WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT? WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT?

"The most important action an effective teacher takes at the beginning of the year is creating a climate for learning."

-- Mary Beth Blegan, former U.S. Department of Education teacher

We as teacher know that classroom management is extremely important inside the classroom. Also, we know that it is closely related to issues of motivation, discipline and respect. Classroom management is used by teachers in order to create the perfect conditions to improve the teaching-learning process. It is a fact that teachers must establish behavior rules in the classroom in order to control the behavior of student in class. The main objective of classroom management is that the classroom lessons run smoothly without any disorderly behavior by students so that teachers can take 12 steps at the beginning of the scholar year to promote effective classroom management: 

1. Develop a set of written expectations you can live with and enforce. 

2. Be consistent. Be consistent. Be consistent. 

3. Be patient with yourself and with your students. 

4. Make parents your allies. Call early and often. Use the word "concerned." When communicating a concern, be specific and descriptive. 

5. Don't talk too much. Use the first 15 minutes of class for lectures or presentations, then get the kids working. 

6. Break the class period into two or three different activities. Be sure each activity segues smoothly into the next. 

7. Begin at the very beginning of each class period and end at the very end. 

8. Don't roll call. Take the roll with your seating chart while students are working. 

9. Keep all students actively involved. For example, while a student does a presentation, involve the other students in evaluating it. 

10. Discipline individual students quietly and privately. Never engage in a disciplinary conversation across the room. 

11. Keep your sense of perspective and your sense of humor. 

12. Know when to ask for help. 

WHAT ARE YOUR MOTIVES FOR TEACHING? WHAT REWARDS OR INCENTIVES DO YOU GET FROM TEACHING? HOW MIGHT YOUR MOTIVES INTERFERE WITH YOUR ABILITY TO PUT THE NEEDS OF YOUR STUDENTS AHEAD OF YOUR OWN?

Clearly, I have many motives for teaching. The most important is that I want to change the life of my students; I want to leave a mark in their lives. Undoubtedly, many teachers see their profession just as a job and they do it because they earn money. But we need to have clear that every single student has his own goals, feelings and fears. In other word every student is different from each other. For example, some students learn or understand in a quickly way but other need more time and practice to acquire that knowledge. Also, we as teachers need to take in account the environment in the classroom; students need to have a meaningful environment in which they feel comfortable in order to maximize the learning-teaching process. So that it is a fact that a excellent teacher must to fulfill the needs of their students, to be aware of the changes in the behavior of his students and to take care of them.

If the teacher is interested in the student’s life, behavior and goals, he will become like a father for their students and it will improve both the student-teacher relationship and the classroom atmosphere.    In fact, if the classroom atmosphere is good the student’s willingness to learn will increase and they will begin to have an active participation in the learning process. For example, my students of my teaching practicum participate actively in class, they do their homework, and they ask me constantly when I am going to teach them again and so on. These are the benefits when students get realize that a teacher is truly interested in them.

It is true that a teacher needs to improve their teaching skills constantly. But teachers have to keep n mind who are they teaching. Their students are the ones who will reflect their teaching skills. So that a teacher´s lesson plan and activities must to be focus in to fulfill correctly the needs that his students have. A teacher must be patient, flexible, respectful and tolerant with their students. But the most important thing is that a teacher must inspire his students to reach their goals, to overcome their problems and to continue no matter the situations that they have to deal with.

LIST THE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT WORKING WITH TEENAGERS. WHY? LIST THE THINGS YOU DON’T LIKE. WHY?

Teaching adolescents has been a wonderful experience since I remember my school days. But teaching to adolescents requires a plenty of skills such as being patient, flexible, sensitive. Also, teachers must to show respect, tolerance and interest to their students in order to create an excellent classroom environment in which student feel comfortable in sharing their ideas. This will make the learning process more meaningful.  I enjoy working with adolescents for many reasons:

Adolescent are very charismatic.

* They are honest.

* They are very creative.

* They are eager to learn they want to learn as quickly as possible.

* They catch everything faster.

* They are undeniable curious.

* They are very competitive.

Also, there are some disadvantages to teaching adolescents:

* They have too much energy.

* Sometimes is very difficult that they participate in class if they are not motivated.

 * They have other occupations that can distract them for the learning process.

* Their behavior is very unstable; they are like a bomb that can explode in any minute.

* You need to get into their ideas to try to understand what they are doing and how they behave.

* It is difficult to get their attention because they can get distracted very easily.

* Sometimes they behave like children.

* There is a high rate that they behave in a noisy way.

WHAT CAN THE WORLD WIDE WEB OFFER ESL/EFL TEACHERS?

It is a fact that the World Wide Web has expanded very rapidly in the past few years. There are a huge number of didactic resources available on the Internet. World Wide Web is probably the largest library in the world, with an incalculable number of resources. The World Wide Web has made it possible for anyone with a computer and a connection to the Internet to have access to many different resources. The resources are very easy to use, and many web pages are linked to related resources. It is possible to follow those linked resources by just clicking highlighted words with a mouse, rather than by typing WWW addresses (URLs). World Wide Web is perfect for learners who want to learn a second language because there are many online lessons to learn a second language.

Many searching engines are available in the web such as Google and Bing that are very powerful searching engines. They are very useful to users because with them they can find information and knowledge resources only with key words about the topic. More and more professional organizations have information available on line. Many journals and newsletters are offered on the World Wide Web. 

