the loner, the leader, the complicator, the solver, the organizer and
the animator). But we should not forget that in order to have a successful group work experience, first of
all, students should feel not only confident about their skills, but also challenged; second, groups need to
have the appropriate number of students for everyone to contribute equitably; and third, the task given
should be clear enough.
We should keep in mind to always include in a group a student who is a high achiever, one or two that are
middle achievers, and one lower achiever, so the higher ones help the lower ones and the lower ones feel
more confident when collaborating in the task. Therefore, the task will be successful and the students will
feel the same way. Having students work in groups help them have a more meaningful learning experience
because most of the time it is easier for students to remember what one of their peers has said, instead of
just listening to it from a teacher; on the other hand, the student who helped is also developing a new way of
learning.
This is why we should be careful when assigning group tasks; it is not just selecting the groups at random,
we should identify our students strengths and weaknesses in order to form the groups so everyone can be
successful.
As time goes by, we believe students will develop more skills, there will also be more strength and probably
more weaknesses, so our job as teachers is to identify them and be always aware of our students needs. It
will be probably more challenging, but also more rewarding when seeing our students learning better,
producing better and interacting better in the target language

References
American Psychological Association: The past, the present and the future of Multiple Intelligences
(2012). Available at http://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/05/intelligences.aspx
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Assignment CMTRP

Atkinson, D. (1987). The mother tongue in the classroom: a neglected resource? in ELT Journal 41/4

Ball, Phillip (2016). Classroom Management Techniques and Reflections on Practice ( Subject reading
material). FUNIBER

Binnie Smith, D. (1996). FreemanTeacher Decision making in the adult ESL classroom in, D.& Richards,
J. (eds.) Teacher Learning ins Language Teaching. Cambridge Univeristy Press. New York.

Budden,
Jo
(2005).
Multiple
Intelligences.
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/multiple-intelligences

Available

at

Cam, Aida Codina (2014): The Effects of Using L1 Translation on Young Learners L2 Vocabulary
Learning. Treball de Fi de Grau, page 4. Universitat Autnoma de Barcelona.

Concept to classroom: What are cooperative and collaborative learning? (n.d. = no date). Available at
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/coopcollab/

Gardner, H. (1995). The unschooled mind. How children think and how schools should teach. Basic
Books NY.

Harbord, J. (1992): The use of the mother tongue in the classroom in ELT Journal, Vol. 46/4

Mahmoud, Abdulmoneim (2012): Interlingual Transfer in EFL Vocabulary Learning and Teaching.
Chapter in Issues in Teaching EFL in the Arab World (pp. 159-175), Muscart Press.

Penny Ur, (1999) A course in language teaching. Cambridge University Press.Cambridge.

Prodromou, L. (1995) Mixed Ablility Classes. Prentice Hall. Hemel Hempstead.

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Assignment CMTRP

Appendices

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Assignment CMTRP

Appendix 1. guidelines for the subject assignment

SUBJECT ASSIGNMENT:
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES AND REFLECTIONS ON PRACTICE

GENERAL INFORMATION:

The subject assignment consists of doing eight short exercises. To do so, leave the activities statements
where they are and just answer below them. This assignment must be done in groups of three or four (the
corresponding tutor will choose the group members during the tutorials) and the work must fulfil the
following conditions:
Length: between 8 and 10 pages (without including cover, index or appendices if there are any-).
Type of font: Arial or Times New Roman.
Size: 11.
Line height: 1.5.
Alignment: Justified.

The assignment has to be done in this Word document. In order to make the correction process easier,
please, do not write the answers in bold, and it will then be easier to distinguish between them and the
activities statements. On the other hand, the assignment must still fulfil the rules of presentation and
edition, and follow the rubric for quoting and making bibliographical references as detailed in the Study
Guide.

Also, it has to be submitted following the procedure specified in the Study Guide. Sending it to the teachers
e-mail is not permitted. All members of the group have to send the assignment.

In addition to this, it is very important to read the assessment criteria, which can be found in the Study
Guide.
Assignment:

Do the following exercises and justify or explain your answers where appropriate

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Assignment CMTRP

Task 1 : Look at Urs list of patterns of interaction below. Decide whether each interaction is either more
student-centered or more teacher-centered. Justify your answers.

Group work
Closed-ended teacher questioning
Individual work
Choral responses
Collaboration
Student initiates, teacher answers
Full-class interaction
Teacher talk
Self-access
Open-ended teacher questioning
Task 2: Categorize each of the following errors under one of these headings: grammar; pronunciation;
meaning; appropriacy. Justify your answers.

- How you come to school?

- I go always to France for my holidays.).
- I dont like travelling by sheep.
- (Mike speaking to his boss) Thats a load of rubbish, mate.
- She suggested us to go home.
- Oh, of course! - Youre Peter, arent you? (Rising intonation on arent you
- (student in pub) Give me a beer.
- She went to the library to buy a book

Task 3: Look at the following situations and decide if you would correct or not. If so, say when you would
do so. Explain your answer.

