Module 18 - Teaching Large Classes

 

First day scenario: Walk in and 60 students are staring at me! OMG!

 

Often when teachers are faced with large classes they begin to worry about how they will teach. It’s tempting to simply let the classes become teacher fronted and turn into lectures.

 

If the entire course is like this it’s a bit of a shame, as opportunities for students to practise and use the language are quite limited. In this respect, large classes are viewed as problematic and in a negative light. However, this does not need to be the case. Yes, large classes, especially those of 100+, are a challenge but there are many positive aspects to such classes.

 

One of the biggest plusses is the dynamic nature of such classes. With so many students there are lots of opportunities to get people to work together, compare, discuss and benefit from the variety of voices.

 

Advantages of Teaching Large Classes

 

High Energy: Classes with many students may be noisy, but they are also fun and exciting.

 

Timing: Classes go by quickly in a large class, and you will rarely catch yourself looking at the clock. You will regularly find yourself with extra activities that you did not complete that you can save and use in your next class.

 

Participation: There is always someone who is willing to answer questions even if they are just guessing. Make sure to take answers from a variety of students.

 

Fillers: Teachers have less need for fillers since core activities and lessons take longer to complete.

 

Challenges of Teaching Large Classes

 

Intimacy: Remembering student’s names can take a while. Teachers may feel that they do not get to know their students as well as they would like to.

 

Anxiety: Some teachers feel anxious being so outnumbered by the students. In addition, some students are afraid to ask questions or participate in a large class.

 

Student needs: Meeting individual needs can be difficult or impossible when class size is very large.

 

Marking: Grading assignments and tests can be very time consuming, and your pay will generally be the same for a smaller class.

 

Distractions: There are more distractions for teachers in large classes, such as latecomers and people chatting while you are teaching.

 

Preparation: Making photocopies for a large class can be very time consuming. Other teachers may be bothered by how much time you spend using the photocopier.

 

Noise level: Large classes can become out of hand when students are working in pairs or groups. At times you may feel more like a disciplinarian than a teacher.

 

Monitoring students: Teachers may find it difficult to keep students on task as they monitor pair and group work

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Space: There is limited space in a classroom for energetic activities such as role-playing.

 

Textbooks and resources: There may not be enough textbooks or computers available for all students.

 

Strategies for Coping with Large Classes

 

Use a teacher’s notebook: Attach a small notebook and pen to your belt loop. Take notes while you are monitoring pair or group learning. Review common errors as a whole group after an activity is complete.

 

Spread out: Find another space that your class can use for energetic whole group activities. Find a lobby or spare classroom in the building that your students can spread out into when they are preparing a project or performance. Take students outside if there is no indoor space available.

 

Create a participation grade: Make homework and attendance count by doing regular checks and making it part of their final grade. Giving a daily exam tip also encourages attendance.

 

Encourage competition: Establish a fun and competitive atmosphere within the class, by dividing the class into teams. You may change the teams once in a while or leave them the same throughout a semester. Teams can win points for certain accomplishments (If noise and behaviour is a problem, students can lose points too.).

 

Relax: Find ways to relax before class so that you don’t feel anxious. Never attempt to prepare a lesson in the morning, right before class. Always have a water bottle handy. Always have an extra activity on hand in case something doesn’t go as you expect it to.

 

Establish trust: Learn unique ways to remember names and do your best to get to know something about each of your students. Create a seating chart on the first day and ask students to stick with it for a while. Tell your students at least one or two things about yourself beyond your role of teaching.

 

Manage the noise: Establish a signal that you want your class to stop what they are doing and listen. This should be done from the first day, so that students become accustomed to it right away. Be careful not to use gestures or sounds that would offend anyone.

 

Reduce marking and preparation time: Design quizzes and tests in a way so that you can reduce the amount of marking. Use peer evaluations when possible. If students submit journals, just read them and leave a short comment and/or suggestion, rather than fixing every grammar mistake. Designate a specific time when the teacher’s room is slow to do most of your photocopying for the week. This will save you from feeling guilty for taking up the photocopier for a long time when another teacher only has a few copies to make.

 

Enforce a late policy: Notify students of your late policy on the first day and stick to it. For example, don’t let students enter your classroom after a warm-up has ended. If students miss class, make it their responsibility to catch up, not yours.

 

Share your e-mail address: In a large class, you will find yourself feeling drained before and after class if you let students come early or stay late to ask questions every day. This alone can make you hate your job, especially if you are not paid for hours when you are not teaching. Encourage students to e-mail you with questions, and answer them on your own time. If you don’t like the e-mail suggestion, try finishing your class ten minutes early once in a while and allow your students free conversation time. Take questions on a first come basis during this time.

