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Ask for help > My talkative students!!
My talkative students!!
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sedefg�l
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My talkative students!!
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Hi friends. I have just been an English teacher. 3 months ago approximately. and I have a problem. I coldn�t solve the problem whatever I did. my 6. grade students(they are 12 year old) are too talkative during my lessons. they are talking talking and talking abuot this and that. when i warn them they are quiet just a few seconds and then they start to talk to eachother. I don�t have this prolem with my other classes. I wonder if you have any suggestions about this? |
29 Nov 2008
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margaretha
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Hey!
You could tell them that each time they are too loud you will draw a sad smiley on the blackboard. If, by the end of the lesson, there are three sad smileys on the blackboard, they will get more homework.
Of course, you can also do that with happy smileys. If they pay a lot of attention, you could draw a happy smiley and they will know that they need not expect too much homework.
xx |
29 Nov 2008
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Damielle
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I don�t teach children anymore but I once saw a teacher saying that if they followed the rules (staying quiet included) they would play a game or thing a song at the end of the class or in another one. And it worked!!! |
29 Nov 2008
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karina7777
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Hi,
this year I got a 7th grade Eglish class with exactly the same problem. I think I have found a solution now... My impression of these kids is that they have too much energy to sit still and focus for 90 minutes in a row. Instead og getting frustrated because of this, I�ve tried to make use of this energy.
I have read a lot about how we all learn better when we are able to use our body and move around from time to time, so in the beginning of each lesson we all go outside. I divide them into pairs, and these pairs are now going to work together for 5 - 10 minutes outside. Sometimes the pupils all bring their English books outside and then walk around and take turns reading to their partner. Other days we practise irregular verbe - one student has a paper with the verbs and drills the other one. I have also made quiz questions and questions for pictures which they can talk about while walking.
We always finish with a bit of running - I tell the students to run down to e.g the school gate and back as fast as they can.
Then we go inside and I promise you, this has worked wonders for my class!!! The atmosphere is so much better - and the kids are so much more focused.
: )
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29 Nov 2008
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Damielle
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Read about Total Physical response. It may help you.
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29 Nov 2008
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sedefg�l
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Thanks friends for all your suggestions. Thay all sound good. I will start trying them immediately. I hope they will work with my children.
Reggina, I usually do not use homeworks as a punishment in order not to make my students dislike homeworks. Although they prefer talking to eachother during my lessons instead of listening to me, they like doing my homeworks. Isn�t it interesting? besides doing my own homeworks, they do their own homeworks. everday they come to me with their own works to get more points. so at school I am checking homeworks most of the time. but I may say them that if ten sad smileys are drawn on the board,they will not have workseets that day.thanks a lot.
Karina, It is a very interesting solution. You take the extra energy of your students at the beginning of the lesson and then the problem is gone. I will try it immediately, I hope I will have good lessons without the problem of non-stop talking :) thanks a lot. |
29 Nov 2008
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Vickiii
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Hi there,
It is really interesting to me the practice of having children sit still for 90 minutes. I work on a childs focussed attention span being their age +2 minutes...
This means that for a 10 year old I have 12 minutes of their rapt attention before they wander off into the twilight zone. With a 5 year old I am lucky to get 7 minutes before they need to change activity.
The idea of punishing children with homework because I have not created an interesting lesson is quite scary!
How about creating lessons that are interactive where the children are changing between the following activities:
1) listening to instructions (5 minutes tops)
2) talking to a partner
3) self reflection
4) reading
5) writing
6) drawing
7) small group discussion
8) large group discussion (5 minutes tops)
9) games
10) moving
It is important of course that these activities are all related to the specifc learning intention...
I find that I don�t have naughty students, but sometimes bored students are naughty! |
29 Nov 2008
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sedefg�l
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hi Vickii. I think the problem is not the boredom. because i have 6 more other classes. I don�t have that problem. They really enjoy my lessons and participate in them. but when I with my 6th grades it is too difficult to teach something. the class is consisted of boys. few of them girls.girls also are interested in my clessons) and the boys are a great problem. they talk, stand up, even fight eachother.when they are in the primary school, they had changed too many teachers. so the habit of listening didn�t take a place in them. I know it is too difficult to get the students gain listening habit, but i must do it however. I have some good new ideas thanks to the friends in the forum. I will try them immediately.and I will also try make my lessons more interesting for the my 6th class. thanks for your ideas. |
29 Nov 2008
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karina7777
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I think this discussion is very interesting! : )
Like you, Vicki, I also think that it�s very important to do many different activities during a lesson. When I talk about staying focused for 90 minutes, I don�t mean that the kids sit still doing one activity th entire lesson. I usually begin the lesson by writing the plan on the blackboard, and the lesson plan usually includes 6 - 8 different activities. But in our school, each lesson lasts 90 minutes, so the kids have to learn in different ways for 90 minutes before having a break.
My talkative 7th grade has also had problems focusing on activities such as pair conversations or group work before we started the more physical approach.
Of course, the outgoing and "energetic" children love going outside (as I had expected) but a very nice bonus is that the quiet and more ambitious kids also like it a lot. They tell me that they think they can concentrate better now and they have asked their other teachers to include physical activities in their lessons, too.
: ) |
30 Nov 2008
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sedefg�l
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himm, phsical activities! I will start incorpoating physical activities into my lessons tomorrow. In my country lessons are 40 minutes. so I can do 3 or 4 activities in a lesson. and from then on some of them will be physical and very active. I will report results. |
30 Nov 2008
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karina7777
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I look forward to hearing about your experience tomorrow  |
30 Nov 2008
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