1. Building Rapport and
Classroom Management
A presentation by Chad Lowndes

2. What is rapport?

3. What is rapport?

4. Rapport:
• Rapport is the relationship between people or groups where there is
a shared ability to understand each other's feelings or ideas and
communicate well.
• Rapport is the ability to create trust between people.

5. Why is Rapport important in the classroom?
• What effects does good rapport with your students cause?
• Will students be more open to learning from a teacher they like?
• Who will benefit from a classroom where there is good rapport
between the teacher and students?

6. Good rapport will turn a classroom into a
magical place of learning.

7. Good rapport in the classroom:
• Good rapport in the classroom will open students to learning and
interacting with each other more.
• Students will be able to express their opinions without fear.
• Students will be ask questions easier.
• Teachers will be able to teach more interesting topics for their
students.
• Teachers will have an easier time with managing their classrooms.
• Everyone will have more fun, and learning happens easier with fun!

8. How to build student rapport:

9. Smile
Smiling when you first meet
your students will greatly
improve your ability to from a
positive relationship with
them in the future. Continue
to smile! If your students
understand that you are a
positive person they will be
able to open up to you and go
further in a trusting
environment. Never stop
smiling!

10. Look at your neighbor and Smile,
for one minute!
• Is it easy to smile at someone?
• What do you think the other
person is thinking?
• How does this make you feel?
• Just Smile!!!

11. Have a sense of
humor!
Making students laugh is one easy way
for them to lighten up and be open to
learning what you have to offer. It can
take the fear out of the classroom. One
useful type of humor is “I’m laughing at
our silly teacher.” When you give
examples make the so extreme they
students find it funny, use extreme
gestures, even point out your mistakes
with a sense of humor. Just make sure
that the jokes are about you and not
other students.

12. Talk positively.
Talking positively can let your students know
that you are a positive person, which will
greatly impact your rapport with them. If
they know that you will always look on the
positive side of things they will feel more
able to approach you with any problems they
are having. One way to do this is to list your
class rules in a positive manner:

13. Make these positive sentences.
• Don’t speak Russian.
• Don’t use mobile phones.
• Don’t use translators.
• You mustn't be late for class.

14. Positive Sentences
• Don’t speak Russian. We will speak English.
• Don’t use mobile phones. We will put our phones in our bags
during the class.
• Don’t use translators. We will ask other students, or the
teacher the meaning of words we don’t
know.
• You mustn’t be late for class. Come to class on time.

15. Know your subject
matter.
Know what you are teaching! The
key to doing this is having good
lesson plans. Spend time thinking
of what you are going to teach, how
you are going to present it, what
activities you are going to do and
what some of the problems you will
face might be. The better you plan
for what might happen the more
likely that something bad will not
happen.

16. Remember Names
• Tips for remembering names:
1. Ask students to make name cards with
blank paper and put them on their desks on
the first day of class.
2. Call students by their names often during
the first few lessons, while their names are
shown.
3. Associate the student’s name with
something you are familiar with (former
student, relative, friend) with the same
name.
4. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, not even
the teacher is perfect. Students will enjoy
that you are learning their names.
Students will think that they are
important to you if you can
remember their names.

17. We did this?
Make name cards and use
student’s names.

18. Attention to all
students.
All classes will have students
with different levels. All the
students will need you, but
not all in the same way.
Interact with all students, but
each in their own way.

19. Be available.
Let your students know
how to make contact
with you outside of class.
Students like to know
that they can contact
you, even if they never
do.

20. Be fair with the rules,
even strict.
Set rules with the students
and follow them. Review the
rules and remind students
that they are the ones who
choose which rules to have.
Students will feel safe if they
know the teacher is
consistent with the rules. The
same rules and consequences
for all students.

21. Student’s comments
and questions should be
met with verbal praise.
It builds confidence to
hear “excellent question”
or “good idea”. Your
students will be more
likely to speak out, if even
just to hear a new way of
saying “good job”

22. Body Posture
Be conscious of how you stand,
walk and how you present yourself
when dealing with students.
When talking to students at their
desks it is often good to bend down
from the knees and get closer to the
same level as they are on to avoid
making them feel as intimidated by
the teacher. Pulling up an empty
chair next to them when talking
can make the students feel more at
ease. For male teachers this also
ensures that your students will not
feel uncomfortable if they are
wearing loose shirts.

23. What do these Body Postures tell you?

24. Match behavior
When students are excited,
talk to them in an excited way.
When students are timid or
quiet, talk to them in a more
relaxed way. Matching
behavior has been proven in
many studies to directly effect
the way people respond to
each other.

25. Honor your time.
Arrive for class on time
and end class on time. If
you are late students may
question your
professionalism, and if
you end late students
may feel like you are
taking their time when
you have no right.

