GIVING INSTRUCTIONS
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An essentially simple activity can become
impossible, not because the Ss couldn’t do it, but
because they didn’t understand what to do.
Often Ss are judged to have failed when it is actually
the T who failed to clarify what was required.
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 instruction :

Analyze the instruction beforehand so as to include only the
essential information in simple, clear language.

Sequence the information in a sensible order. Use short
sentences – one sentence for each key piece of information.

Don’t say things that are visible or obvious ( eg I’m giving you a
piece of paper ).

Don’t give instructions that they don’t need to know at this point.
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3.
In class, separate instruction clearly from the other chit-chat, telling
off, joking, etc that goes on :
 Create a silence beforehand,
 Make eye contact with as many Ss as possible
 Find an authoritative tone, make sure they are listening
before you start.
 Use silence and gestures to pace the instructions and clarify
the meaning.
4.
Demonstrate rather than explain wherever possible.
5.
Check that they have understood what to do :
 Don’t assume that everyone will automatically understand
what you have said,
 Get concrete evidence from the Ss that they know what to
do.
Getting one or two Ss to tell you what they are going to do is one
very simple way of doing this.
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WHAT HAPPENS IF YOUR INSTRUCTIONS
ARE NOT CLEAR ?
•
Students are distracted from the language point they’re
supposed to be practicing.
•
The inherent enjoyment in any good task activity will be
ruined if the task doesn’t proceed smoothly.
•
A lot of time is wasted ( i.e. stopping the activity : reexplaining ). Spending a little time on making things
clear beforehand saves a lot of time in the long run.
•
If an activity “fails”, the students will lose confidence
both in themselves and in you as a teacher.
TIPS ON MAKING INSTRUCTIONS CLEAR
Before giving instructions, remember to :
•
Set the scene and get the students interested in
what’s coming.
•
Pre-teach any necessary vocabulary items.
•
Clear up any problems of cultural content in the
materials.
When giving instructions :
1. Adopt a step-by-step approach.
2. After each step, check that all students have
understood.
3. If your checking is verbal, make sure that your
question forces the students to show that they
understand what they are supposed to do. They will
always say “yes” if you ask “Is that clear?” or “Do
you understand?”
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4.
Keep your instructions as short and simple as possible, except
with the more advanced classes.
5.
Don’t give the students information or instructions that are
unnecessary for the performance of the task.
6.
Decide the grouping. Two students in an open pair, or all
students in closed pairs.
7.
Make clear whether the students should be writing or not. If so,
where they should write and what they should be writing : full
sentences, notes, single word, ticks or crosses ?
8.
Give a demonstration. A demo for a mini dialogue, for
example, can be done in these following sequence :
(a). Teacher talking to herself,
(b). Teacher with a (capable) student,
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8.
Make clear who should start speaking in an activity. Also,
emphasize the opening words of the activity so that the
students can get started, i.e. the use of realistic, social
language such as “Good morning, Madam. Can I help
you ?”
9.
Where possible, use gestures to reinforce verbal
instructions.
10.
Once the activity has started, go round and check early on that
everyone is doing what they should be doing, a little encouragement
may also be necessary at this stage. Then, the activity, keep
checking for puzzled faces, students speaking B.Indonesia,
students writing when they shouldn’t be, students not actually talking
to each other, etc, and take appropriate action.
11. Be especially careful when introducing a new type of
activity for the first time, e.g. mingle. Once the students
have done this a couple of times, they’ll know what to do
without the need for very explicit instructions.
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