Teaching – A Survival Guide for Students and New Teachers (Part 4) Body languagwe basics
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...