‘Two students, a male and a female, had a blazing row in a group discussion. The female started yelling in her L1 and banging the table with her hand, which brought everything to an immediate standstill’ recalls Alan, who teaches English for academic purposes (EAP) at a UK university. What is a teacher to do in such a situation?

As Alan explains what he did, I’m reminded of something I’ve long been curious about: restorative practice. I speak with Aisa Shearing, who works for the UK’s Restorative Justice Council, to learn more.

‘Being restorative is something that you are, not just something that you do, so it can be applied very widely,’ says Aisa. In education, ‘we see schools that are more harmonious with reduced exclusions, demerits, internal suspensions and with better attendance, which in turn increases attainment and wellbeing’.

Philosophically, restorative practice has two central concepts: harm and restoration. In a language classroom, harms come in all shapes and sizes: a dismissive reaction to a classmate’s error; a lack of engagement in groups or pairwork; lateness disrupting a lesson; a falling out within a friendship; or an argument over a controversial topic.

The second key concept is restoration, because restorative practice aims to restore relationships following harm. In an educational setting, this means repairing things so that learning can begin again. The focus of classroom discipline is therefore shifted away from general rules or codes of conduct and directed towards making up for particular harms caused by particular behaviour. There is no punishment for its own sake; the consequences that follow transgressions are aimed at making amends and on agreeing future conduct.

Aisa outlines five key questions to guide a restorative approach to conflict:

  1. What has happened? This involves describing the harm-causing event and its context – the event and its wider context.
  2. How did that feel? This explores the harm that may have been done.
  3. Who else has been affected? This explores the wider consequences of a behaviour.
  4. What do you need? This asks those affected to think about what they would like to happen next, such as receiving an explanation or apology.
  5. How can we move forward from this?

Answering these questions requires, in Aisa’s words, ‘carefully managed discussions’. It is at this point in our interview that I start to see the connections between restorative practice and language teaching. For English teachers, carefully managed discussions are a speciality.

Aisa outlines two kinds of such discussions, one more spontaneous and one more structured. An informal ‘restorative conversation’ might involve taking students aside, asking them what’s happening, what’s going on with you, not about who is to blame, but about what has happened, how you are feeling and what we can do to move forward. Such conversations may bring together those involved or be conducted separately.

Alan’s response to his students’ anger in a group discussion is almost a textbook restorative conversation. With his class’ attention no longer on the activity, Alan gave them a break, restarting the class with another activity. Afterwards, ‘I spoke to the students individually about what had happened. The male student felt he didn’t deserve it. I spoke to the female student, who apologised for losing control. She said she found something that the other student had said patronising but that he didn’t deserve her response. I asked what should happen next and she suggested I tell him that she didn’t like what he’d said in the group discussion but that she was sorry for reacting like that’.

Not all disputes or harms are between students. Holly, who has managed English programmes at universities in China and the UK, describes a variety of responses to complaints received from students about their teachers. These range from corresponding by email, to meeting with individual students and teachers, to getting all parties together. For Holly, this work involves striking a delicate balance ‘between viewing students as customers paying for a high-quality service and wanting students to develop the autonomy and self-sufficiency to see a problem and attempt to resolve it themselves’.

Holly’s concern about encouraging learner autonomy reflects what Aisa tells me about one of the guiding principles of restorative practice: ‘empowering people to take ownership of what they have done and what has happened to them’. Other key principles are that participation in restorative practice is voluntary, inclusive and impartially facilitated. Underpinning these principles is the ability of teachers to facilitate conversations (which, as noted earlier, is our speciality) but also the ability of students to express themselves. A key tool to develop this ability is the second, more structured, kind of discussion that Aisa describes: the ‘restorative circle’.

Circles are versatile and can be used as a conversational warmer at the start of a class, a time to review previous learning and a way for students to share how they are feeling that day, or to let others know about something going on in their personal life. Pentón Herrera and McNair (2020) suggest the following routine for circles in English classrooms:

  1. Opening ceremony: a reading of a poem, quote or passage
  2. Energiser: stuffed animal or juggling ball – throwing and nominating others to catch
  3. Values and guidelines: introduction and agreeing on the shared guidelines
  4. Check-in: e.g. ‘ On a scale of 1–10, how do you feel today?’
  5. Circle round(s): e.g. ‘ Share a drawing with the circle, and tell us what it says about you.’
  6. Checkout: reflection on the previous activity e.g. ‘ Share one word that summarises how you are feeling now.’
  7. Closing ceremony: another reading, similar to the opening ceremony.

Regularly incorporating circles in lessons aims to build community and rapport, meaning that when conflict or harm arises, students are better equipped for restorative conversations. The circle itself can also be used to discuss a specific harm or challenge affecting the class, like widespread lateness or lack of engagement.

When I ask teachers how they define ‘classroom management’, it is clear that restorative practice is not a novelty in language teaching, but rather a way of structuring and talking about what teachers already do. Helena, for instance, is an experienced teacher, manager and teacher trainer. Without using the term, her definition of ‘classroom management’ is pure restorative practice:

‘ It’s about getting attuned to your learners, getting to know them, what they might be sensitive about, what they want to learn, how they feel towards others in the class and in the wider community, how they tick and how they work to make the classroom as effective as possible for learners to achieve their aims.’

– Helena (experienced teacher)

Alan defines classroom management as:

‘ the ability to organise and enhance the learning environment by engaging effectively with the people in the classroom and giving the students the ability to enhance the environment for themselves. That means understanding their preferences. Do they like working in pairs? Groups? Talking to me?’

Holly, similarly, stresses the importance of ‘the relationship between the teacher and the participants, and how that relationship works to ensure success’.

As technology and media become increasingly useful as resources for learners, the interpersonal elements of language teaching become ever more important. Based on my conversations with teachers, I’m convinced that restorative practice complements other English language teaching activities, and should be included in pre- and in-service classroom management training.

References

Pentón Herrera, L. & McNair, R.L. (2021). ‘Restorative and community building practices as social justice for English learners’TESOL Journal 12 1–11. Wiley. Available from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/tesj.523 (Last accessed 19 July 2024).

Jamie Emerson started teaching English in 2012 and has taught in various contexts in the UK, Europe and Asia. He now lives in Cardiff, Wales. He writes about teaching, learning and assessment and works for a charity which supports the higher education sector.