Using English when giving classroom instructions gives your students a good chance to develop their listening skills in a context and using English in real communication.
It is true that some students may not be able to understand all the words when instructions are given in English at first but this is a similar situation to what happens when young children learn their own first language. If parents support children’s understanding, children usually understand the meaning, even if they don’t understand all the words.
So, you should help your students to understand your instructions in English by:
- Giving these instructions clearly.
- Supporting the instructions.
- Checking your students’ understanding of the instructions.
How to give clear classroom instructions:
- Firstly, make sure you get everyone’s attention. Wait until everyone is looking at you.
- Secondly, speak clearly, but not too slowly.
- Thirdly, use sentences which are not too long.
- Write the instructions on a piece of paper to help you if necessary and make sure you keep eye contact with the students.
How to support classroom instructions:
You can help students to understand the instructions by supporting them by:
- Using Gestures, facial expressions, your hands, and intonation.
- Using pictures or real objects sometimes.
- Writing key instructions on the blackboard if this helps.
How to check your students’ understanding of classroom instructions:
- Don’t ask ‘Do you understand?’ students may think they have understood when they have not, or may say just ‘yes’ to please you.
- One alternative is to ask students to explain in their native language what they have to do. This is a clear and economical way for you to see if students have really understood.
- As students’ English develops, you can ask them some questions in English to check understanding: ( e.g. will you work in twos or fours? Will you speak or write? Have you got five or ten minutes for this activity? ….. etc. )
Thanks For Reading
Liked This Article?
Share It With Your Networks.
You can also join my email list not only to be notified of the latest updates on elttguide.com but also to get TWO of my products: Quick-Start Guide To Teaching Listening In The Classroom & Quick-Start Guide To Teaching Grammar In The Classroom For FREE!
Join My Email List Now (It’s FREE)!
Want to Continue Your ELT Professional Development?
I offer various ELT publications on teaching English as a foreign language.
In these publications, I put the gist of my experience in TEFL for +20 years with various learners and in various environments and cultures.
The techniques and tips in these publications are sure-fire teaching methods that worked for me well and they can work for you, as well, FOR SURE.
Go ahead and get a look at these publications to know more about each one of them and the problem & challenge each one focuses on to overcome.
Then, you can get what you have an interest in. It is very easy and cheap. You can afford it and you’ll never regret it if you decide to get one of them, FOR SURE.
Now, click to get a look at my Publications
Why We Always Recommend International TEFL Academy (ITA)
It is one of the world’s largest TEFL certification schools for you to become professionally trained as an English teacher.
International TEFL Academy (ITA) trains more than 6,000 English teachers annually and offers internationally accredited TEFL-TESOL certification courses online and in 25 locations around the world.
All students and graduates receive a lifetime job and search guidance, and graduates are currently employed as teachers of English online and in more than 80 nations in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.
For more information about TEFL certification and teaching English abroad, please visit their site: International TEFL Academy (ITA) to receive a FREE guide now.
thx for sharing