Giving instrutions in class

1. Giving Instructions
1) Starting – make it clear when you are starting to give instructions.
Remember – “eyes on you.” Don’t forget your body language – it counts.
2) 2) Topic – making sure students know the theme of the lesson segment
helps to activate their “top-down knowledge” of the world, i.e. what they
already know about the topic in their language.
3) 3) Interaction – make it clear which interaction pattern is being used: a. S –
student work alone b. PW – pairwork c. GW – groupwork d. OC – open class
(teacher addressing / eliciting from / asking whole class) If there are
changes of interaction during the activity make sure that the changes are as
smooth as possible and use gestures where appropriate. [Avoid cliques
/kli:k/. Prevent students from always working with the same people.
Remember also that it is important to vary the interaction pattern]
4) Task – make it clear, keep it simple and logical – again, use gestures where
possible.
5) Staging – give one instruction at a time, and don’t give handouts at the
same time as you’re speaking. If possible, give them afterwards – otherwise
the students will be looking at the paper and not listening to you. (You can
chest [keep in front of your chest] the handout while explaining the activity,
and give the handout later.) If you have to give two instructions at once,
pause between them to make them clear.
6) Check understanding – ask different students questions to check what they
are supposed to be doing. Avoid the question “What are we doing?” but
choose tricky aspects of the instructions and ask directed questions, e.g.
“Where do you write the answer?”, “How many questions should you ask
your partner”, “Does one person speak or both people in this activity?”,
etc. Ask the people you think haven’t understood (without seeming to pick
on them).
7) Example/Demonstration – demonstrate how the activity works with
another student to check understanding further. It’s often useful to do the
first question of an exercise together as a class and then let students get on
with the rest.
8) Time limit – giving students time limit provides security and focus. If
appropriate, give a time limit warning, e.g. “two minutes left!”. There is

2. room for flexibility but try to stick to the time limit given. 9) Signal to start –
students may need training to wait for this, but there’s little point in them
starting (possibly the wrong thing) while you’re still explaining or
demonstrating.
9) Signal to start – students may need training to wait for this, but there’s
little point in them starting (possibly the wrong thing) while you’re still
explaining or demonstrating.
10) Monitoring – check they’re doing the activity right. This gives you the
chance to explain to weaker students who, despite all the above, haven’t
understood. Remember – Negotiating the meaning of instructions is one of
the best ways of learning.