TEFL/TESOL Certificate (CELTA) Classroom Management and Teaching Skills Syllabus

Classroom Management and Teaching Skills syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Classroom Management and Teaching Skills in TEFL/TESOL Certificate (CELTA), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Managing the Learning Environment

   3 topics

   • Classroom layout and seating
     • Arranging seating for interaction
     • Teacher position and movement
   • Establishing rapport and atmosphere
     • Building positive teacher-learner relationships
     • Creating a supportive, inclusive climate
   • Discipline and group dynamics
     • Setting expectations and routines
     • Managing dominant and reluctant learners
2. 2

   Interaction and Grouping

   3 topics

   • Interaction patterns
     • Teacher-led, pair, group and individual work
     • Open-class and closed-pair activities
   • Setting up groups and pairs
     • Methods for forming pairs and groups
     • Mingles and changing partners
   • Maximising student talking time (STT)
     • Reducing unnecessary teacher talking time (TTT)
     • Increasing learner participation
3. 3

   Instructions and Monitoring

   3 topics

   • Giving effective instructions
     • Grading instruction language
     • Instruction checking questions (ICQs)
     • Demonstrating and modelling tasks
   • Monitoring learners
     • Active vs unobtrusive monitoring
     • Gathering information for feedback
   • Eliciting and questioning
     • Eliciting techniques and concept building
     • Nominating and distributing turns
4. 4

   Teacher Talk and Communication

   3 topics

   • Grading language
     • Adjusting vocabulary and structures to level
     • Clarity and concision in teacher talk
   • Non-verbal communication
     • Gesture, facial expression and mime
     • Using the board and space to communicate
   • Feedback to learners
     • Content feedback vs language feedback
     • Praise and constructive correction
5. 5

   Error Correction and Feedback Techniques

   3 topics

   • Understanding error
     • Errors vs mistakes (slips)
     • Interlanguage and developmental errors
     • L1 interference
   • Correction techniques
     • Reformulation and recasting
     • Finger correction and prompting self-correction
     • Use of correction codes
   • Timing and selecting what to correct
     • Immediate vs delayed correction
     • Prioritising errors for correction

Classroom Management and Teaching Skills flashcards for TEFL/TESOL Certificate (CELTA)

21 of 51 cards from the Classroom Management and Teaching Skills deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is meant by 'classroom layout' in language teaching, and name three common seating arrangements?

   Classroom layout is the physical arrangement of furniture and learners. Three common arrangements: (1) Rows/orderly rows (traditional, teacher-fronted); (2) Horseshoe/U-shape (open end for the teacher, good eye contact and pair work); (3) Groups/clusters (small tables for collaborative, learner-centred work). Others include circles and the 'cabaret' style.

2. What are the advantages of a horseshoe (U-shape) seating arrangement in the ELT classroom?

   Learners can all see one another and the teacher, encouraging interaction and eye contact; the teacher can move into the open space to monitor and demonstrate; it suits whole-class discussion and easy pair work with neighbours; it reduces the 'us vs. them' barrier of rows.

3. Define 'rapport' in the context of teaching.

   Rapport is the positive, harmonious relationship and mutual respect between teacher and learners (and among learners) built on trust, empathy and genuine interest. Good rapport creates a relaxed, supportive atmosphere that lowers anxiety and increases willingness to participate and take risks with language.

4. List four practical ways a teacher can establish rapport with a new class.

   (1) Learn and use students' names; (2) Show genuine interest in learners as people (their lives, opinions, cultures); (3) Be approachable, warm and use a smile/positive body language; (4) Listen actively, give encouraging feedback, and treat all learners with fairness and respect. Also: be reliable, consistent and well-prepared.

5. In the affective filter hypothesis, what effect does a high-anxiety, low-rapport classroom atmosphere have on learning?

   According to Krashen's Affective Filter Hypothesis, negative emotions such as anxiety, low motivation and low self-confidence raise the affective filter, which blocks comprehensible input from being acquired. A relaxed, supportive atmosphere lowers the filter, allowing more input to reach the language-acquisition device.

6. What is 'group dynamics' and why does it matter for classroom management?

   Group dynamics refers to the interpersonal relationships, attitudes and patterns of interaction within a class that affect how the group functions as a whole. Positive dynamics (cohesion, cooperation, shared goals) support learning and motivation; negative dynamics (cliques, conflict, dominance) can disrupt participation and the learning atmosphere.

7. Name three strategies for preventing or managing discipline problems in an adult/young-adult ELT classroom.

   (1) Establish clear ground rules/expectations early and apply them consistently; (2) Keep learners engaged with well-paced, relevant, appropriately challenging tasks (boredom and frustration cause misbehaviour); (3) Address issues calmly, privately and proportionately, focusing on the behaviour not the person. Also: vary interaction and build rapport.

