1. You can’t in
isolation ask them their names and ages
If this is a problem because you actually want to know their names for purposes of classroom control etc (and it is great for that), the best solution is to ask someone to prepare name badges, preferably in roman script as well if it isn’t used in their verbal communication. If this is not possible, you could try calling up kids randomly from a list of names until you learn who they are- as unfair as this is, it tends to get the whole class’s attention in a way that general requests like “calm please” does not.
If this is a problem because you actually want to know their names for purposes of classroom control etc (and it is great for that), the best solution is to ask someone to prepare name badges, preferably in roman script as well if it isn’t used in their verbal communication. If this is not possible, you could try calling up kids randomly from a list of names until you learn who they are- as unfair as this is, it tends to get the whole class’s attention in a way that general requests like “calm please” does not.
Alternatively, if
the rationale of asking for these personal details is to practice typical
getting to know you questions (and parents and schools are often keen for these
to be educated), you could try role playing with children shouting out “My
name’s…” with the correct name of the puppet or storybook or textbook character
you are pointing at. Another possible approach, as long as you can make clear
what you are doing, is to name everyone in the class John or Jane etc and get
them to shout out whatever name they have been given chorally with whoever else
has been given the same name. This is easier with ages, as the children in
class will probably have just one or two ages between them. When you hold up
the number of fingers of their age they should shout out “I am…” chorally with
all the people who are the same age. The simplest approach is just to ask a few
people, making sure everyone shouts out the question so they are involved all
the way through the activity, and that the people who aren’t asked are too
distracted by the next fun game to experience left out.
2. Enlarged
distractions
Just through pure figures we can see that the number of possible interactions
in a class means that the number of fights that need breaking up etc don’t just
increase as the number of students goes up, they increase exponentially! One
solution is to get the rest of the class doing something that gets everyone’s
attention and/or leaves you free to take care of the problem kid, e.g. running
round and round shouting “run!” or chasing each other making crocodile mouths
with two straight arms. Another is to use the way everyone shouts or moves
together as a way of sweeping everyone up into the same activity, together with
the ones who were about to cry about something.
3. Students can’t
see the manuscript or flashcards
This is less of a
problem if you clear a space at the front of the class where they can all
gather round you, but in classes where there are very many students or where
they have to stay at their desks you will need to think of other solutions. You
can buy large books, but they cost a fortune and take up loads of storage space.
You could try photocopying the flashcards or pages of the storybook blown up to
A3, but they might be a bit unattractive in black and white. Alternatively, you
could just blow up copies of the characters and act the story out as a puppet
show instead of/as well as showing them the book. Getting the kids to act out
what happens in the book also makes the meaning clear to even the kids at the
back and gets them all involved. Another approach is to change your position
all the time, so all the students can at least see the book for part of the
story.
4. Lack of space
This can lead to
them banging into each other as they run around, producing even more
distractions, or even to it being impossible to do the running round games and
songs that can add so much fun to pre-school classes. One solution is to do
standing still versions of songs and games (e.g. touch your head as quickly as
possible to show “Yes, it is” instead of running and touching the wall with
that flashcard on it, or do the Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush song with
students spinning round individually rather than in a big circle).
5. Clamour
This, like
distractions, increases exponentially with the number of children. This can be
a good thing if it means students can sing along to a song or shout out in
choral drilling without feeling self-conscious, but it can disturb neighbouring
classes and make it difficult to hear the tape or teacher so that they are just
copy each other rather than listening to what they should be doing and its
correct pronunciation. One solution is to alternate loud activities with quiet
sit down ones. Another is to make sure each activity has high energy and low
energy variations, such as doing Head Shoulders Knees and Toes more and more
slowly and then quickly.
6. The teacher
can’t intermingle with kids individually
This is a
particular problem in classes with small children as pair work and even team
games are very difficult, departure the main significant interaction the one between
the teacher and the individual students. Very juvenile children are also much
more motivated by the approval of adults than they are by their peers. One
simple resolution is just for the teacher to give them something individually throughout
the class that they will use for one or more activity, e.g. giving them a piece
of plastic fruit to balance on their body for body parts practice. An even
easier one that many teachers use is to let the kids slap you on the hand at
the start and/ or end of the class.
7. The teacher
can’t evaluate how many already know it and how many are just copying
This isn’t as big a problem as it would be in a class with older students, as most pre-school kids seem to be able to learn simply by plagiarism. As with classes of any age, though, the more you can engage every part of their brains, the more they will learn and retain. Solutions include giving the students who always shout out the correct answers something to show them they have done well and are now out of the game, such as the flashcard they have just named. Alternatively, you can give the best students the teacher’s role. If they are old enough and well disciplined enough to be divided into teams (made easier if you clearly divide the teams from each other by putting them at opposite sides of the room), you can at smallest amount cut down the number of students you are listening to every time to a half or quarter of the total.