Since World Wide Web resources are very easy to make, many individuals have their web pages and make their own resources available to the public. For example, a teacher can find on the web many information resources such as lesson plans, teaching materials, student projects, reference materials for lessons, computer assisted language learning (CALL), and papers, articles, and essays for teachers. 

Thus, WWW has become a huge library. It provides not only text files (with characters) but also sound, pictures, and video. Resources on the WWW can be multimedia for users who have the necessary hardware and software.

Though the Internet can be compared to a library, there are some disadvantages. Resources on the Internet are not organized by any person, that is, the Internet is an accumulation of resources that are available for users and they are created by individual people or organizations. In addition, the content of resources is not screened by anyone, so there is no control over the accuracy of the information. Resources may be duplicated. There are no librarians, so help in finding resources may not be available. Since resources are provided by individuals or organizations, they may disappear or move at any time, if the individual no longer has access to the computer where the information is stored.

However, some of the differences between libraries and the Internet are advantageous to users. Resources on the Internet can be used anywhere in the world, as long as the appropriate hardware and software are available. Another advantage of the Internet is that it is interactive. Many web pages have e-mail connections to the person who is responsible for the web page; so that the learners can ask questions, make comments, etc. If you post a paper or article on line, you can get responses from others as well. So that learners can clarify any doubt about a specific topic.

HOW CAN THE STANDARD-FEATURES WORD-PROCESSING PROGRAMS BE EXPLOITED FOR TEACHING WRITING SKILLS?

Nowadays, Word-Processing programs are very important in the teaching-learning because they are a powerful tool that facilitates the learning of a second language. Clearly, no other technology resource has had a great impact on education as Word-Processing programs. These programs not only offer high usefulness and flexibility, they also are “model-free” instructional software. A Word-Processing Program can be used by teachers to support any kind of directed instruction since it value as aid in education is universally recognized. Also, these kinds of programs have become the most commonly used software in the teaching-learning process.

In order to take advantage of the powers of word processing requires considerable skill in its use. Word-Processing programs are a reliable source where students can improve their writing skills thanks to the features of these programs as grammar and spelling than can help students to correct and understand their mistakes and to write sentences, paragraphs, etc. in a more accurately way. Also, Word-Processing programs as Microsoft Word can help students to increase their vocabulary thanks to its synonym dictionary that its part of the features of this program.

Undoubtedly, using Word-Processing programs helps to write on a faster way so that they improve their writing fluency because students can arrange their thoughts and ideas in an easy manner. Good writing requires concentration and focus on the words used to express the ideas of the writer, and that means that the writer cannot be distracted by the mechanics of operating the word processor; its operation should be almost a second nature.

TECHNOLOGY IN THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS OF A SECOND LANGUAGE.

Do you think technologies (e.g., videos, computers, etc.) should play a central or a peripheral role in second language teaching and learning? Why?

In my opinion, technology should play a peripheral role in second language teaching and learning. But why technology should play a peripheral role instead of a central role? It should play a peripheral role by the simple reason that the central role in the teaching-learning process is performed by the figure of the teacher.

Clearly, the figure of the teacher will never be replaced because it is decisive in this process. It is a fact that students have change so that the teaching learning process has to evolve. By this reason, teachers have to take in account new materials for their classes such as videos and Power Point presentations.

Also, teachers have to keep in mind that the need of students change trough the time so that teachers have to change or improve their teaching plan in order to fulfill in a complete way the student`s needs.

Nowadays, technology is very important for the teaching-learning process because it is a powerful tool that teachers use to convey knowledge in a very effective way. Technology has become a necessity in each classroom and it is used by the vast majority   of teachers because it is perfect to present or introduce a second language.

In conclusion, the central role in the teaching process is performed by the teacher who is in charge of choosing the correct activities and materials for their students with the help of technology.

THE ROLE OF RESEARCH IN IMPROVING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF TEACHING

Clearly, research plays an important role in improving our understanding of teaching because it provides many useful benefits to teachers. In fact, research is the bridge between the hidden side of education and future successful classroom activities.

Undoubtedly, research is a powerful tool that can be use as a teaching strategy for effective teaching.  Also, research helps to obtain meaningful knowledge and skills trough exploring different knowledge sources. But in my opinion, the ultimate goal of research in the teaching process is to enable teachers and teaching institution to make sound decisions about the educational activities and experiences that will best serve students.

 Nowadays, research is an essential part of teaching because teachers can use it to acquire knowledge and to clarify doubts about a certain topic. For example, imagine there is a teacher who has use the same teaching method plan for years. The teacher´s teaching method plan has worked for innumerable times but the principal assign a new class for the teacher. He use his teaching method plan but he got realize that his method do not work anymore. To resolve this problem, the teacher can use research to find another teaching plan that better suits his student’s needs. Also, he can pick characteristics from many teaching methods to develop a new teaching method that helps him to reach the goals that he aims for his class.

In addition, new teachers can use research in order to find information about how to plan their lessons and pick the correct topics for their students taking in account their age and precious knowledge. Teachers also can search attractive teaching materials, games, interactional activities and many other essential materials inside the classroom.

In conclusion, research is an necessary tool in the teaching-learning process because it serve as a meaningful guide to teachers who want to acquire new knowledge and clarify doubts about relevant topics.