1. Students are writing a paragraph about a holiday in ones or twos

2. Students are discussing the question of pollution in small groups.
3. Students are debating on the rights of women in an open class focus.
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Assignment CMTRP

4. Students are discussing role-playing a public meeting after reading a text, and are preparing their side of
the argument.
5. Students are giving the answer to a listening comprehension exercise in class feedback.
6. Students are checking a grammar exercise in open class.
7. Students are giving the teacher examples of the target structure used to and the teacher is writing these
examples on the board.

Task 4 : Below is a list of classroom procedures (activity types) which will, in theory, allow for
individualization in the language classroom. To what extent does each cater for individualised learning?
What advantages and what drawbacks can you identify with each procedure if you were to use them with
your own classes? (Ur, 1996:236). Explain your answers.
1. Readers. Students choose individual simplified readers, of varied level and topic, from a school library,
and read quietly in class.
2. Response to listening. The teacher plays a recorded text on a topical issue, and asks the class to note
down points they understood.
3. Work cards.. A pile of work cards prepared by the teacher is put in the center of the class, all practicing
the material the class has recently learned, but each different. Each student chooses one, completes it and
then takes another.
4. Textbook questions in class. The class has been given a set of questions from the textbook to answer in
writing; each student does them on his or her own
5. Worksheets. The teacher distributes worksheets which all practice the same grammar point, but
containing various sections with different kinds of practice tasks and topics. The students choose which
sections they want to do, and do as much as they can in the time allotted.
6. Textbook exercises for homework. The teacher gives three sets of comprehension questions from the
textbook, of varying difficulty, on a passage that has been read in class; each student is asked to select and
do one set.
7. Varied tasks. The teacher has prepared a number of work-cards based on different language skills and
content. There is a cassette recorder in one corner with headsets for listening tasks, and another corner
available for quiet talk. Students select, work on and Exchange cards freely
8Research. The teacher asks the students to form groups of four in order to carry out a web-quest, based on
an environmental issue. Each student is given a specific role and asked to find out particular aspects of the
topic from internet sources, to later share with the other group members. The group will then arrive at a
consensus, formulate a collective report, and present their findings to the class.
Task 5
a. what extent do you agree with each of Urs statements in your materials? What are your own views on the
issue of mixed-ability? Do you think that mixed- ability groups always result in more successful SLA for
learners? Or can the opposite seem to be true? Why? Draw on your own experience as a teacher or learner

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Assignment CMTRP

in order to prove or disprove each of her statements, providing concrete examples of classroom
experiences/activities. Can you add any other advantages to her list?
b. What other considerations have now come into play regarding this issue, especially those which have
made the phrase mixed-ability seem almost old-fashioned or unnecessary?
Task 6 : Say whether you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. Justify your answers.

1. If you give instructions for activities in the mother tongue, you deprive students of an important
opportunity to be exposed to natural L2 use.
2. Students should be allowed to ask the teacher (in English) if they may say something or ask something in
their own language and all other use of their mother tongue should be prohibited.
3. Teachers could sometimes use mother tongue texts with students, but comprehension tasks should always
require students to produce English.
4. If students translate the meaning of new vocabulary they will develop the mistaken idea that there is a
one-to-one correspondence between words in English and in their own language.
5. Instructions should always be given in both languages - but in English first.
6. Translation should never be used with young learners.

Task 7: Are the following statements true or false? Justify each of your answers.
1. Teacher thinking refers not just to the way we think as teachers, but also to what effect the way we think
has on our teaching.
2. Our beliefs as teachers affects our classroom management more than any other factor in the classroom.
3. Examining our pre-, inter- and post-active decisions as teachers is the best way to investigate our thinking
as teachers
4. As teachers we are doomed to repeat teaching behavior that we learnt through our apprenticeship of
observation
5. There is always a mismatch between a teacher espoused theories and his/her real classroom behavior.
6. Teachers beliefs, which are formed early in life, are very difficult to change.
7. A teacher will usually have a deeply-rooted (possibly unconscious) view about who his/her learners are,
and this view is related to how the teacher believes languages are learned.
8. Taking into account the affective climate in a classroom is likely to affect a teachers classroom
management decisions. show that when the class environment is nice, students enjoy and learn easily.

Task 8 : Take any other two issues from the materials for example:
segregation of low-track students,
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Assignment CMTRP

the usefulness of web-quests,

group dynamics (the 6 types),
the relevance of the new key competences to language teaching and classroom management,
the way in which the market shift to young and very young learners has changed the way we think and
teach,
Multiple intelligences,
any other which has attracted your attention.
and discuss them separately. 1. Say why you have chosen the topics from a personal perspective, 2. Explain
their importance with reference to the general framework of classroom management and 3. Try to predict
how the topic will evolve in the future.

Try to be concise, but each topic should occupy roughly one page, or three paragraphs for each of the two
topics.

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