Physical presence

How should teachers use their physical presence in class?

All teachers, like people, have their own physical characteristics and habits, and they will take these into the classroom with them. But there are a number of issues to consider which are not just idiosyncratic and which have a direct bearing on the student's perception for us.

Proximity: Teachers should consider how close they want to be to the setudents they are working with. Teachers should be concious of their proximity hand, distance and, in assessing their students' reactions to what is happening in the clasroom, they should take this into account.

Appropriacy: Dedicing how closely you should work with students is a matter of appropriacy. So is the general way in which teachers sit or stand in classroom. Many teachers create an extremely friendly atmosphere by crouching down when they work with students in pairs. Some teachers are even happy to sit on the floor, and in certain situations this may be appropriate. All the positions teachers take -sitting on the edge of tables, standing behind a lectern, standing on a raised dais etc. - make strog statements about the kind of person the teacher is.

Movement: Some teachers tend to spend most of their class time in one place- at the front of the class, for example, or to the side, or in the middle. Others spend a great deal of the time walking from  side to side, or striding up and down the aisles  between the chairs. More succesful teachers move around in the classroom, then, will depend on his or personal style; where he or she feels most comfortable for the managment of the class, how she or he feels it easiest to manage the classroom effectively, and whether or not he or she wants to work with smaller groups.

Contact: In order to manage a class successfully, the teacher has to be aware of what students are doing and, where possible, how they are feeling. This means watching and listening just as carefully as teaching. It means making eye contact with students, listening to what they have said and responding appropriately.
It is almost impossible to help students to learn a language in a classroom setting without making contact with them.

Audibility: Teachers need to be audible. They must be sure that the students at the back of the class can hear them as well as those at the front. Teacher do not have to shout to be audible. Good teachers try to get balance between audibility and volume just right.

Variety: Use very loud voices, and that is when teachers want students to be quiet or stop doing something. But it is whorth pointing out that speaking quietly is often just as effective a way of getting the students' attention since, when they realise that you are talking, they will want to stop and listen in case you are saying something important or interesting.

Conservation: Teachers have to take great care of their voices. It is important that they breathe correctly from the diaphragm so that they don't strain their larynxes. Conserving the voice is one thing teachers will want to take into account when planning a day's or a week's work.

By Jeremy Harmer