Flexible Seating

With regard to learners seating arrangements, it is frequently criticized that the traditional and much favored seating arrangements such as orderly-rows, pairs, horseshoe, circular, and separate groups, have not changed much. Alternative to these popular traditional seating arrangement models teachers can adapt a seating arrangement that is more comfortable to the young learners.  Teachers can use bean bags, cushion pillows or a mat laid on the ground to facilitate learners. In such arrangement, language teachers can allow the learners to determine the place where they sit.

Learners at primary school level are at a transitional period as they are moving away from a nuclear family setting to an institutionalized formal education setting (Carolyn & Carol, 2013). Carolyn and Carol (2013) further stress the importance of having opportunities to initiative, exploration, and choice at this stage.  In this regard restricting learners to a formal strict seating arrangement may not be received well by the learners. Resorting to a flexible seating option help learners to gradually adjust to the school setting.

When deciding the teaching procedures for language teaching, teachers can allow the learners to use flexible seating’s during the presentation stage in PPP or to develop the field if you are using the Teaching and Learning Cycle (TLC).

References

Carolyn, M. E., & Carol, S. W. (2013). Handbook of Classroom Management: Research, Practice, and Contemporary Issues: Taylor and Francis.