Classroom Management for New TEFL/TESOL Teachers: What to Do When Students Don’t Listen
You give an instruction. A few students start working, but two students turn to each other and begin talking. Someone at the back is looking down at the page, while another student seems to be waiting for everyone else to start.
You repeat the instruction, but the room gets noisier. So you explain again, this time with more detail, and somehow the more you talk, the less the class seems to listen. For a new teacher, it is easy to think, “My students aren’t listening to me.”
But sometimes, they are not ignoring you. They simply do not know what to do. Before asking, “How do I control this class?”, there is a more useful question to ask first: “Why is this happening?” That is where classroom management really begins.
Classroom Management Is More Than Keeping Students Quiet
A quiet classroom is not automatically a well-managed classroom. Students can be silent and still be completely confused. A lively classroom can also become noisy because students are discussing an activity, asking each other questions or trying to solve a problem together.
Good classroom management is not simply about keeping students quiet. It is about understanding what is happening in the classroom and creating the conditions students need to learn. When something goes wrong, new teachers often look at the students first, but teachers also need to learn to look at their own teaching.
Before Blaming the Class, Check Your Teaching
When I observe trainee teachers, one habit I want them to develop is to check themselves before deciding that the students are the problem. Was my voice clear? Did I give too much information? Did I break the instruction down? Did I give an example, and did I actually check that students understood?
Then, once the activity begins, the teacher needs to monitor what happens. An explanation may sound perfectly clear to you but still be confusing to your students. If they do not understand, repeating exactly the same explanation with more words may only make the problem worse.
Try another way. Demonstrate the first step, show an example, use the board or a gesture, and then let students try again while you monitor. What works with one class may not work in exactly the same way with another.
When Talking Is Actually a Sign of Confusion
I remember one situation during teaching practice that illustrates this clearly. A trainee gave students a vocabulary activity where they had to match words with their definitions. Several of the words were completely new to the students, the instruction was long, and they were asked to complete the activity individually.
Soon, some students started turning to the people beside them and talking. From the front of the classroom, it looked as though they were not listening or were refusing to do the activity. But some of them were actually asking stronger classmates what the words meant and what they were supposed to do.
The teacher could see the behaviour but did not yet understand the reason behind it. In this situation, simply making the class quieter would not solve the learning problem.
A better approach might be to introduce some essential vocabulary first, practise pronunciation and meaning, and demonstrate an example. The teacher could then consider whether the matching task would work better in pairs or small groups, allowing students at different levels to help each other while the teacher monitors and checks their understanding.
Sometimes what looks like a classroom management problem is actually an instruction or task problem.
Get Attention Before Giving Instructions
Another common mistake is trying to give instructions while students are still talking. The teacher starts speaking, some students continue talking, so the teacher speaks louder and explains more. The result can be even more noise and even less attention.
Get the class’s attention first. Depending on the students and the situation, you might use a clear voice, a familiar clap or sound, eye contact, body language or simply stop speaking and wait. Sometimes silence is more effective than another long explanation.
Your position in the classroom also matters. When giving whole-class instructions, stand where students can see and hear you clearly, make eye contact and use clear body language. Being firm does not mean being angry; it means students understand when it is time to listen.
Teacher Presence Does Not Mean Talking More
Imagine that most of the class is ready, but two students continue talking. You may not need to stop the lesson and give them a long lecture. If you know the student’s name, use it, make eye contact and pause for a moment.
Sometimes that is enough for the student to realise that you have noticed. If the problem continues, address it calmly, but not every individual problem needs to become a public confrontation in front of the whole class.
If one student repeatedly struggles to focus and you have already checked your instructions, task and teaching, it may be better to speak privately during the break. A simple question such as, “I noticed you were having trouble focusing today. Is there anything I can help you with?” may tell you more than repeatedly correcting the student in front of everyone.
Know When to Step In and When to Step Back
Where you stand and how much you intervene should change with the activity. When giving instructions to the whole class, students need to see and hear you clearly. Once pair or group work begins, stepping back gives students space to interact with each other.
