IV. When things go wrong in class

-The class went out of control.

The kids were playing and screaming, running through the classroom; they were so exited about going outside and play that they began running, and every thing was a mess. I tried to make them pay attention and finish their work, but they did not collaborate, so I began singing the song I taught them at the beginning. This actually worked because they were looking at me, and they began singing with me.

-You had extra time.

I did an activity, and I thought that I would last longer, but the kids ended it very fast. It missed around ten minutes, so I asked them to tell me the things that they liked the most about the class. Also, the kids were very excited telling me the things that they had learnt and the things they wanted to learn in the next classes.

-An activity didn’t work

I planned an activity with a little ball in order to teach the kids to introduce themselves, but the space in the classroom was not enough, so the kids could not do the activity well. However, we began to do another activity with the ball, and the kids had fun with it. At the end, they knew how to introduce themselves, so I can say that the activity worked.

-An activity was too difficult

I asked the students to pick a thing from the classroom and to tell me the color it was, but there was so much noise, and they were out of control. In order to keep them calm, I asked them to stop, and I explained to them another activity that did not involve so much noise. The kids were participating, and at the end, the had learnt the colors.

I tried some of the tips presented in chapter eight, and they worked for me because at the ends the kids learnt some of the things that I taught them. Also, the activities were helpful because when I did not know what to do to control the class, I put in practice the advices and they worked.

By: Karen Albanés

I had two or more problems, but I remember I had the first one and the second one that are: there was an internal disturbance, and there was an external disturbance.

There was an internal disturbance was a hard problem because the children like to bother or to stand up because they cannot be quiet, so they were walking around the classroom at the beginning. So, to solve this problem when somebody was talking or interrupting the class, I called that child, and that child went to front of the classroom, and I asked him or her to explain what we were studying at that moment. In that way, everybody was quiet, and they loved to participate even when I did not ask them to do it, they were raising their hands because they wanted to do it.

Doing this, everybody was glad with the class because all of the students were participating during the class because I decided to call everybody to pass to the front not only the children that were bothering other children. So, the class was more interesting and dynamic at the same time.     

The other problem was the noise outside the classroom. The problem is that the children did not have an specific room to receive the class, so they received the class in a warehouse that was in the yard almost at the end of the school. So, it was easy for them to lose the attention because when the children were receiving the class the older students were on the break, so most of the children liked to see what was happening outside the classroom. Sometimes, many older students liked to go to that room and see what I was teaching to the students, and many of the children started to talk with them.

What did id o to solve this problem? Well, when the children were looking outside the classroom I moved from the place I was, and I tried to speak louder for them to hear what I was teaching them. Sometimes, I called some students to go to the front to do a game or to play a game. When the older students arrived to the classroom I asked them to participate with me and to help me to develop the class; I assigned them some activities for the class. And, they helped me to do it, so they helped me at the same time that they learned, and the children learned too. Also, when the professor was not there, the students liked to walk around, but I had some penalties for them if they did not obey what I said, so they were afraid of it, and they liked to help me at the moment we were in the class.

I took into account t many important things about chapter number 8 because I knew that children had more energy than us, and they are enthusiastics. So, the students and I had to enjoy at the moment we were in the class, specially they. When they are enjoying the class, they are able to learn in a better way and in a faster way. Also, when I planned the class or activities to develop during the classroom, I planned everything, and it was essier because I knew what I was going to do in the class. I could adapt the same plan for other classes. I realized what I should use for each activity, and I was aware about things I was going to develop later in the class. It helped because I got confidence from it, and I knew how to use my energy and enthusiasm to teach in a good way for the children to learn. Also, as the children get older they will be aware about if a class is planned or not.

By: Gabriel Valencia

During the class, as a teacher, I develop a lot of activities with the students; they enjoyed almost all of them; the students like developing activities such as paint and draw and they like them also. Sometimes developing an activity with the students is so difficult because as teachers we have to catch the attention of our students. The activities that we have to develop with our students have to be catchy in order that our students can enjoy them.

We know that sometimes the activities can go out control, but we have to be prepared to that; if the activity go out control, the class becomes a totally mess; the success of the activity depends on the students and the teacher also, the teacher has to work hand by hand with the students. We have to be prepared with the activity that we are going to develop; we have to be pretty careful with the time that we are going to take developing the activity, and also we have to develop an activity according to the topic that we are developing in the class.

