Tips for effective online classroom management

Pearson Languages
A young person in front of a laptop with headphones

Online language learning and teaching brings with it a lot of things to think about. The following tips are designed to help you plan your primary-level online classes effectively and manage students in a digital environment.

1. Keep energy levels high

The school environment is an active and incredibly social space. It’s hard to replicate this online, potentially leading to boredom and frustration among your students. For this reason, you should take regular 'movement breaks' during the day to energize them. You can do the following quick sequence sitting or standing:

  • Stretch your arms above your head and reach for the sky. 
  • Count to ten. 
  • Drop your left arm to your side and bend to your left while stretching your right arm over your head. 
  • Count to fifteen. 
  • Come back to an upright position and stretch both arms above your head. 
  • Count to ten. 
  • Drop your right arm to your side and bend to your right while stretching your left arm over your head. 
  • Count to fifteen. 
  • Come back to an upright position and stretch both arms above your head. 
  • Count to ten. 
  • Lean forward until your fingertips touch the floor (only go as far as is comfortable for your body), then cross your arms and release your head so it hangs gently between your legs. 
  • Count to fifteen. 
  • Come back upright, shake your arms and legs, and get back to work!

This excellent energy booster allows your students to revise parts of the body, commands and even make the link with other subjects.

2. Encourage casual socialisation

Small talk and gossip are fundamental parts of the regular school day. It’s essential to give students a few minutes to chat freely. It will help them feel relaxed and make your classes more comfortable.

Let your students do this in whatever language they want and don’t get involved, just like at school. Alternatively, ask someone to share a YouTube video, song, Instagram, or TikTok post in a digital show and tell.

3. Encourage the use of functional language

After students have been chatting freely in their own language, take the opportunity to bring in functional language depending on the subject they were talking about in English. This will help get them ready for the lesson. Here are some ways to do this:

  • Singing - Play a song and get them to sing along. 
  • Role-play - When students talk about food, you could role-play in a restaurant or talk about likes and dislikes. 
  • Guessing games - Students must read the animals' descriptions and guess what they are. You can make up your own descriptions.

4. Consider task and student density

To optimize learning time, consider dividing your class into smaller groups and teaching each one individually for part of the timetabled class time. You may find that you get more done in 15 minutes with eight students than you would be able to get done in 60 minutes with 32 students.

At the same time, you will be able to focus more easily on individual needs (you’ll be able to see all their video thumbnails on the same preview page). If it is not acceptable in your school to do this, divide the class so you’re not trying to teach everyone the same thing simultaneously.

Having the whole class do a reading or writing activity is a lost opportunity to use this quiet time to give more focused support to smaller groups of learners, so think about setting a reading task for half the class, while you supervise a speaking activity with the other half, and then swap them over.

Alternatively, set a writing activity for 1/3 of the students, a reading for 1/3 and a speaking activity for the remaining 1/3, and rotate the groups during the class.

5. Manage your expectations

Don’t expect to get the same amount of work done in an online class as in the classroom. Once you have waited for everyone to connect, get them to turn on their cameras, etc., you have less time to teach than you would usually have. Add this to the fact that it’s much more complex and time-consuming to give focused support to individual learners in a way that doesn’t interrupt everyone else.

So, don’t plan the same task density in online classes as you would for face-to-face teaching. Explore flipping some of your activities, so your students arrive better prepared to get to work.

It’s also much harder to engage students, measure their engagement and verify that they are staying on task online than in the physical classroom. In an online class, measuring engagement and reading reactions is harder. Always clearly explain the objectives and why you have decided on them. Regularly check to see if everyone understands and is able to work productively.

When you’re all online, you can’t use visual clues to quickly judge whether anyone is having difficulties, like you can in the classroom. Ask direct questions to specific students rather than asking if everyone understands, or is OK. During and at the end of class, check and reinforce the achieved objectives.

More blogs from Pearson

  • A teaher standing next to a student whos sat down, he has a pen and is gesturing to her work on the table. To the left is a pink GSE ambassador logo.

    Assessing listening skills with the GSE

    By Leonor Corradi
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    In today’s interconnected world, effective communication in English is more crucial than ever. As educators and language learners seek to measure and improve English proficiency, a resource like the Global Scale of English (GSE) offers a valuable framework for assessment. This blog post will explore how the GSE can be used to assess listening skills, providing insights into how it also helps tailor instruction and support language development.

    For listening skills, the GSE focuses on how well learners can understand spoken English in different contexts. It assesses comprehension at varying levels of complexity:

    Understanding simple information: At lower levels, learners are expected to understand basic information, such as simple instructions or everyday topics. The GSE provides learning objectives for how well learners can grasp essential details.

    Understanding main ideas: As proficiency grows, learners should be able to identify main ideas and key points in more complex spoken texts, such as conversations and broadcasts. The GSE outlines how well learners can extract important information from various sources.

    Understanding detailed information: At advanced levels, learners are expected to comprehend detailed and nuanced information, including implicit meaning and speaker intent. The GSE describes the level of detail and depth of understanding required at these stages.

    The GSE also shows how students engage in different operations of listening, from global comprehension, recognizing information and identifying specific information to extracting information. By taking this into account, teachers can monitor students’ progress and assess their listening skills. An example will show this in action.

    Let’s consider a level, say GSE 30-35 (equivalent to low A2 on the CEFR) and focus on how students process information. When checking a listening activity, rather than simply focusing on whether the answers are correct or incorrect, we can analyze our learners using the GSE and see what progress they are making and what we need to do as teachers to help them move on. Heres how:

  • Two friends stood over a book in a library reading it and smiling

    Why are English days named what they are?