 

Activities to use in Large Classes

 

Small group discussions: Use topics related to a theme, or ask students to submit topic suggestions.

 

Who Am I?: Tape the name of a famous person to the back of each student. Students go around the room asking questions and trying to identify themselves. Once they guess who they are they can place their nametag on the front and continue helping other students identify themselves.

 

Team spelling contests: Each student who gets the spelling correct gets a point for their team.

 

Balderdash: Large class can be split into teams. Teacher calls out a word and students have to write down the part of speech and definition. Each student to get both correct gets a point for her team.

 

Write the question: Large class can be split into teams. The teacher calls out an answer and the students have to write the question. (ex. “Lynn”) Each student to write the correct question gets a point. (ex. answer: What’s your middle name?”)

 

Questionnaires: Students circulate around the room asking each other questions. Students can create their own questions on a given topic or theme, or you can provide the questionnaire handout. Follow up by asking each student to report the most interesting answer they received.

 

Categories: The teacher calls out a category, such as fruit, and each student has to name a fruit when it is his turn. If a student hesitates for more than five seconds, he or she has to choose a new category and sit out the rest of the game. The last person to get out wins.

 

Quick Tips:

 

Plan, Plan, Plan To keep a large class engaged, you need to keep things moving and have a lot of energy. That means you need to know exactly what you and the students are doing next. Dead time while you are shuffling through textbooks or notes trying to find the right page or choose an activity is the perfect time for students to get distracted and start misbehaving.

 

Establish Routines Routines are one of the most important things to have in terms of maintaining order in the classroom.  When students know exactly what is expected of them, what books they need to have ready, and how to do certain activities, the class flows by easily and efficiently.

 

Be Strict About Discipline and Rules This doesn’t mean you have to be a mean teacher.  It does mean that you can’t let students get away with little things like talking to their neighbor or starting fights.  At all.  Make it clear from the first day of class what you won’t tolerate, and enforce it consistently.  If you have to stop class to manage a conflict between two students, don’t expect the rest of the students to sit there twiddling their thumbs silently.

 

Have Fall-Back Activities  In the event that you do have to deal with one or two students’ behavior or leave the classroom for some reason, have something prepared for the students to work on independently.  Keep a stash of worksheets, or have some reading activities that they can do.  Be sure to offer rewards to the students or team who finishes first or most accurately.

 

Manage Your Time Carefully  With so many students, it’s easy to let a game or activity take up a lot of time.  Have a clock visible and keep a close eye on it, or bring a timer to keep a strict limit on activities.  Always have extra activities planned and ready to go in case you have extra time.

 

Seating  Have a seating plan ready.  If you know the students, think about which students are most likely to start chatting or fighting during class.  Also think about which students are struggling, and try to seat them next to students who have a strong grasp of the material.   Make some notes during the first week of classes about what problems have come up, and don’t hesitate to rearrange the seats to nip any problems in the bud.

 

Divide the Class into Teams  Having a fun, competitive environment can help motivate students.  By  rewarding points for the quietest team, best behavior, or fastest to finish their work, you can keep their behavior in check, too.

 

Give Every Student a Chance to Participate  In a large classroom, it’s easy for quieter students to fade into the background while the more outgoing ones answer the questions and participate.  Whether you are keeping track of who you call on, playing games where everyone has to participate, or doing partner work, make sure that every student is involved.

 

Reinforce and Review  Before starting any independent work, practice lessons, patterns, or new vocabulary thoroughly.  You don’t have much time or resources to give individual attention to a lot of students, so make sure that the whole class really understands everything and can do the work pretty independently.

 

Learn everyone’s name and get to know them.   When you’ve got a high-energy, fast-paced activity going on, the last thing you want to be saying is “You…no, you, in the red shirt, um…Tim?  Tommy?”  Know everyone’s name within the first couple of days of class.  Plan name-based, “get-to-know-you” activities to help establish rapport.

 

Don’t overlook the fact that, although teaching a larger class has many challenges, it also has its own set of rewards and benefits.  Since there are so many students, you’ll very rarely find yourself facing a wall of blank stares-someone will almost certainly be willing to participate or take a crack at answering a questions.  Class time tends to fly by, too, since activities and games take much longer when there are a lot of students.  Large classes tend to have a lot of energy and, if well-managed, can be very rewarding and fun for the students and the teacher.

