Building Rapport and Classroom Management

A presentation by Chad Lowndes

What is rapport?

What is rapport?

Rapport:

• Rapport is the relationship between people or groups where there is a shared ability to understand each other's feelings or ideas and communicate well.

• Rapport is the ability to create trust between people.

Why is Rapport important in the classroom?

• What effects does good rapport with your students cause?

• Will students be more open to learning from a teacher they like?

• Who will benefit from a classroom where there is good rapport between the teacher and students?

Good rapport will turn a classroom into a magical place of learning.

Good rapport in the classroom:

• Good rapport in the classroom will open students to learning and interacting with each other more.• Students will be able to express their opinions without fear.• Students will be ask questions easier.• Teachers will be able to teach more interesting topics for their

students.• Teachers will have an easier time with managing their classrooms.• Everyone will have more fun, and learning happens easier with fun!

How to build student rapport:

Smile

Smiling when you first meet your students will greatly improve your ability to from a positive relationship with them in the future. Continue to smile! If your students understand that you are a positive person they will be able to open up to you and go further in a trusting environment. Never stop smiling!

Look at your neighbor and Smile, for one minute!

• Is it easy to smile at someone?• What do you think the other

person is thinking?• How does this make you feel?• Just Smile!!!

Have a sense of humor!

Making students laugh is one easy way for them to lighten up and be open to learning what you have to offer. It can take the fear out of the classroom. One useful type of humor is “I’m laughing at our silly teacher.” When you give examples make the so extreme they students find it funny, use extreme gestures, even point out your mistakes with a sense of humor. Just make sure that the jokes are about you and not other students.

Talk positively.

Talking positively can let your students know that you are a positive person, which will greatly impact your rapport with them. If they know that you will always look on the positive side of things they will feel more able to approach you with any problems they are having. One way to do this is to list your class rules in a positive manner:

Make these positive sentences.

• Don’t speak Russian.

• Don’t use mobile phones.

• Don’t use translators.

• You mustn't be late for class.

Positive Sentences

• Don’t speak Russian. We will speak English.

• Don’t use mobile phones. We will put our phones in our bags during the class.

• Don’t use translators. We will ask other students, or the teacher the meaning of words we

don’t know.• You mustn’t be late for class. Come to class on time.

Know your subject matter.

Know what you are teaching! The key to doing this is having good lesson plans. Spend time thinking of what you are going to teach, how you are going to present it, what activities you are going to do and what some of the problems you will face might be. The better you plan for what might happen the more likely that something bad will not happen.

Remember Names • Tips for remembering names:

1. Ask students to make name cards with blank paper and put them on their desks on the first day of class.

2. Call students by their names often during the first few lessons, while their names are shown.

3. Associate the student’s name with something you are familiar with (former student, relative, friend) with the same name.

4. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, not even the teacher is perfect. Students will enjoy that you are learning their names.

Students will think that they are important to you if you can remember their names.

We did this?

Make name cards and use student’s names.

Attention to all students.

All classes will have students with different levels. All the students will need you, but not all in the same way. Interact with all students, but each in their own way.

Be available.

Let your students know how to make contact with you outside of class. Students like to know that they can contact you, even if they never do.

Be fair with the rules, even strict.

Set rules with the students and follow them. Review the rules and remind students that they are the ones who choose which rules to have. Students will feel safe if they know the teacher is consistent with the rules. The same rules and consequences for all students.

Student’s comments and questions should be met

with verbal praise.

It builds confidence to hear “excellent question” or “good idea”. Your students will be more likely to speak out, if even just to hear a new way of saying “good job”

Body PostureBe conscious of how you stand, walk and how you present yourself when dealing with students. When talking to students at their desks it is often good to bend down from the knees and get closer to the same level as they are on to avoid making them feel as intimidated by the teacher. Pulling up an empty chair next to them when talking can make the students feel more at ease. For male teachers this also ensures that your students will not feel uncomfortable if they are wearing loose shirts.

What do these Body Postures tell you?

Match behavior

When students are excited, talk to them in an excited way. When students are timid or quiet, talk to them in a more relaxed way. Matching behavior has been proven in many studies to directly effect the way people respond to each other.

Honor your time.

Arrive for class on time and end class on time. If you are late students may question your professionalism, and if you end late students may feel like you are taking their time when you have no right.