8. What are the main classroom 'interaction patterns', and how are they usually notated in lesson plans?

   The main interaction patterns are: T-S (teacher to student), S-T (student to teacher), T-Ss (teacher to whole class), S-S (student to student/pair), S-Ss or Ss-Ss (group work), and individual (solo) work. They describe who is communicating with whom during a stage and are noted in the 'interaction' column of a plan.

9. Why should a teacher vary interaction patterns within a lesson?

   Varying interaction (whole-class, pair, group, individual) caters to different learning styles, sustains interest and pace, maximises student talking time, gives shy learners safer contexts to speak, reduces over-reliance on the teacher, and matches the activity type (e.g. fluency tasks suit pairs/groups).

10. Describe an effective procedure for setting up pair or group work.

    (1) Give clear instructions and a clear task/goal before forming groups; (2) Check understanding with ICQs; (3) Physically organise the groups/pairs (decide who works with whom); (4) Set a time limit; (5) Tell learners to start; (6) Monitor; (7) Conduct feedback. Forming the groups should normally come AFTER the instructions, not before.

11. Give three different methods a teacher can use to divide a class into pairs or groups.

    (1) By proximity (work with the person next to you); (2) Random selection (numbering off 1-2-3-4, then all 1s together, etc., or pairing by matching cards/halves of a sentence); (3) Deliberate/strategic grouping (mixing stronger and weaker learners, or splitting friends/L1 speakers to encourage English use).

12. What does STT stand for, and how does it relate to TTT?

    STT = Student Talking Time, the proportion of lesson time learners spend producing language. TTT = Teacher Talking Time. A core CELTA principle is to maximise STT and reduce unnecessary TTT, because learners need to practise producing language to develop fluency; the teacher talking too much robs them of that practice.

13. List four techniques to maximise student talking time (STT).

    (1) Use pair and group work instead of whole-class lockstep; (2) Ask open/referential questions that require extended answers; (3) Reduce echoing and over-explaining (cut unnecessary TTT); (4) Use eliciting rather than telling; increase wait time and nominate a range of students. Also: set communicative, fluency-focused tasks.

14. Distinguish between 'quality' and 'quantity' of teacher talking time. When is TTT actually beneficial?

    Quantity is how much the teacher talks; quality is how useful that talk is. TTT is beneficial when it provides comprehensible input, natural models of language, genuine communication, clear instructions or feedback (quality TTT). It is wasteful when it consists of unnecessary echoing, over-explaining, or filling silence (low-quality TTT).

15. What are the recommended steps for giving effective classroom instructions?

    (1) Get attention first; (2) Use short, simple, graded language and the imperative; (3) Sequence instructions logically, one step at a time; (4) Demonstrate or model rather than only explain; (5) Hand out materials AFTER instructing (not before); (6) Check understanding with ICQs; (7) Give a clear signal to start.

16. What is an ICQ, and give an example for the instruction 'Work in pairs and discuss the questions for three minutes.'

    An ICQ (Instruction Checking Question) is a question that checks learners have understood what they must do. Examples: 'Are you working alone or in pairs?' (in pairs); 'Are you writing or discussing?' (discussing); 'How long do you have?' (three minutes). ICQs should be closed, quick and target the key points only.

17. Why is it advisable to give instructions before handing out worksheets or materials?

    If materials are handed out first, learners' attention shifts to reading them and they stop listening to the instructions, so the instructions are missed and have to be repeated. Giving instructions first (then distributing) keeps attention on the teacher and makes the set-up more efficient.

18. What is 'monitoring', and what are its two broad purposes during a task?

    Monitoring is the teacher's observation of learners while they work. Two broad purposes: (1) Task management - checking learners are on task, on time, and have understood the activity, offering help if needed; (2) Assessment/information gathering - listening for language used, errors and good examples to inform feedback, error correction and future planning.

19. Contrast 'active' and 'discreet/unobtrusive' monitoring, and say when each is appropriate.

    Active monitoring means the teacher engages, helps, prompts and corrects learners as they work - suitable for accuracy practice or when learners need support. Discreet (unobtrusive) monitoring means standing back, listening without interrupting - suitable for fluency tasks where intervention would break communication; the teacher notes errors for delayed feedback.

20. Define 'eliciting' and explain why teachers use it.

    Eliciting is drawing language, ideas or information out of learners rather than supplying it directly (e.g. 'What's the word for...?', using prompts, pictures or gapped sentences). It is used because it raises STT, activates and checks prior knowledge, increases engagement and makes lessons more learner-centred and memorable.

21. Distinguish between 'display' questions and 'referential' questions.

    Display questions ask for information the teacher already knows, to check understanding or elicit target language (e.g. 'What's the past tense of go?'). Referential questions ask for information the teacher does NOT know - genuine, opinion- or experience-based (e.g. 'What did you do last weekend?'). Referential questions generate more authentic, extended communication.

See more Classroom Management and Teaching Skills flashcards →

Planning Classroom Management and Teaching Skills for TEFL/TESOL Certificate (CELTA)

Classroom Management and Teaching Skills (TEFL/TESOL Certificate (CELTA)) FAQ