 

http://www.reachtoteachrecruiting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Large-Class.jpg

 

Always Warm Them Up First

 

Plan activities that encourage students to volunteer answers, work together in teams, or in some other way participate in the lesson. The most important thing is to get them thinking and speaking in English. If it is a particularly sluggish class, plan to have students out of their chairs and moving around the classroom. Fast paced activities will increase student talking time and engage more students in the exercise

 

Teachers always need to have an activity or two on hand in case a lesson takes a little bit less time than expected or does not work out exactly as planned.

 

Some activities that work well in one class totally flop in another so you will have to be flexible with your lesson plan and able to adapt when necessary.

 

Here are some short activities for a class:

 

Short Reading Activities

 

With a reading passage, you can conduct this short reading race to give students some more pronunciation, speaking, and even listening practice. Have students stand up and tell them that each column of students is a team. For this activity the first student should read the first sentence, the second student should read the next one, and students should continue reading sentences until the entire passage is complete and then sit down. The first team to read all the sentences and sit down wins. You can play again using the same passage starting with the student in the back or make each row a team instead. To help students make their reading sound more natural, introduce slash reading. To do slash reading, simply read the passage aloud to the class pausing when it is natural to do so while students repeat after you and make slashes or breaks in their text.

 

Short Writing Activities

 

Shiritori is a Japanese game that has been adapted for ESL classrooms. For this game make each column of students a team and give them space on the board to write. You should write one word on the board and a member from each team should rush to the board to write a word that starts with the last letter of your word. The next team member then has to think of a word that starts with the last letter of the word his team member wrote. Students continue taking turns writing words on the board until you stop the game. It should be very fast paced. You can stop when groups start running out of space to write and decide the winner based on number of words or points. One point for 1-4 letter words and two points for 5 letters or more seems to work well but words with spelling errors and duplicates do not count. Boggle is another activity students can do in groups. Give each group a piece of scrap paper, draw a boggle letter grid on the board, and have students find as many words as they can within the time limit. You can create your own grids but be sure that there are enough word possibilities for your students to find. Give students a scoring system, ask them to score their papers and hand them in. In the next class you can announce the winning team and the best word. Another popular favorite is Hangman but it is best to avoid the hanging imagery in the classroom so a scoring system would be better. You can choose the sentences and have students work in groups, taking turns, to figure out the answer

 

Short Speaking Activities

 

Crisscross is a great warm up game. Ask students to stand up and start by asking a question, the student who answers correctly can choose his row or column to sit down, continue by asking another question. The game ends when everyone is sitting down. You can add a twist if there are a lot of questions you want to review with the class. Have just the first row of students stand up and when a student gives the correct answer, have him sit down and ask his team member, the student sitting directly behind him, to stand up. For this activity teams should be even or you will have to work in a way of making them even and you can draw this activity out by keeping the teams neck and neck. Fruit Basket is another speaking game where students sit in a circle with one less chair than participant. One student stands in the middle of the circle and makes a sentence. After the sentence has been said everyone that the sentence applies to must switch seats leaving another student in the center. Sentences such as “I am a student.” are sure to get everyone moving. Chinese Whispers is another speaking activity that can be done in the classroom. Think of some sentences to use, form teams, and ask the first student in each column to come to the front of the classroom or into the hallway to be given the sentence. The first team who writes a sentence on the board should receive points but the most points should go to the team that has the sentence most similar to the original.

 

Short Listening Activities

 

Bingo is a classic game that you can use not only in numbers lessons but also when talking about letters or even words and phrases. If you have noticed that students struggle with the pronunciation of numbers such as thirteen and thirty, you can have a short Bingo session using only these numbers. Rather than make Bingo cards, have students fill in the grids themselves. Karuta is another Japanese game. Have students sit in groups and spread vocabulary cards face up on the desks. When you say a word aloud, the student who grabs the correct card first gets to read it aloud and keep it. The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins. This can help students with spelling, listening, and pronunciation

 

Choral drilling

 

With a large group, choral drilling can work quite well. In its most basic form, choral drilling involves you giving an oral model of a word or phrase and the whole class repeating it.

 

Choral drilling can be quite a lot of fun, and it can make some bits of language more memorable. Just ask Li Yang, the founder of Crazy English - a method of learning English in China. He has classes of over twenty thousand (20,000 that’s right!) and uses choral drilling as part of his method - getting his students to shout phrases out loud.

 

Use choral drilling to practise new words or phrases, especially phrases that will be useful in a future communicative activity. You can also do choral drilling for dialogues (first you say and they repeat, then you say one bit and they say the other, then they do it in two large groups) before asking students to practice it in pairs together.

 

Think, pair, share

 

Pairs and groups are good for production exercises unless you want students to do a writing activity, in which case you should consider having students work individually.

