For Teachers: Rules for English Lessons

As I said in a previous post, it's important to set rules so that our students will know what they're aiming at and how to do it. 

Here I give you some ideas that can work with teenagers and adults:

• Use English in class. (When they start learning it, they are not going to use them if they don't know it; that's why it's important to show them some key phrases which they have to learn  for interaction)
• Be punctual. (Not only arriving early, but also handing work in on time.)
• Bring your materials. (Such as books, notebooks, dictionaries, etc.)
• Turn off your cell-phones or any distracting devise. 
• Respect the teachers and classmates. (For example, be in silence when someone is participating, avoid the use of inappropriate words, etc.)
• Participate in class as much as possible. (To increase Student Talking Time)

These are basic rules which are going to make our lives easier if we set them the first day of class. Also, you have to remember that we are teachers, and one of our goals is to help people get values and control themselves to get their targets in life. 

Now, the question is: How do I make my students follow the rules? When teaching adults, we have to remind them that it's necessary to follow the rules to achieve their goals efficiently. I'm sure they'll understand because they truly need to learn the language. What happens with teenagers? In my experience in schools, it seems that at first, they need to know how concretely important the rules are, and many of them understand it by marks, or reports. It's not the ideal, but at the beginning it works until they realize that it's for their sake. But most importantly, you have to apply the rules in order to show that you are not kidding. It may be hard sometimes (sometimes we feel pity for our students) but we, teachers, have to be firm to get respect and have a good atmosphere (we don't want our students to feel that we apply the rules only for some students, for example.)

I hope that this was useful for you. Thanks for reading and sharing!