One EFL truth is that clear instructions are critical for effective lessons. You could prepare the best activities ever and still completely fail if you don’t get your instructions right. And one mistake that I’ve seen new and experienced teachers making over and over is using polite speech when telling students what to do. This common EFL instructions mistake ruins lessons from preschool to primary school and beyond.
The Danger of Polite Speech
First, what do I mean by polite speech? Well, I often hear teachers use phrases such as;
“Can everybody please sit down?”,
“Would you all please open your books to page 23?”
or “Could you please all be quiet?”
or even “I’d like everyone to get into pairs.”
These are all fine and wonderful ways of speaking with other native or strong English speakers but they don’t belong in low-level preschool and public primary school EFL classes.
Time and time again I’ve watched children get overwhelmed and confused by language like this. Their teachers soon are also upset when their students react slowly or even not all.
What Should We Say Instead?
Keep it simple and direct. You don’t need to worry about offending anyone. Instead say;
“Sit down” or “Everybody please sit down”
“Open your books to page 23”
“Students, be quiet.”
and “Everyone get into pairs” or “Find one classmate and sit with them.”
The main focus of your instructions should be to clearly tell the students what you want them to do. Remember that while instructions are a good source of listening practice that isn’t their main goal. You don’t want to overwhelm or exhaust your students’ attention before the main event.
When Is It Okay to Use Polite Speech?
Once your students have learned structures like these in class you can start to slowly add them in. Don’t go overboard, however. Just one or two times in a lesson is enough.
Your main goals with instructions should always be to be as short, clear, and easy to understand as possible. This is especially true with large EFL classes when you have mixed abilities and many students in danger of losing focus.
More Common EFL Instructions Mistakes
There are many other ways teachers cause problems for themselves during directions. These include forgetting to get their students’ attention before starting, and passing out materials instead of chesting them. Teachers also shouldn’t forget to use gestures to support their speech as well.
What other EFL instructions mistake do you know of? Share them in the comments below!