Learn something about your students' interests, hobbies, and aspirations. Do an activity the first day where students interview each other and ask each other about things such as hobbies. The students will tell the class about their partner, use this information to create and use personally relevant class examples.

Interact more, lecture less – focus on

intuitive learningPlans lessons that cover topics covered in the book without opening the book for a whole lesson. There are a lot of resources on-line and in various supplementary teaching books that you can cover entire lessons, grammar points, vocabulary and speaking activities using different games and activities. The students get to learn the language without even realizing it.

Be yourself.

Present yourself as a person, not just a teacher. Give students an idea of who you are without bragging or preaching your view points.

Questions? Comments?

Classroom ManagementEffective Classroom Management Tools

What is Classroom Management?

Classroom Management

Remember that all of your students, no matter what their motivations for coming to class are, want to be able to speak English. From the children who would rather not be there to the business professionals who need English for their jobs, they all want to speak English so make that the leading force in your classroom management plan.

Rules

On the first day have the students come up with their own set of rules. All students should participate in this process. You should ensure that they come up with at least these three: Speak English only / Be positive when talking about other people / Listen when it is time for others to talk. There are many more rules for a classroom, but these three are essential.

How to manage disruptive behavior depends on the type of behavior displayed.

Attention Seekers

They show off to get a laugh from the class. Ignore minor behaviors but set a line and be consistent.

Power seekers - They want to enforce their way. Avoid a power struggle with the student; let them have their way if they insist, but quietly tell them the consequences for their actions. Remain fair and firm about the behavior

Revenge seekers They act defiant, for example a student who refuses to move to another seat in after being told to do so, or a student who will not put their phone away. Avoid a power struggle with the student; let them have their way if they insist, but quietly tell them the consequences for their actions. Remain fair and firm about the behavior.

Withdrawn or depressed

They give up easily and then sits in silence. With these students ignore their failures and highlight their successes. Call on these students with very simple questions that you are sure they will get right and praise them for speaking in class.

Highlight the Positive

•With all of these types of disruptive behaviors the best action to take is to consistently positively reinforce the positive behavior that the student does. Keeping the classroom light and at ease, even if one or two students are not fully participating will be the best option, rather than stopping the class and engaging in a power struggle with one student.

Younger Students

• Most young students can be led to proper behavior by the teacher just standing next to them. For others a tap on their desk will work, while for others you may have to remind them of the rules which they agreed upon. As final steps to be taken you can tell them that if their behavior continues you will inform the admin who will then call their parents. As a desperate measure you may send the child out of the class to come back in when they are able to follow the rules they agreed upon. Be consistent, equal, and follow through.

Adults

• For adults who are paying for the classes themselves these classroom management issues do not often come up and when they do you can simply ask them if they want to participate or not. If they do then they will follow the rules they have created, if not they do not have the right to stop others who have also paid and are trying to improve their English.

Students who are afraid of making mistakes

• Some students will be afraid of making mistakes in class. If you have good rapport, strong class rules about making fun and are enforcing them and consistent you should just have a conversation about where the student would like to make the mistakes. In the safety of the class, or on the streets of London when they visit? Provide a safe environment and do a lot of positive reinforcement.

Students who want to be corrected on every mistake.

• Explain that the teacher will correct mistakes when appropriate, almost never during communication activities and often during grammar practice. It is not useful to correct all the time.

Students show different levels of engagement• Students who show up for class all the time and are fully engaged

should be the focus of your lesson plans. Students who miss class, do not do homework and do not participate in activities but can maintain with the rest of the class should be spoken to about these issues, but in a light way. Students who have the same bad habits, but are unable to keep up with the rest of the class should be talked to in a more serious manner, discussing course objectives, expectation and homework policies.

Students who speak Russian often during class

Play games and give points for correct answers. Take away points when students use languages other than English. Divide the class into two or three teams and do the same for each time a person on that team speaks a language other than English. The students will force each other to use English! Especially if the loosing team has a little extra homework.

Student is translating using their phone

• Students who insist on translating and using their phone can be asked to put their phones away. You can offer them to use a dictionary or at least a book translator. They will look up far less words. Remind students that when learning another language it is best to think in that language.

Final thoughts?

•Thanks for your time!!