Monitoring should also have a purpose. During an accuracy-focused activity, there may be times when an important error needs immediate attention. During a fluency-focused activity, however, constantly interrupting students can break the flow of communication, so it may be better to listen, take notes and give feedback afterwards.
A good teacher does not only know how to correct. A good teacher learns when to correct, when to wait and when to let students continue.
Plan for the Students in Front of You
Real classrooms are rarely made up of students at exactly the same level. One student may finish immediately, another may still be trying to understand the first question, and another may know the answer but lack the confidence to speak.
That is why lesson planning should include more than the ideal version of what you hope will happen. Before teaching, consider what you will do if an activity is too difficult, too easy, finishes too quickly or receives no response from the class.
You cannot predict everything, especially when teaching an unfamiliar group of students. But you can prepare another example, an easier option, an extension for stronger students or a different way of grouping the class. The goal is not to force the real classroom to follow your lesson plan perfectly; it is to be able to adjust when it does not.
“Do You Understand?” Is Not Enough
A teacher explains an activity and asks, “Do you understand?” The students say yes, but when the activity begins, nobody knows what to do. Some students may feel uncomfortable admitting that they do not understand, while others may think they understand until they actually try the task.
Instead of relying only on “Do you understand?”, check something specific. You might ask, “Are you working alone or with a partner?”, “Which question are you doing first?” or “Can you show me one example?” You can also ask a student to explain what the class needs to do.
Then let students begin and monitor. If one student is confused, help that student; if half the class is confused, stop and check the instruction again. You may need to demonstrate, give another example or explain the task differently.
Classroom Management Is People Management
After years of teaching and observing teachers, I have come to see classroom management in a simple way: classroom management is people management. You cannot manage people well if you never try to understand them.
When you first meet a class, you will not understand every student immediately, but you can observe them. Who needs another example? Who understands but is afraid to answer? Who finishes quickly, who regularly asks a stronger student for help, and who works better when you step back?
Over time, you begin to understand the people in front of you. You learn when another explanation is needed, when an example would be better, when to change the grouping, when to intervene and when to wait. You also begin to see the difference between a student who needs firmer boundaries and a student who simply needs help.
Classroom management cannot be reduced to techniques for making students quiet. The better you understand your learners, the better you understand what is happening in your classroom.
Classroom Management Has to Be Practised
You can read about classroom management, prepare a detailed lesson plan and watch an experienced teacher. Then you step into a real classroom and a student does not understand, an activity takes longer than expected, someone asks an unexpected question or the class suddenly loses focus.
That is when teaching becomes real. This is also why practical teaching experience is part of the in-class TESOL training at TEFL International Vietnam. Trainees move from trainer-led learning, demonstrations and practice into lesson preparation and real teaching with Vietnamese students at local schools, followed by trainer observation and feedback.
The goal is not to produce a perfect first lesson. It is to help trainees prepare, practise, teach, receive feedback, reflect and improve, because knowing about teaching and being ready to respond to a real classroom are not the same thing.
Before You Blame the Class, Ask Yourself Why
The next time students do not respond the way you expected, do not immediately ask, “What is wrong with them?” Ask yourself first: “Why is this happening, and what should I check in my own teaching?”
Was my voice clear? Did I give too much information? Did I break the instruction down, give an example, check understanding and monitor what happened afterwards? If something was not clear, change it and try again.
If you have checked your teaching and one student is still struggling, perhaps the next step is not another classroom management technique. Perhaps you need to understand the student. Classroom management is people management, and good teaching starts with paying attention to the people in front of you.
Ready to Practise for a Real Classroom?
If you are preparing to teach English in Vietnam and want to develop more than teaching theory, explore TEFL International Vietnam’s in-class TESOL training. Trainees move from learning and guided practice into lesson preparation, real teaching, observation, feedback and improvement.
About the Trainer — Ms. Diem
Ms. Diem is Head TESOL Trainer at TEFL International Vietnam. She has more than 30 years of experience in English education and holds a Master’s degree in TESOL. Her work with trainee teachers focuses on practical classroom skills, teaching practice, observation, feedback and helping new teachers become better prepared for real classrooms.
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