This isn’t as big a problem as it would be in a class with older students, as most pre-school kids seem to be able to learn simply by plagiarism. As with classes of any age, though, the more you can engage every part of their brains, the more they will learn and retain. Solutions include giving the students who always shout out the correct answers something to show them they have done well and are now out of the game, such as the flashcard they have just named. Alternatively, you can give the best students the teacher’s role. If they are old enough and well disciplined enough to be divided into teams (made easier if you clearly divide the teams from each other by putting them at opposite sides of the room), you can at smallest amount cut down the number of students you are listening to every time to a half or quarter of the total.
8. Kids can conceal
One part of this is
not being able to spot students who are hushed, but again this is not such as
problem with 2 or 3 year old as many of them need to be allowed to speak only
when they are ready, and some even learn better by being given a silent period.
Naughtiness is also easy to secrete, but I guess that is natural in kids as
well… One solution is to modify your position in the classroom all the time.
Another is to do all drilling as the whole class followed by one student you
pick at random (but making sure that everyone gets picked eventually).
9. You can’t give
them all worksheets
This could be due
to time constrictions, as the time for getting pencils out etc is another thing
that seems to increase exponentially with class size, or due to the expense of
making so many photocopies. If you still want to use worksheets, you could try
letting groups of older students work together in groups of four or five on one
sheet or isolating the class into teams and having one student come up at a
time to complete the task as quickly as possible with the encouragement of
their team-mates (“The cat is black!” from looking at the teacher’s version
etc).
10. Lack of resources
As well as lacking
the budget for photocopies, you might not have enough pieces of plastic fruit
or flashcards in one set to be able to give to each student as suggested above.
Once you finish all the things you do have in the set of terminology you are practising,
you could just give the others any you have in other sets (e.g. plastic
animals, classroom objects such as erasers, or colour flashcards) so they don’t
feel left out and can at least practice “Here you are”, “Thank you”.
Alternatively, you could get all the students who have got one to start passing
them round the class in the same way until everyone has had a chance to touch
one at least once.
11. Jumping CD
player
This is quite a
specific problem, but one that has caused me no end of problems over the years-
a class of 40 students jumps to the instructions in the action song and so does
the CD, meaning you have to start again from the start of the song (possibly to
have it happen all over again when you get to the same point) or give up. Solutions
include holding the CD player in the air during the vibration-causing bits,
doing the actions in another part of the room and doing an exaggeratedly slow
and careful version to try and make it fun that way.
12. All the
students copy each other doing the wrong think
One thing you can do is make an effort to give praise to the person who gets says the right answer most quickly, most persistently and/ or with the best pronunciation- but not in a way that makes the others feel bad. Another is to train them to recognize clear signals for when they should listen to your model or the cassette (e.g. a finger across the lips) and when they should repeat or shout out the answers (e.g. a cupped hand by the teacher’s ear). This works even well if they get into a routine of, for example, always listening silently twice and then shouting out the answer twice.
One thing you can do is make an effort to give praise to the person who gets says the right answer most quickly, most persistently and/ or with the best pronunciation- but not in a way that makes the others feel bad. Another is to train them to recognize clear signals for when they should listen to your model or the cassette (e.g. a finger across the lips) and when they should repeat or shout out the answers (e.g. a cupped hand by the teacher’s ear). This works even well if they get into a routine of, for example, always listening silently twice and then shouting out the answer twice.
14. Stopping to
sort out one problem just causes another one
You might recognize this from your own school days- the teacher goes over to sort out one troublemaker, and by the time he or she is finished the whole class is in an uproar about something else. The solutions are similar to “Increased Distractions” above- give the whole class something to do that will keep them absorbed and basically runs itself, and only then go to speak to the individual student or small group that needs sorting out in some way.
You might recognize this from your own school days- the teacher goes over to sort out one troublemaker, and by the time he or she is finished the whole class is in an uproar about something else. The solutions are similar to “Increased Distractions” above- give the whole class something to do that will keep them absorbed and basically runs itself, and only then go to speak to the individual student or small group that needs sorting out in some way.
15. Parent
complaints
Parents much prefer
small classes, and most of the research seems to suggest that they are right.
If that is not an option in your school or your career, ways of keeping the
parents happy include doing things like songs and dances during parent
demonstrations that wouldn’t look so good in a small class, making sure you
still interact with or at least make eye contact with the child of each parent
there, and generally keeping the energy level and (useful) noise level high to
give off a party atmosphere.
Dr. Nitasha Bali, email nbi@dbntrust.in