The #1 …. (way to quiet down the class)

Number One** Not your ordinary, endless list – just what’s number 1.

In all my years teaching, this is one of the most powerful things I learned. It also directly had an impact on my classroom and student learning.

Often, (because it is human nature), we speak louder in a noisy environment. Everyone then responds in kind and the volume just keeps getting louder and louder. It leads to a noisy environment and for a language classroom, a hard time for students to hear clearly. I don’t agree with the adage that “a noisy classroom is a good classroom”. Yes, students should be talking/communicating – that’s a great classroom. But forget the noise.

So if you want to quiet down your students, begin speaking to the whole class or individual groups in a soft voice. Everyone will naturally follow suit. It works!

Another nice trick is to put on “soft” music, music without voice. My “go to” music for this is Edward Satie. Put it on and it really calms down everyone. Get a nice selection in our “Study Music” pop out player on EFL Classroom 2.0.

How do you calm down your class? Further, see our poll on how teachers get the attention of their class. Add you own vote!

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ddeubel

Teacher trainer, technology specialist, educational thinker...creator of EFL Classroom 2.0, a social networking site for thousands of EFL / ESL teachers and students around the world.

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1 Response

  1. When I want my students to follow what I’m saying. I just call their attention with a firm voice. This WORKS. but your suggestion to talk softly is a valid one. Students will be forced to calm down and try to listen.

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