5/23/2020 Classroom layout | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC

Help Log in Sign up Newsletter LearnEnglish Kids LearnEnglish LearnEnglish Teens

Classroom layout

Average: 3.9 (56 votes)

The layout of your classroom can have a serious impact on the

way you teach and the way your students learn. This article

looks at some of the basic points that you can consider

regarding the way you arrange your classroom.

The importance of layout

Some considerations

Classroom layouts

Conclusion

The importance of layout

When you're planning your lessons do you ever think about the layout of

the classroom? Sometimes it may be impossible and impractical to move

the furniture around at all for many reasons including the fact that in

some schools the tables are bolted to the floor! However, even if the

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/classroom-layout-0 1/3
5/23/2020 Classroom layout | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC

furniture is immobile, remember that your students aren't, so you can

think about how you want to group students and how you can use the

space you have to your advantage. This may involve using spaces at the

front, or down the side of the classrooms, letting students stand up or to

sit on the tables to do certain activities.

Some considerations

In an ideal world the classroom furniture would be light and mobile so

you could come in and quickly rearrange it to your liking. Unfortunately,

in the real world it is often heavy and the rooms themselves are too small

to make too many changes. Having said that I do think it's worth thinking

about the classroom layout and doing what you can to make it as

appropriate as possible to your lesson. Here are some questions to

consider:

Can I see the faces of every single student and can they see me?

Can everyone see the board (if you're planning on using it)?

Can the students see one another?

Can I move around the room so that I can monitor effectively?

For me, the first question is really important. I substitute a lot of classes,

so I don't necessarily know all the students' names so it's vital to be able

to see them all. Although it can seem like an extra effort and a waste of

time I find that spending the first two minutes of a class moving the

furniture so that I can see every single face is time well invested. You can

usually get the students to help you and as long as you give the

instructions in English it's all good language practice! Now, I'd like to look

at a few typical classroom layouts.

Classroom layouts

The horseshoe

Tables in a horseshoe or three sided square shape. This is great if

you're doing board work and speaking activities. All the students will

be able to see you, the board and each other and you will have a

lovely space in the middle of the horse shoe and around the outside to

monitor. If you have a very large class you can get a similar effect by

having one horseshoe inside another and using double rows.

Chairs in a circle

Tables pushed to the walls and just the chairs in a circle. You can sit in

the circle with your students. If they need to write at certain times of

the lesson they can either go to work at the tables facing the walls

around the outside or they can rest a folder on their knees and stay in

the circle. The circle formation is great for many games, group

discussions, welcoming your students at the beginning of the class,

doing the register and really talking to your students.

Traditional rows

Although many schools still use traditional rows, as you can pack in

lots of people in a small space, there are very few advantages for a

language teacher. If students are sitting in twos you have immediate

pairs made for pair work but as you will probably want to change the

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/classroom-layout-0 2/3
5/23/2020 Classroom layout | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC

pairs at some point this is only a limited advantage. If you can't get

around behind the students to look at their work it can be really

difficult to monitor. If you have to work in this layout think about the

spaces at the front of the class and the aisles between the rows. For

mingle tasks make use of these. Look for alternative spaces for certain

group tasks, such as the corridors, playground or halls.

Nested tables in groups

Nested tables are obviously great for small group work and project

work. It can be difficult to start classes when students are already

sitting on small tables as some students will have their backs to you. If

possible have the students sit so they're side on to you and remember

to move around the classroom when you need to give instructions or

change activities. Surprise your class by popping up at different places

around the class.

Conclusion

I suggest you try as many classroom layouts as you can to see how you

feel most comfortable. Experiment with the layout if possible. If you

really can't change how your classrooms are set up, then do spend time

thinking about how you can vary where your students sit and where you

position yourself in the room too. The classroom dynamics can improve

dramatically when you change the layout, it's a matter of experimenting

and seeing what works best for you and your students and it's something

that you may want to take into consideration at the lesson planning

stage.

Written by Jo Budden, British Council, Spain

Add new comment

Log in (/user/login?

destination=comment/reply/326%23comment-form) or

register (/user/register?

destination=comment/reply/326%23comment-form) to

post comments

Terms of Use Privacy Freedom of information Frequently asked questions Accessibility Cookie policy Site map

Contact us

© British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, London SW1A 2BN, UK

© BBC World Service, Bush House, Strand, London WC2B 4PH, UK

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/classroom-layout-0 3/3