Monitoring – What? Why? When? How?

On a recent course, getting a balance in monitoring caused our trainees some problems. Let’s look at what it is exactly, why and when we need to do it and how it should be done …

What?

Monitoring is when the teacher walks around the class. It can be done closely or from a distance, more about this when we think about why and when we monitor.

Why & When?

Here are the reasons and times we should monitor:

• After setting up an activity to check students are doing what they should be doing. If they haven’t understood the activity, this is your opportunity to clarify.
• During controlled practice to help students if they need it. It might be for reassurance or because they have not understood the language you have introduced and need a little help. It‘s important at this stage for the learners to know you are available for them.
• To see how far students are with an activity. How much longer do they need? Do some pairs/groups need a further task? Is there a pair of students that needs more prompts to get them communicating?
• To collect errors for language feedback. This is appropriate when learners are doing a freer practice activity or something with a fluency focus.

You should think about your reason for monitoring at the planning stage so you do not end up wandering aimlessly the class!

NB You do not need to monitor while students are reading or listening to something as this just distracts them! Instead, stand back a bit or sit down but close enough to check that the students are doing the in-listening/reading task set.

How?

This is connected closely to “why”. If you are monitoring for any reason other than a fluency/freer practice activity, you should be monitoring closely so the students know you are available to answer their questions. If your students are sitting in a horseshoe, this can be done from the front. If anyone has a question, squat or kneel down so you are at eye-level with the learners rather than towering over them. This makes you more accessible.

If your learners are doing a fluency activity, you should monitor from afar. Learners, at this stage, need to be speaking without relying on you for support or to provide lexis. After all, outside the classroom you are not always with them to help. If they cannot think of a word, for example, they need to think of another way of expressing what they want to say, as in real life. Your role is to be listening for errors so you can bring these up in a post-activity feedback session. You can do this by standing back from the learners, possibly out of their eye-line, as long as you can still hear them! An alternative would be to monitor from behind, assuming the learners are sitting in a horseshoe.

One final pointer would be to make sure you share out your attention more or less equally. One person or group should not dominate you while you’re monitoring.

What tips would you give when monitoring?