 

It is important that students work with one another because they can help each other while you are busy assisting different groups whereas individuals have only their knowledge to draw on and thus are less likely to notice their own mistakes. Just like with the practice activities above, be sure to have students present their material from this part of the lesson to the class.

 

This gives you the chance to deliver individualized feedback and allows students to hear some more examples. This is kind of late in the class for students to realize they have been practicing something incorrectly but it is better late than never and you can always encourage students to ask questions about anything they are uncertain about. Students are often hesitant to ask questions but by creating an open, friendly, and constructive learning environment, you will have gone a long way towards setting your students at ease

 

This is a technique we learned from large university lectures in North America. Put up on the board or project the words: THINK-PAIR-SHARE. Briefly explain the meaning:

 

• Think individually about your answer to the question.

• Pair with the person next to you.

• Share your thoughts, in English.

 

Then ask your first question and point to the word THINK. Ask them to think quietly about their answer. Then point to PAIR and let them turn to a partner. Then point to SHARE and gesture for them to share their answers - in English

 

Dictogloss

 

A wonderful technique that really lends itself well to large classes, especially when there is limited movement because of layout issues. Pick a short text. Ask your students to close their notebooks and put down their pens. Explain that you will read a text and you want them to listen carefully.

 

Read the text and then ask students to write down everything they can remember. Put students in pairs or small groups and ask them to share ideas and try and reconstruct the text. If you want you can read it out again, but make sure students aren’t writing while you are dictating. You could also write up a series of questions on the board (these could be the comprehension questions) and tell students that the answers to the questions will help them reconstruct the text.

 

Using an anecdote

 

Choose an anecdote and tell your students you are going to read out a short story that happened to someone. You might want to take the opportunity to turn this into a prediction activity. You could read out a few lines and then ask students to talk in pairs or small groups and predict what happened next. Then continue the story and watch a few of your students to see who got it right - you’ll easily be able to tell from their reaction.

 

You could also turn it into a vocabulary prediction activity. Read a part of the story and then stop. Ask students to write down the next word. Again, get them to compare with a partner before continuing with the story. Both of these ideas give students an extra reason to listen and will help them focus. Of course, as a follow-up you could ask students to work in small groups and share their own anecdotes around a certain topic.

 

Group leaders

 

With a class of 148 students, groupwork is going to be very difficult. However, we have seen groupwork used in large classes. One thing that helps is asking groups to assign a leader. So, in a class of 100 you might have twenty groups of 5 students. The group leaders can:

 

• report back on a speaking activity

 

• collect written work and hand it back to the teacher (or exchange with another group and do peer correction)

 

• be responsible for checking answers to an exercise (you prepare copies of the answers and give a copy to each group leader once they have finished doing the exercise)

 

If you and your students get into using groups, you may want to experiment with the following favourite techniques.

 

As many of you have experienced, the meaning of large varies around the globe and the reality is, English classes of 30-70 students is the norm in many parts of the world.

 

What is a large class and how best do you teach a class with 30+ ELLs (English Language Learners)?

 

First and foremost as I said above, large is in the eye of the beholder. To a teacher who normally has 7-15 students, a group of 25 students seems like a large number. Be prepared and know the number you are expected to teach. Institutes and public schools will have a good understanding of class size, so ask!

 

I believe that classroom management affects what happens in the classroom, both the input and the output! So let’s get started on some general strategies.

 

Jigsaw texts

 

Another technique is to take a longer text and make 30 copies. You could use the material in the Reading Skills section. Cut the text into five sections (A-E). Put your students into groups of five and give each student within a group one section of the text. Each student reads their text and then summarises the content for the other students.

 

Follow-up activities can include deciding on the correct order of the five sections and the standard comprehension question that would normally be done for the whole text. Of course, both these activities require the students within a group to work together and help each other.

 

Running Dictation

 

This activity is a favourite of many teachers but requires a little extra thought with large classes. After all, you can’t really have 74 students running backwards and forwards! However, if you divide your class into groups of five or six, one student can be the messenger and must read a text that is posted on the wall of the classroom. They then run between the text and the other four or five students in their group. These students listen to the ‘runner’ and write the text. Each time the ‘runner’ goes back to the text to read the next piece the ‘scribes’ can compare what they have written and help each other. This means in a class of 148 there are thirty runners. This activity works best where the texts are no longer than a paragraph.

 

Here is a useful book to download and read about teaching large classes:

 

http://www2.unescobkk.org/elib/publications/095/Teaching_Large_Classes.pdf

 

 

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