26. Learn something about
your students' interests,
hobbies, and aspirations.
Do an activity the first day
where students interview
each other and ask each other
about things such as hobbies.
The students will tell the class
about their partner, use this
information to create and use
personally relevant class
examples.

27. Interact more, lecture
less – focus on
intuitive learning
Plans lessons that cover topics
covered in the book without
opening the book for a whole
lesson. There are a lot of resources
on-line and in various
supplementary teaching books that
you can cover entire lessons,
grammar points, vocabulary and
speaking activities using different
games and activities. The students
get to learn the language without
even realizing it.

28. Be yourself.
Present yourself as a
person, not just a
teacher. Give students an
idea of who you are
without bragging or
preaching your view
points.

29. Questions? Comments?

30. Classroom Management
Effective Classroom Management Tools

31. What is Classroom Management?

32. Classroom Management
Remember that all of your students, no matter what their motivations
for coming to class are, want to be able to speak English. From the
children who would rather not be there to the business professionals
who need English for their jobs, they all want to speak English so make
that the leading force in your classroom management plan.

33. Rules
On the first day have the
students come up with their
own set of rules. All students
should participate in this
process. You should ensure that
they come up with at least these
three: Speak English only / Be
positive when talking about
other people / Listen when it is
time for others to talk. There
are many more rules for a
classroom, but these three are
essential.

34. How to manage disruptive behavior depends on the
type of behavior displayed.

35. Attention Seekers
They show off to get a laugh
from the class. Ignore minor
behaviors but set a line and
be consistent.

36. Power seekers
- They want to enforce their
way. Avoid a power struggle
with the student; let them
have their way if they insist,
but quietly tell them the
consequences for their
actions. Remain fair and firm
about the behavior

37. Revenge seekers
They act defiant, for example a
student who refuses to move to
another seat in after being told
to do so, or a student who will
not put their phone away. Avoid
a power struggle with the
student; let them have their way
if they insist, but quietly tell
them the consequences for their
actions. Remain fair and firm
about the behavior.

38. Withdrawn or depressed
They give up easily and then
sits in silence. With these
students ignore their failures
and highlight their successes.
Call on these students with
very simple questions that
you are sure they will get
right and praise them for
speaking in class.

39. Highlight the Positive
• With all of these types of disruptive behaviors the best
action to take is to consistently positively reinforce the
positive behavior that the student does. Keeping the
classroom light and at ease, even if one or two students are
not fully participating will be the best option, rather than
stopping the class and engaging in a power struggle with one
student.

40. Younger Students
• Most young students can be led to proper behavior by the teacher
just standing next to them. For others a tap on their desk will work,
while for others you may have to remind them of the rules which they
agreed upon. As final steps to be taken you can tell them that if their
behavior continues you will inform the admin who will then call their
parents. As a desperate measure you may send the child out of the
class to come back in when they are able to follow the rules they
agreed upon. Be consistent, equal, and follow through.

41. Adults
• For adults who are paying for the classes themselves these classroom
management issues do not often come up and when they do you can
simply ask them if they want to participate or not. If they do then
they will follow the rules they have created, if not they do not have
the right to stop others who have also paid and are trying to improve
their English.

42. Students who are afraid of making mistakes
• Some students will be afraid of making mistakes in class. If
you have good rapport, strong class rules about making fun
and are enforcing them and consistent you should just have
a conversation about where the student would like to make
the mistakes. In the safety of the class, or on the streets of
London when they visit? Provide a safe environment and do
a lot of positive reinforcement.

43. Students who want to be corrected on every
mistake.
• Explain that the teacher will correct mistakes when
appropriate, almost never during communication
activities and often during grammar practice. It is not
useful to correct all the time.

44. Students show different levels of engagement
• Students who show up for class all the time and are fully engaged
should be the focus of your lesson plans. Students who miss class, do
not do homework and do not participate in activities but can
maintain with the rest of the class should be spoken to about these
issues, but in a light way. Students who have the same bad habits,
but are unable to keep up with the rest of the class should be talked
to in a more serious manner, discussing course objectives,
expectation and homework policies.

45. Students who speak Russian often during class
Play games and give points for correct answers. Take away points when
students use languages other than English. Divide the class into two or
three teams and do the same for each time a person on that team
speaks a language other than English. The students will force each
other to use English! Especially if the loosing team has a little extra
homework.

46. Student is translating using their phone
• Students who insist on translating and using their phone can be asked
to put their phones away. You can offer them to use a dictionary or at
least a book translator. They will look up far less words. Remind
students that when learning another language it is best to think in
that language.

47. Final thoughts?
•Thanks for your time!!