CB Education Blog

Body language is your chief weapon in your campaign for a calm and disciplined learning environment. With the correct posture or hand movement it is possible to control even the most rowdy of classes. Most of the ideas here are extremely simple but they do work. Practice them on colleagues and children and they will make your teaching much more effective.

Smile. It is an indication of confidence. Some classes are unused to anyone smiling at them because their behaviour is so dreadful that teachers have to work hard to keep them under control. These children delight in winding up their teachers. If you smile then YOU are winning and the class acknowledge this by working better for you.

If you stand up you are immediately above even the tallest of seated adolescents, this means that they are looking up to you, at least literally. Some lessons lend themselves to standing better than others, but basically, you should be standing whenever you are talking to children.

Make eye-contact with every child when you look around the class. Be careful that you are not moving your point of focus too quickly and that each child knows that you have seen them. Eye contact is particularly important when you are speaking to a particular child. Do not allow the individual to look away. The child looking away has switched you off and you might as well save your breath.

Always stand in the open, rather than behind a desk. This “exposing yourself” is a sign of confidence in yourself.

Move slowly about the room. Rapid walking around the room unsettles the class and makes them noisy.

If you are using your hands to describe left and right, remember your left is the children’s right.

Consequently you should gesture with the right hand when saying “Left”, and vice versa. One way to think about it is to imagine a large glass screen between you and the class with the image you are describing on it. It is as though you are behind the screen.

If you watch someone who does not use this technique it is very distracting and prevents the class concentrating on the concepts that the teacher is trying to convey.

Body language is your chief weapon in your campaign for a calm and disciplined learning environment. With the correct posture or hand movement it is possible to control even the most rowdy of classes. Most of the ideas here are extremely simple but they do work. Practice them on colleagues and children and they will make your teaching much more effective.

Smile. It is an indication of confidence. Some classes are unused to anyone smiling at them because their behaviour is so dreadful that teachers have to work hard to keep them under control. These children delight in winding up their teachers. If you smile then YOU are winning and the class acknowledge this by working better for you.

If you stand up you are immediately above even the tallest of seated adolescents, this means that they are looking up to you, at least literally. Some lessons lend themselves to standing better than others, but basically, you should be standing whenever you are talking to children.

Make eye-contact with every child when you look around the class. Be careful that you are not moving your point of focus too quickly and that each child knows that you have seen them. Eye contact is particularly important when you are speaking to a particular child. Do not allow the individual to look away. The child looking away has switched you off and you might as well save your breath.

Always stand in the open, rather than behind a desk. This “exposing yourself” is a sign of confidence in yourself.

Move slowly about the room. Rapid walking around the room unsettles the class and makes them noisy.

If you are using your hands to describe left and right, remember your left is the children’s right.

Consequently you should gesture with the right hand when saying “Left”, and vice versa. One way to think about it is to imagine a large glass screen between you and the class with the image you are describing on it. It is as though you are behind the screen.

If you watch someone who does not use this technique it is very distracting and prevents the class concentrating on the concepts that the teacher is trying to convey.

It is much harder to control the tone of your voice when you are talking loudly or shouting. The logic therefore is to avoid shouting at all costs.

Most women know the limits of their voices and consequently rarely lose control. Men can shout louder without losing control of their voices and sometimes use a loud voice in an attempt to frighten children. This is rarely effective unless used very occasionally, and men would be well advised to use this tactic less often.

Many children are shouted at very frequently both by their teachers, and by their parents and the effects wear off. The child is aware that if you are shouting then you have reached the limit of your sanctions. They are very aware that teachers must not touch children and some will attempt to provoke you beyond your limits. The best way to avoid this type of provocation is to avoid shouting at individual children altogether and to severely limit your shouting at the class.

It is possible to talk quietly to a class and to have them do everything you ask; in fact it is easier to teach that way. If you are loud then the children can have their own conversation and still hear you. They are not listening, but most children cannot differentiate between hearing and listening in any case. If you keep your voice down it will have a calming effect on you and on the class.

Similarly, the banging of rulers, books or board rubbers on the desk should be avoided. Banging objects always disrupts the calm working atmosphere that you are trying to engender. Noisy class control methods are unnecessary as long as you follow the advice in the next section on Body Language.

You should make an effort to speak more slowly than usual, as you would when acting on stage. This will help the children catch what you are saying more easily and add to the calm atmosphere. Large classrooms usually have echoes and the effects of these are reduced if you speak more slowly.

Practice projecting your voice with a class in front of you, think about how the shape of your mouth changes when projecting.

Vary the level of your voice as you speak, drop it suddenly to catch the children’s attention.

Make sure that you can understand the children’s accents and dialect and that they can understand yours. There are more of them so they are “in the right” and it will be down to you to work towards better communication. Children will use a lack of it as another reason for not doing as well as expected. It also helps you to understand what they are saying behind your back!

It is essential that you avoid the use of any word or phrase that could be construed as offensive; just because a phrase is in wide use does not automatically make it acceptable for a teacher to use. Many phrases from television series fall into this category.

The most important single idea in teaching is to insist on absolute silence before you speak, if you compromise on this one, you are lost.

It is much harder to control the tone of your voice when you are talking loudly or shouting. The logic therefore is to avoid shouting at all costs.

Most women know the limits of their voices and consequently rarely lose control. Men can shout louder without losing control of their voices and sometimes use a loud voice in an attempt to frighten children. This is rarely effective unless used very occasionally, and men would be well advised to use this tactic less often.

Many children are shouted at very frequently both by their teachers, and by their parents and the effects wear off. The child is aware that if you are shouting then you have reached the limit of your sanctions. They are very aware that teachers must not touch children and some will attempt to provoke you beyond your limits. The best way to avoid this type of provocation is to avoid shouting at individual children altogether and to severely limit your shouting at the class.

It is possible to talk quietly to a class and to have them do everything you ask; in fact it is easier to teach that way. If you are loud then the children can have their own conversation and still hear you. They are not listening, but most children cannot differentiate between hearing and listening in any case. If you keep your voice down it will have a calming effect on you and on the class.

Similarly, the banging of rulers, books or board rubbers on the desk should be avoided. Banging objects always disrupts the calm working atmosphere that you are trying to engender. Noisy class control methods are unnecessary as long as you follow the advice in the next section on Body Language.

You should make an effort to speak more slowly than usual, as you would when acting on stage. This will help the children catch what you are saying more easily and add to the calm atmosphere. Large classrooms usually have echoes and the effects of these are reduced if you speak more slowly.

Practice projecting your voice with a class in front of you, think about how the shape of your mouth changes when projecting.

Vary the level of your voice as you speak, drop it suddenly to catch the children’s attention.

Make sure that you can understand the children’s accents and dialect and that they can understand yours. There are more of them so they are “in the right” and it will be down to you to work towards better communication. Children will use a lack of it as another reason for not doing as well as expected. It also helps you to understand what they are saying behind your back!

It is essential that you avoid the use of any word or phrase that could be construed as offensive; just because a phrase is in wide use does not automatically make it acceptable for a teacher to use. Many phrases from television series fall into this category.

The most important single idea in teaching is to insist on absolute silence before you speak, if you compromise on this one, you are lost.