English Classroom Instructions

There are many English classroom instructions that can be used by beginning and advanced teachers to communicate with their students effectively. Here are some examples of common classroom instructions for different stages of the lesson, along with some explanations and tips:

A. The Beginning of the Lesson

Greeting: It is important to greet your students warmly and politely at the start of the lesson. You can use phrases like “Good morning, everyone”, “Hello, class”, or “Welcome, everyone”. You can also ask them how they are feeling or comment on the weather or the day. For example, “How are you today?”, “What a lovely day!”, or “Happy Monday!”.

1. Introducing yourself

If you are a new teacher or teaching a new class, you should introduce yourself and tell them your name and what you will be teaching them. You can use phrases like “My name is Mr/Mrs/Ms Smith”, “I’m your new English teacher”, or “I’ll be teaching you Civic Education this year”. You can also ask them to introduce themselves or tell you something about themselves. For example, “What’s your name?”, “Where are you from?”, or “What do you like to do?”.

2. Time to begin

When you are ready to start the lesson, you should get the students’ attention and tell them to prepare for the lesson. You can use phrases like “Let’s begin our lesson now”, “Is everybody ready to start?”, or “Now we can get down to work”. You can also tell them to put away their things or close their books if needed. For example, “Put your things away”, “Close your books”, or “Pack your things away”.

3. Register

You should check the attendance of your students and mark who is present or absent. You can use phrases like “Who is absent today?”, “Who isn’t here today?”, or “Why were you absent last Friday?”. You can also ask them about their reasons for being absent or late. For example, “What’s the matter with Jim today?”, “Where have you been?”, or “Did you miss your bus?”.

B. The Main Teaching-Learning Activities

1. Giving instructions

You should give clear and simple instructions to your students about what they need to do or learn in the lesson. You can use phrases like “You need pencils/rulers”, “We’ll learn how to …”, or “You have five minutes to do this”. You can also use commands or imperatives to tell them what to do. For example, “Open your books at page …”, “Turn to page …”, or “Listen to this tape”. You can also use questions or suggestions to invite them to do something. For example, “Are you ready?”, “Why don’t we …?”, or “How about …?”.

2. Checking comprehension

You should check if your students understand your instructions or explanations. You can use phrases like “Do you understand?”, “Do you follow me?”, or “OK so far?”. You can also ask them to repeat or demonstrate what you said or did. For example, “Repeat after me”, “Say it again, please”, or “Show me how you do it”. You can also use gestures or visuals to help them understand. For example, pointing, nodding, or showing pictures.

3. Classroom management

You should manage your classroom effectively and deal with any problems or issues that arise. You can use phrases like “Pay attention, everybody”, “Stop talking and be quiet”, or “Settle down now”. You can also use praise or encouragement to motivate your students. For example, “Well done”, “Good job”, or “That’s right”. You can also use warnings or consequences to discipline your students. For example, “Don’t do that again”, “If you don’t behave, you’ll have to …”, or “You’ll lose a point/ star if you …”.

4. Error correction

You should correct your students’ mistakes and help them improve their accuracy. You can use phrases like “That’s not correct”, “That’s almost right”, or “You’re close”. You can also use questions or prompts to help them self-correct. For example, “Is that right?”, “What’s the correct form?”, or “Can you say it differently?”. You can also use feedback or suggestions to help them improve. For example, “You need to work on your pronunciation”, “You should practice more”, or “You could try this strategy”.

5. Special situations

You should be prepared for any special situations that may occur in the classroom, such as emergencies, interruptions, or technical issues. You can use phrases like “There’s a fire drill, please follow me”, “Sorry for the interruption, we’ll continue in a minute”, or “The projector is not working, please bear with me”. You can also use humor or jokes to lighten the mood or deal with awkward situations. For example, “Oops, I forgot my glasses”, “That was a funny mistake”, or “Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us”.

The End of the Lesson

1. Time to stop

When the lesson is over, you should tell your students to stop their activities and get ready to leave. You can use phrases like “It’s time to finish”, “Let’s stop now”, or “We’re out of time”. You can also tell them to check their work or tidy up their desks. For example, “Have you finished?”, “Check your answers”, or “Put your papers in the bin”.

2. Not time to stop

Sometimes, your students may finish their activities before the lesson is over, or they may think that the lesson is over when it is not. You should tell them to continue working or doing something else until the end of the lesson. You can use phrases like “Not yet”, “We still have time”, or “You can do something else”. You can also give them extra tasks or activities to do. For example, “You can do the next exercise”, “You can read this text”, or “You can play this game”.

3. Homework

You should assign homework to your students and tell them what they need to do and when they need to submit it. You can use phrases like “Your homework for today is …”, “You have to do this by tomorrow”, or “Don’t forget to do your homework”. You can also check their homework and give them feedback or grades. For example, “Did you do your homework?”, “Let me see your homework”, or “You did a good job on your homework”.

4. Next time

You should tell your students what they will do or learn in the next lesson. You can use phrases like “Next time, we’ll …”, “In the next lesson, we’ll …”, or “For the next lesson, you need to …”. You can also review what they did or learned in the current lesson. For example, “Today, we learned how to …”, “In this lesson, we practiced …”, or “What did we do today?”.

5. Goodbye

You should say goodbye to your students and wish them well. You can use phrases like “Goodbye, everyone”, “See you tomorrow”, or “Have a nice day”. You can also thank them for their participation or cooperation. For example, “Thank you for your hard work”, “Thank you for being good students”, or “Thank you for joining me today”.

Thus, some useful English classroom instructions for teachers to use in their daily activities. If you want to speak well, try to use those expressions repeatedly. I hope this post can be useful.