The management of the class during the activity is a little bit more complicated than the normal classes because the students become more hyperactive than the normal. And that is good, but we have to take advantage about that; we have to use all the energy that the students have in order to develop in a good way the activity.

I remember once when I was teaching; I committed a mistake; I was develop an activity with my students, they were painting a landscape and I was checking the work that all of them were doing; they were enjoying the activity, and they were working quietly also. We were spending the time doing that when all of sudden a student told me “teacher when are we going to take a break?” as soon as I realized about the time I told to my students that we was going to stop the activity and we were taking a break. I figured out that my students were a little bit tired; I know that the kindergarten students are full of energy; however, they become bored so fast; and they were in that way, they were a little bit tired and bored, and they wanted to take a break; I was worried because I forgot the time of the break; my students did not realized about, and also my tutor did not realize too. I think that I solved the situation and a good way; thereafter, I paid pretty attention in the time during the class.

By; Eduardo Marroquín

Young learners can understand and be interested in every activities developed in the class depending on many factors such as atmosphere, rapport by the teacher, activities which take lot of time, confidence among teacher and students also the disturbances outside the classroom and internal factors inside every child.

How students show interest when they are learning a new language? We now a minimal disturbance can turn a big distraction and they are not going to neither pay attention or absorb the content of the activity. I noticed when they felt so stress out may be they couldn´t sleep well or they didn´t take breakfast. They can not pay attention.

When there are noisy outside the classroom children are eager to go out because they notice how other children are playing or doing some other things but the atmosphere that the teacher has to have to manage a good class is doing activities related with the topics he/ she is going to develop. However, the teacher doesn´t take control about it because he/she tries to keep the atmosphere just inside the classroom.

Teacher should provide confidence to children if it is not the children are not going to participate because they don’t look to the teacher as friend who is the responsible to transmit knowledge to them. Perhaps they are accustomed to take a big distance among he/she and teacher.

I had two or three students who never pay attention but I tried to change those bad attitudes assigning them responsibilities. They felt some responsibilities for example talking about their plans for future. I said “if you really wish get it, you should study then you are going to have everything you want in the life” they smiled very excited then they pay attention. The disturbances outside the classes were hard to avoid them, when those disturbances passed I began playing with the children an oral activity.

Find topics for children are easy. We know how children show interest in topics according to their ages. Select his favorite toy and tell how old is it, describe how it dress with colors they know. It help to children to get the correct meaning relating objects they can see and the words or colors also the numbers they know in the language they are learning.

By: Julio Aguilar

I think that having problems while teaching is quite a challenge. I have learned many things from children that will help me in the future such as attitudes, behavior, and ways of thinking. In schools, there are students who learn quickly; others who learn slowly, and others who simply do not want to learn anything. The teacher has to be aware of what his or her students need in order to create a very good atmosphere of learning and in order to make learning take place. During my teaching practicum, I had to face too many situations that made me feel disappointed and sad. Once, I remember that I was running an activity in the class when the teacher came to say that she was going to go to a meeting with all the teachers of the school. So, she told me to be with the children more time. I could not say anything because I was there to help her. So, I said “yes.” I continued doing an activity about animals, but the problem was that I realized the children were getting bored; I did not know what to do in order to make them feel encouraged and enthusiastic. So, I told them to stand up, form a circle in the classroom, and relax for a while in order to kill time. Suddenly I remembered that I had a song in a CD and I decided to play it. While trying to play the song, I realized that the tape recorder did not work. I was really worried because of that. So, I told the children to take a sit again, and I gave them a page in which they had to draw an animal and to color it. While they were drawing and coloring, I went to the room where the meeting was taking place. I remember that I asked the teacher to give me another tape recorder and of course, she gave me another one. It was an embarrassing moment; I will never forget it. When I came to the classroom, the children were making a lot of noise. Some of them were running around the classroom while others were outside. I asked them to form a circle again and finally, I played the song. Thereafter, the children changed their behavior and the class developed smoothly.

When I got home, I realized that I had overcome that problem. I learned a lot from that. I learned that I have to be more prepared to face problems in the classroom. 

By: Raúl Barrera