The way the teacher sets the atmosphere influences how the students interact in a classroom. Teaching can be either a real pleasure or a nightmare, depending on the teacher's experience, her personality and temperament, her teaching methods, her idea of authority and her style of managing the classroom. To ensure positive group relationships, teachers should create activities that give students the possibility to know one another while learning the target language. An example of such an activity is "find someone who..." that involves interacting with other peers to learn about their opinions or habits.
Teacher-student and student-student relationships in a classroom change constantly. Members interact according to unwritten rules and group cohesion depends largely on their respect to one another. The processes taking place at group level can lead to positive atmosphere and academic success. If there is tension among students, efficient communication and interaction cannot be achieved. Group work and teamwork are two ways to prevent a divided classroom. Collaboration between teacher and students and cooperation among students are important factors in language learning.
First day of school is the best time for the teacher to learn about her students. Do they know one another? How do they feel? Who seems to be the leader or has the potential to become one? Are there troublesome individuals? What attitude do they have towards the class? What is their motivation? What do they need and what are their expectations about the class? Some of these questions can be answered in a short questionnaire by the students themselves. Others can be figured out by observing the dynamics of the classroom as a group.
Initially, the relationships in the class or in smaller sub-groups develop according to physical attraction; common interests or hobbies; the perception of students about others' linguistic competence; physical and mental abilities; personality traits; or economic and social status. Over time, when the group members begin to know each other better, relationships become stronger. The members of a cohesive group begin to accept one another when they share common learning experiences and success as a group.