    By Charlotte Guest
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    Ever wondered why Monday is called Monday or how Wednesday got its name? The names of the days of the week in English have fascinating origins, rooted in ancient history and steeped in mythology. Understanding these origins not only enriches our language ability but also provides intriguing insights into cultural heritage.

  • A group of friends backpacking outdoors smiling and embracing eachother

    What are the most spoken languages in the world?

    By Charlotte Guest
    Reading time: 5 minutes

    Have you ever wondered which world languages are spoken by the largest number of people globally? Whether you’re a language enthusiast or someone looking to learn a new language, understanding the most spoken languages around the world can be incredibly insightful. In this blog post, we’ll explore the top languages by number of speakers, shedding light on languages with the most native speakers and widely spoken languages globally.

    Introduction to spoken languages

    Spoken languages are a vital part of human communication, culture and identity. With over 7,000 languages spoken worldwide, each language has its unique characteristics, nuances and significance. Understanding the most spoken languages globally provides valuable insights into geopolitics, economics and social dynamics. In this article, we will explore the top languages spoken in the world, their distribution and use.

    Why knowing the most spoken languages matters

    Knowing which languages are most popular worldwide can influence your language learning decisions. Enhancing your language skills in these widely spoken languages can significantly boost your communication abilities and cultural understanding. It can open up opportunities for travel, business and cultural exchange. Additionally, understanding global language popularity can give you a broader perspective of the world’s linguistic diversity.

    Criteria for measuring language popularity

    Measuring language popularity is a complex task that involves various factors, including the number of native speakers, global influence, and use as a second or foreign language. The criteria for measuring language popularity include:

    • Number of native speakers: This refers to the number of people who speak a language as their first or native language. Languages with the highest number of native speakers often have a significant cultural and historical impact.

    • Global influence: This measures the extent to which a language is used in international communication, business, science and diplomacy. Languages with a broad global influence are often used as lingua francas in various regions.

    • Use as a second or foreign language: This considers the number of people who speak a language as a second language or foreign language. Languages that are widely taught and learned around the world tend to have a larger speaking population.

    By considering these criteria, we can better understand why certain languages are more prominent and widely spoken globally.

    Top 10 most spoken languages in the world

    Here’s a closer look at the ten most spoken languages by number of speakers:

    When evaluating these languages, it's important to consider not just the number of native speakers but also the total number of language speakers, including those who speak it as a second language.

    1. English

    Speakers: Approximately 1.5 billion

    Native speakers: Around 360 million

    Regions: Widely spoken in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

    Highlights: English is the most widely spoken language worldwide when combining native and non-native speakers. It's the primary language in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. English is the dominant language in international business, science and technology.

    2. Mandarin Chinese

    Speakers: Over 1.1 billion

    Native speakers: About 920 million

    Regions: Mainly in China, Taiwan and Singapore

    Highlights: Mandarin is the language with the largest number of native speakers. It's one of the six official languages of the United Nations and has a significant cultural and historical importance.

    3. Hindi

    Speakers: Around 600 million

    Native speakers: Approximately 341 million

    Regions: Predominantly in India and Nepal

    Highlights: Hindi is predominantly spoken in India and Nepal, with approximately 341 million native speakers. It is one of the official languages of India and is spoken by a large portion of the Indian population. It has numerous dialects and is written in the Devanagari script.

    4. Spanish

    Speakers: Approximately 560 million

    Native speakers: About 460 million

    Regions: Spain, Latin America and parts of the United States

    Highlights: Spanish is the official language in 21 countries and is widely spoken in the Americas. In many of these countries, Spanish serves as the national language, playing a crucial role in government, education and media. It’s known for its rich literature and cultural heritage.

    5. French

    Speakers: Around 280 million

    Native speakers: About 77 million

    Regions: France, parts of Africa, Canada, Belgium and Switzerland

    Highlights: French is another of the six official languages of the United Nations. It's widely used in international diplomacy and has a significant number of speakers in Africa due to France's colonial history.

    6. Arabic

    Speakers: Approximately 270 million

    Native speakers: Around 310 million

    Regions: Middle East and North Africa

    Highlights: Arabic is a central Semitic language that is the liturgical language of Islam. It has many dialects, with Modern Standard Arabic being used in formal settings and media. Arabic has numerous spoken forms, with significant variations in dialects across different regions.

    7. Bengali

    Speakers: Around 265 million

    Native speakers: About 230 million

    Regions: Bangladesh and parts of India

    Highlights: Bengali is the official language of Bangladesh and the second most spoken language in India. Alongside other languages like Hindi and Urdu, Bengali plays a crucial role in the cultural and linguistic landscape of the region. It’s known for its rich literary tradition.

    8. Portuguese

    Speakers: Approximately 220 million

    Native speakers: Around 220 million

    Regions: Brazil, Portugal and parts of Africa

    Highlights: Portuguese is mainly spoken in Brazil, which is the largest Portuguese-speaking country. It has a growing number of speakers in Africa.

    9. Russian

    Speakers: Around 258 million

    Native speakers: Approximately 154 million

    Regions: Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia

    Highlights: Russian is one of the six official languages of the United Nations and is widely spoken in the former Soviet Union countries.

    10. Japanese

    Speakers: Approximately 128 million

    Native speakers: Around 128 million

    Regions: Japan

    Highlights: Japanese is predominantly spoken in Japan and is known for its three writing systems—Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. It has a rich cultural history and is influential in technology and entertainment.

    Conclusion

    Understanding the most spoken languages in the world can provide valuable insights for language learners. Developing strong language skills in these world languages can open up numerous opportunities for travel, business and cultural exchange. Whether you’re looking to enhance your travel experiences, broaden your cultural horizons, or improve your career prospects, learning one of these widely spoken languages could be a significant advantage.

    Ready to start your language learning journey? Learn a new language with Mondly by Pearson.