How to make your classroom more dynamic!
Alan S. Mackenzie
Head of Professional ELT Development
British Council, Thailand
How to make your classroom more dynamic!
Alan S. Mackenzie
Head of Professional ELT Development
British Council, Thailand
For VTTN Conference 8th – 9th December 2006
What is this?
Destroy the order!
Increasing interaction
Ask five people…
How long they have been teaching
Where their family lives
If they are enjoying themselves
Find someone who…
likes the same kind of movies as you
has been teaching for the same length of time as you
was born in the same month as you
Re-structuring is change with a purpose
Have a clear reason for the change
Give clear, easy instructions
Make the language to be used clear and check that students use it
Give feedback on language use if needed
Change the task a little and repeat
Stir and settle
Stir: You are calm in the centre of chaos
Settle: You are active while tasks are being completed
Paired Heads Together
are better than one
Why is it good to find people who are the same as you?
Humans love sharing similar experiences
Common understanding is comfortable
Bridges between two people
Something to talk about
4’s
What happens in a traditional classroom?

Imagine I am an alien from another planet! I have never seen a traditional classroom on earth.
Explain to me what happens in them.
What happens in a traditional classroom?
Students stay in their seats and don’t move around
Boys and girls are separated and rarely communicate with each other
The teacher is often “fixed” at the front of the class
Students tend not to volunteer

The traditional classroom
Changing the physical setup, changes the interaction
Students can move around more
Boys and girls are mixed so can communicate more with each other
The teacher can move around more
Students can talk to each other and may be more likely to volunteer
Different people have different ideas to share

How much attention do the students at the back really get?
Teacher and students are getting closer!
Roles are useful
Leaders
Questioners
Recorders
Reporters
Motivators
Rotate the roles so that everyone can try everything
Choose the roles to suit the task
What are the positives and negatives of these classroom setups:
Positives
Negatives
How is this different?
What about this?
Moving group members
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Use language points to set up groups:
I’m a 1!
Are you a 1?
Yes, I am
Oh, Good!
No, I’m a 3.
OK, bye!
Sorry, I have a group!
Why is it good to talk to different people?
Different people have:
Different experiences
Different opinions
Different vocabulary

Changing the group members changes the information
Designing activities where different group members have different pieces of information, creates opportunities for communication.
Moving group members
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activities where different group members have different pieces of information
Information Gaps: Examples
Cut up texts: Jigsaw readings
Gapped texts
Texts on the same topic with different information about it
Slightly different pictures
Different pictures of the same type
Same questions to different people
Opinion role-plays



How does group size change interaction patterns?
More people,
more ideas
less confidence speaking in front of the group
more structure needed
Less people,
more talking time
more groups
more noise?
Task
from?
school?
problems?
Structuring order within chaos…
Other ways to change group members
What’s your favourite ice-cream flavour?
Group leaders are the first 4 different flavours. Others chose what flavour they want.
Adjectives
Four adjectives: good, beautiful, fantastic, great! Tell the students who is who.
Animals
Are you a dog? No I’m a cat!
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great
beautiful
fantastic
wonderful
4’s!
The teacher is active: How?
What does the teacher do?
Really listen carefully to what students are saying
Note language difficulties
Only encourage students
Talk about what they are doing well
Make changes to what the group is doing if necessary
Interfere as little as possible
Observe what students are doing and how they are communicating
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Structure is Key
Unstructured interaction in a group almost always leads to unequal participation, or no communication.
For more equal participation and learning, teachers need to structure the interaction.
Can be integrated into any lesson, not just English language.
A structure is a content-free sequence of steps designed to structure the interaction of students with each other and/or the curriculum.
Content + Structure = Activity

A good lesson is a series of activities carefully sequenced to reach an important educational objective.
Motivation
Give individuals and groups opportunities to earn Points.
Acknowledge all contributions from students.
Praise students when they do a good job or give a good answer, and have them praise each other.
Highlight particularly good work.
Make sure you give clear Yardsticks so that students have a target to work towards and measure their work against.
HAPPY
Spencer Kagan: www.kaganonline.com

the single most powerful determinant of the cooperativeness of children is the situations in which they are placed
Situations determine social behaviour
Teachers need to design situations that elicited cooperation among students
at every moment in the classroom, there is always a structure!
Another useful resource
Oxford Resource Books for Teachers: Jill Hadfield: Classroom Dynamics
This presentation is available at:
http://access.britishcouncil.or.th

Resources
http://www.kaganonline.com
Oxford Resource Books for Teachers: Jill Hadfield: Classroom Dynamics

Contact
alan.mackenzie@britishcouncil.or.th