Note 13 Course design and classroom management

(Last updated: 11/6/2024)

1. Course syllabus

What's in a syllabus:

• Course catalog info and Instructor info
• Course objective and content
  • A couple of catchy phrases/concepts
    • Task-based learning: Task-based language learning (TBLL), also known as task-based language teaching (TBLT) or task-based instruction (TBI) focuses on the use of authentic language and on asking students to do meaningful tasks using the target language. (c.f. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Task-based_language_learning)
      
      According to Rod Ellis, a task has four main characteristics (c.f., the above wikipedia page):
      1. A task involves a primary focus on (pragmatic) meaning.
      2. A task has some kind of ‘gap’ (Prabhu identified the three main types as information gap, reasoning gap, and opinion gap).
      3. The participants choose the linguistic resources needed to complete the task.
      4. A task has a clearly defined, non-linguistic outcome.
    • TBL video
      • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59XMhMO0FMU
      • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1IsI2W9TGY
      • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrAA731QYUg
        
    • Backward design
      • Backward design is a method of designing educational curriculum by setting goals before choosing instructional methods and forms of assessment. (c.f., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backward_design) 
      • Vanderbilt: https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/understanding-by-design/
      • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImQo-5P0K0c
      • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwlUhS_hxBY
        
        
• Attendance/behavior policies
• List of topics and schedule
• Evaluation
  • Formative
  • Summative
• Other related (legal) issues

2. Classroom management

Managing a foreign language classroom is no different from that of any other classrooms. What's special about foreign language classroom is that we need to create an environment that facilitates foreign language learning, i.e.,

• The physical arrangement: Furniture arrangement should be friendly for group activities.
• Culturally responsive classroom
  • A teacher should be aware of students' (multi)cultural background and teach/manage accordingly.
    e.g., Do we have all the cultural artifacts to make it feel like Spain?
• Students' motivation
• Class size: Ideal for foreign language learning is 10 to 12, though very often we wouldn't have such a luxury.

3. Classroom management strategies

c.f. your reading materials. e.g., https://www.edutopia.org/blog/big-and-small-classroom-management-strategies-todd-finley

• Know your students: Build connections with your students and motivate
• Establish authority: Stick to rules of engagement
• Incentives and penalties: Maintain a balance