Методический материал на тему: Instructions in English.
методическая разработка по английскому языку

Giving instructions in English.

Look at the following example of teacher’s talk. It is a combination of instructions, directions and general chat. In some cases you might also want to question how the teacher’s choice of words may impact on the student’s motivation level.

Teacher: I want you to do this exercise in which you have to answer ten questions. You can do it by yourself if you prefer, or work with your partner. When you finish I’ll put you in larger groups for you to check your answers. I want you to do a mingling activity now, which I’m sure you’re going to hate! I’m handling out a piece of paper. This is going to be boring but it has to be done. This is going to be easy. Did you enjoy that?

This may sound like a joke, but in fact it’s quite typical of an unplanned instruction.

Tips for successful instruction-giving.

• Only say what you have to.
• Use simplified language, but don’t over-simplify for the level.
• Don’t patronize. (e.g. talking unnaturally slowly or loudly).
• Don’t give out papers before your instructions unless you have to – you will lose the students’ attention.
• Maintain eye contact.
• Only give instructions for what they have to do at that time, not later.
• Give an example of what they have to do/ do question 1 with them.
• Give a rough idea of how much time they have.
• Make it clear if you want them to work individually, in pairs or in groups.
• If one person says “I don’t understand”, help that person individually. Don’t hold up the rest of the class, and the lesson.
• Don’t invite the students to do something; politely tell them. So don’t say: “Would you like to stand up?” Say: “Stand up, please!” Students like and expect the teacher to be polite but direct in her language. They need to be told clearly what they have to do and how you want them to do it.
• Don’t tell the students they are going to find the activity boring or difficult or interesting, or easy.

In a multilingual class you have to use English for instructions. But, in monolingual classes you have a choice: English, native language - or some mixture of both. Some teachers say that they would like to give instructions for activities in English, but find that there are often so many problems with comprehension that it seems impossible. It is certainly possible to use only English but it’s often problematic because of the quantity and over-complexity of language used.

Why did the class have problems with the following instruction?

Teacher: Ok, everybody, would you, Maria sit down. Now what you have to do is, when you, take this sheet of paper that I’m handling out now and keep it secret, and some of you “A”, it’s written on the top, and some are labeled “B”. Ok, can you see that? Don’t show your paper to anyone and then you have to describe to your partner; sit face to face. Could you move your chairs around and describe what’s on your paper so that your partner can find out what’s different, and you must agree; when you find something, draw it on your paper. Ok. Do you understand?

It’s quite typical of an unplanned instruction. Teachers are often unaware that they are talking in this way until they stop and try to listen to what they are saying.  It is clear that this type of instruction is very hard for students to follow. The essential information about what to do is embedded in confusing and unnecessary babble. An essentially simple activity can become impossible, not because the students couldn’t do it, but because they didn’t understand what to do.  Often students are judged to have failed when it is actually the teacher who failed to clarify what was required.

How can I give clearer instructions?

There are five steps towards better instructions.

1. Become aware of  your own instruction-giving (listen to yourself, record yourself; ask others to watch you and give feedback)
2.  For a while pre-plan essential instructions. Analyze the instructions beforehand so as to include only the essential information in simple, clear language, and sequence it in a sensible order. Use short sentences – one sentence for each key piece of information. Don’t say things that are visible or obvious. (e.g. I’m giving you a piece of paper.)  Don’t give instructions that they don’t need to know at this point.
3. In class separate instructions clearly from the other chit-chat, telling off, joking, etc. Use silence and gestures to pace the instructions and clarify their meaning.
4. Demonstrate rather than explain wherever possible. Frequently, showing what to do is more effective than telling what to do. You can demonstrate a speaking activity by playing both parts yourself, by playing one part and choosing a strong student to play the other part, or by asking two strong students to do the activity in front of the class. With written work an example on the board is often useful. Support instructions with visual clues wherever possible: real objects, pictures, gesture and mime.
5. Check that students have understood what to do.  Don’t assume that everyone automatically understands what you have said.  Get concrete evidence from the students that they know what is required.  Getting one or two students to tell you what they are going to do is one very simple way of achieving this.

How to get learners’ attention.

