Methodology 3: Classroom instructions Language

Veronika talmakov Zuzana Juhszov Peter Plichta

Content
Basic terms A good instruction Use of L1/L2 Some useful instruction-games Sources

Basic terms
Instructions -Teaching, education performed by a teacher - the action, practice, or profession of teaching - the purposeful direction of the learning process Joyce, Weil, and Calhoun (2003) describe four categories of models of instruction: - behavioral systems - information processing - personal development - social interaction

Historical background of using L1/L2 in instructions

Grammar-Translation method: language learning towards intellectual development rather than for communicative purposes
The Direct Method: aimed at oral/aural competence and believed languages were best learnt in a way that emulated the natural language learning of the child ie with no analysis or translation

Historical background of using L1/L2 in instructions

Audiolingualism: language as a matter of habit formation. The L1 was seen as a collection of already established linguistic habits which would interfere with the establishment of the new set of linguistic habits that constituted the target language, and was thus to be avoided at all costs. TEFL industry: the theoretical opposition to the use of the L1 was compounded.

Historical background of using L1/L2 in instructions

Total Physical Response - avoid the use of the L1
Suggestopaedia and Counselling Language Learning - have included L1 as an integral part of the methodology Mainstream methodology an ambivalent approach, maintaining an it depends attitude.

Guidelines of clear and comprehensible instructions

Planning - of how youre going to give the instructions before you go into the classroom, and make sure that you can explain them within the limits of the language which the students can understand.
Explicitness - dont take anything for granted. Because we are so familiar with the activity types, we often assume that certain things are obvious.

Guidelines of clear and comprehensible instructions

The time - If you have a long, complicated, or two part activity, dont explain everything at once. Explain the first stage, and check that Ss have understood before you go on to the explanation of the next part.
In some cases it is not necessary for the Ss to have an overview of the whole activity before they start. In this case, explain the first part, do the first part and then go on to the explanation of the second part.

Guidelines of clear and comprehensible instructions

Ss attention - make sure they have stopped whatever
they are doing, are turned towards you and are listening.

Always English + gestures - Even in the first lesson,

use English wherever possible. Get into pairs wont be understood, but You two, you two and you two plus a gesture pushing the students together will be.

No imperative rather request forms:

Repeat! Can you repeat that?

Guidelines of clear and comprehensible instructions

Feedback: asking them check questions repeating back to you demonstrating guessing the activity
Always check that students have understood your instructions before starting the activity. The question Do you understand? is as good as useless.

L1/L2?
L1 with beginners: activities which would be impossible to explain otherwise L1 in complex activities

feedback in L1: just a short one

to point out problem areas of grammar

Ss receptive competence (their understanding) may be higher than their productive competence (their ability to use the language).

L1/L2
L1 For Ss difficulties - the teacher can reformulate it for them, possibly rephrasing and simplifying to show them how they could have expressed themselves within the language they already know.

L1 durring a pre-lesson small talk

Use of bilingual dictionaries L1 durring translation activities

Instruction games
Simon says:
TEFL game, Ss only do the action they are told to when the sentence starts with Simon says, e.g. If they hear any other command, they should remain totally still and not even start doing the action. To add some more useful language, you can replace Simon says with You have to or The teacher wants you to.

Only when it matches:

Ss only copy if the action and what the T says is the same, e.g. if the T both says Stand up and face the window and does that action. If the action and words dont match, the Ss should just stay still. You can give points to individuals or teams who do the correct actions the quickest, and take points away or make them sit down out of the game if people do things when they shouldnt.

Tell me off:
Ss should only copy if the action and what the T says is the same, and shout something negative like No , Thats wrong, They are different, One more time, please or Youve made a mistake if they dont match.

Instruction games
Do as I say, not as I do:
When the actions and what the T says dont match, Ss dont copy the action, but do what the T says instead

Do whats right, not what I say:

Ss dont copy if you ask them to do something that they shouldnt do in the classroom, e.g. Shout, Bang on the table or Kick a boy, but race to follow instructions that are okay, e.g. Bow to your neighbour or Shake hands

Tell me off too:

If the T tells them to do something that isnt allowed in the classroom, the Ss shout out Thats naughty, That isnt allowed, Thats bad.

Instruction games
Instructions protests:
Tell the Ss to do some typical classroom actions, then throw in some things that are impossible, e.g. Clean the whiteboard then Clean the ceiling. With the impossible ones, they shout back I/ we cant (clean the ceiling), Thats too difficult or other useful classroom language for telling the T they have problems in class.

Teacher robot:
Elicit useful classroom language you want the Ss to say by doing things that make life impossible for them, e.g. writing in tiny letters on the board, speaking very quietly, speaking very fast etc, and only doing it properly when they ask you with the correct language. To add some fun, you can sometimes go too far the other way when they ask you, e.g. writing in huge letters, speaking very very slowly etc

Instruction games
Pedantic robot: The Ss follow each others instructions, but only if they are so unambiguous that they cant be misunderstood. Classroom language brainstorm: After the T says or does something, the Ss try to use as much classroom language as they can to ask the T to do it again or another way, e.g. if the T says This is a whiteboard, the Ss can say How do you spell whiteboard?, Can you speak more slowly please? (several times until it isnt possible to speak any more slowly), Can you speak more loudly please? (ditto, until the teacher is shouting) etc.

Instruction games
Classroom instructions collocations brainstorms: Give the Ss a verb and see how many possible things they can tell the T to do using that verb. Collocations pellmanism: Give each group of 2/4 Ss a pack of cards that has common classroom language verbs on half of the cards and common classroom nouns on the rest. Ss spread the pack of cards face down across the table and try to find a verb and an object that match up. If they think two cards match up, they should do that action in order to prove it. Classroom English ranking debate: Give students a list of 20 to 25 sentences that are useful for them to use in the classroom, including some more unusual ones like Can I blow my nose, please? In pairs Ss debate which are the top ten most useful sentences. These can then be turned into a poster or worksheet, and should be the ones the T is strict about not allowing L1 for from then on.

Instruction games
Classroom language Pictionary:
Ss try to draw a typical thing that Ss or Ts say in the classroom, and the rest of the class or their team try to guess what the sentence is. E.g. a drawing of a confused face and a question mark for Sorry, I dont understand or a drawing of arrows going from a book, pen, eraser etc to a bag for Put everything away in your bag.

Instructions action chains:

Ss race to do the typical classroom action written on the board, then the T adds one more to the bottom of the list, and the Ss race to do both as quickly as possible when the T shouts (Start) now or (Lets) go. The T adds one more to the bottom of the list and repeat over and over until they are doing at least 10 actions in a row.

Sources
Citation: Huitt, W. (2003). Classroom instruction. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved [date], from http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/instruct/instruct.html http://eltnotebook.blogspot.com/2006/11/giving-and-checkinginstructions.html http://eltnotebook.blogspot.com/2006/11/using-l1-in-eflclassroom.html

The isntruction games were Contributed by Alex Case | July 2008 Alex Case is TEFL.net Reviews Editor and author of the popular blog TEFLtastic: http://edition.tefl.net/ideas/games/15-classroom-language-games