Classroom management problems pre-service teachers encounter in ELT

Abstract

Different ideas and different perspectives on classroom management have long been debated. This study opens a new horizon in classroom management issue by shedding light on the classroom management problems and strategies to overcome these problems by student-teachers at teaching practice courses. The research was designed with a mixed method by using both qualitative and quantitative data from the 4th year students at English language teaching (ELT) department at Balıkesir University. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with senior students. The main interest of the study was to understand the classroom management problems of ELT student-teachers and their strategies to cope with these problems. The results revealed that classroom management problems generally stem from the noisy and talkative students and crowded classes. The solutions of senior year students include using different teaching methods with well-organised activities and setting good relationships with the students.

Keywords: Classroom management, problems, teacher training, classroom management strategies.