One important reason why learners may not successfully follow activity instructions (or understand your explanations) is that they didn’t actually hear them, perhaps, because they weren’t fully paying attention when they were given.  Whereas teachers often invest energy into finding better ways to word their instructions, they may overlook the need to win attention before the instruction is given. It’s a vital step. An instruction given over students chatter, or when students are looking the other way, stand little chance of working.  Here is one strategy for getting learners’ attention that might wish to experiment with.

• Start making eye contact with as many people as possible.
•  Establish a gesture that means you want to speak.
• Just wait.
• Don’t look inpatient or anxious. Keep moving your eyes around the room from person to person.
• Think of this as “gathering attention”. Enjoy it.
•  Wait as long as necessary until there is a silence and people are looking your way.
• If this doesn’t work, don’t change it dramatically. Just add in a clear attention –drawing word such as Ok. Say it once and then go back to the waiting.
• In general, you need to establish your authority and use it appropriately.  Project your voice clearly but speak rather than shout. Control the quantity and complexity of what you say. Say what you need to as simply and clearly as possible.

Giving instructions to lower-level classes.

The reason that some instructions are unclear or misunderstood is often because they are too long, too complex or delivered too fast. Try some of these techniques.

• Use grammar and vocabulary that is at or below the learners’ current level.
• Use short sentences. Don’t put more than one instruction in one sentence. Chunk your instruction: one piece of information at a time.
• “The least that is enough”. Don’t ramble. Keep instructions simple, concise and to the point. Avoid digressions.
• Speak a little more slowly and clearly than you would normally do.
• Pause after each instruction to allow understanding: processing time.
• Sequence the instructions. Deliver them in order that you want students to follow them.
• Use signposting language e.g. “First.. Then.. Finally..”
• Where practical, get students to immediately do each separate part of the instruction, step by step, rather than waiting until they have heard the whole sequence.
•  Write a few key words on the board as you speak to help listening, understanding and memory of the instructions.
• “Punch” the keywords i.e. say the essential words in a sentence with a little more stress and separation from other words than you might typically give it. For example: “Write your answers on the OTHER side of the paper”.
• It’s often worth checking if an instruction has been understood. Rather than asking “Do you understand?” ask a question that checks if they caught specific points, for example “How many questions are you going to answer?”
• Choose the best moment to give out any materials, or tell students to open books. Once they are starting at a text, they will lose concentration on what you are saying. It’s often best to keep books closed and materials undistributed until after the key instructions have been delivered. Don’t let students start doing the task before you have finished giving and checking instructions with the whole class. Having some people rushing into the work distracts others and adds to the noise level. And, of course, they may well not have fully understood what to do anyway. Say, “Wait – don’t start yet”, and make sure everybody really knows what to do before you say “Ok, start now”.
• Until you are comfortable with giving good clear instructions, plan them before the lesson.

Recognizing elements of an instruction.

Scott Thornbury categorizes a number of possible features of an instruction. Any single instruction could contain all – or more likely, some of these elements.

1. A frame. i.e. a way of indicating that the last activity has finished and a new activity is about to begin. Typically this takes a verbal form, such as “Right.. Ok now…”
2. A brief summary of the task and its purpose, such as “We are going to play a game to practice asking questions.”
3. T he organization, i.e. whether the task is to be done in pairs, groups or individually.
4. The procedure, i.e. what it is that the learners actually will be doing – such as filling in a questionnaire, or rehearsing a dialogue.
5. The mode, i.e. whether it is a speaking or a writing task.
6. The outcome i.e. what they will be required to do as a result of the task e.g. report their results to the class, perform the dialogue.
7. A strategy to adapt in order to facilitate the task, as when the teacher tells learners just to skim a text initially, before reading it intensively.
8. The timing, i.e. how long the learners have to complete the task (roughly).
9. A cue, such as “Ok, you can start” so that learners know when to begin the task.

Bibliography

1. David Riddel “Teach English as a Foreign Language”.

2. Scrivener J. “Classroom Management Techniques”.

3. Scrivener J. “Learning Teaching”.

4. Roger Gower, Diane Phillips, Steve Waters. Teaching Practice. A handbook for teachers in training.