Giving Instructions

Lead In

Instructing students how to do things is similar in many ways to giving explanation. Indeed, telling students how to carry out a certain task often involves explaining how and why it is done. Clarity and conciseness are important. Learning to give effective instruction in a target language is an important effort as it can provide students an opportunity to acquire language naturally in an authentic, and purposeful context (Bradshaw, 2005, p.23). In addition, it also can give a challenge to the students to be able to show their understanding through their response.Discussions and tasks in Activity 3 has been designed to guide the participant to learn about how to give an effective instructions to students during the teaching and learning process in the classroom.

Things prepared by the teacher

Harmer (2007, p.37): How to talk to students becomes crucial when teachers give instruction to them. The best activity in the world is a waste time if the students do not understand what it is they are supposed to do.

Before giving instructions, teacher must ask themselves the following questions:

• What is the important information I am trying to convey?
• What must students know if they are to complete this activity successfully?
• What information do they need first?
• Which should come next?

Some phrases and words needed for giving instructions

Individual steps in a series of instructions are often linked by such words and phrases:

• First/ first of all
• The first thing you do is…
• Then/ next/ after that
• The next thing you do is…
• Finally
• The final thing you do is…

 Other phrases, often used in giving a series of instructions are:

• Remember to…
• Don’t forget to…
• Take care to…
• Make sure that you…

Frequently it will be difficult for you to keep all your instructions in their proper sequence especially when you give instructions orally in the classroom. Such phrases as the following will be useful in remedying your error or omission:

• Let me put that in a better way
• I’m sorry, I forget to mention
• There’s one important step which I left out