Giving instructions

&
Corrections
Jennifer Zhang
 01 Giving Instructions

02 Instructions Practice

CONTENTS 03 Correcting Errors

04 Q&A
A Quick Review

TTT

Elicit

Pidgin English

CCQ

ICQ
A Quick Review

TTT Teacher Talking Time

To get or produce something, especially information

Elicit or a reaction from students

Pidgin English Informal English when it is spoken in a simple way,

often with many mistakes. e.g. “He come here?”

CCQ Concept Check Question

ICQ Instruction Check Question

Part Giving Instructions
1
? Why did the class have problems
with the following instruction?
Complex Instructions

Ok, everybody, would you, Maria, sit down. Now what you
have to do is, when you , you take this sheet of paper that I’m
handing out now and keep it secret, and some of you are ‘A’.
It’s written at the top, and some are labeled ‘B’. Ok, can you
see that, don’t show your paper to anyone and then you have
to describe to your partner, sit face to face, could you move
your chairs around and describe what’s on your paper so that
your partner can find out what’s different, and you must agree,
then when you find something you draw it on.
? How can we give clearer instructions?
How to Give Clearer Instructions?

STEP 1. Show them

p Model the activity.

p Let the students help you to do this.

p You set the standards when you show a perfect example.

How to Give Clearer Instructions?

STEP 2. Tell them

p Plan your instructions.

p Grade your language so that the students will understand you.

p Simplify and shorten your instructions.

p Stage your instructions.

Simplify Your Instructions

What do you think of the instructions given below? Is it suitable for beginner?
Why?

A. ‘You’re going to hear a description of a famous person and you have to guess who
it is.’

B. ‘Listen to my description of a famous person. Who is it?”

How to Give Clearer Instructions?

STEP 3. Ask them

p Use ICQs to check their understandings.

p Ask students to repeat the instructions back to you. Who do you

pick?

p Ask 2 students to demonstrate the activity.

Look back at the example instruction given previously.

1. Identify the essential instructions the teacher wanted to give.

2. Delete unnecessary language.
3. Write out the instructions in the right order.
Complex Instructions

Ok, everybody, would you, Maria, sit down. Now what you
have to do is, when you , you take this sheet of paper that I’m
handing out now and keep it secret, and some of you are ‘A’.
It’s written at the top, and some are labeled ‘B’. Ok, can you
see that, don’t show your paper to anyone and then you have
to describe to your partner, sit face to face, could you move
your chairs around and describe what’s on your paper so that
your partner can find out what’s different, and you must agree,
then when you find something you draw it on.
Complex Instructions

Ok, everybody, would you, Maria, sit down. Now what you
have to do is, when you , you take this sheet of paper that I’m
handing out now and keep it secret, and some of you are ‘A’.
It’s written at the top, and some are labeled ‘B’. Ok, can you
see that, don’t show your paper to anyone and then you have
to describe to your partner, sit face to face, could you move
your chairs around and describe what’s on your paper so that
your partner can find out what’s different, and you must agree,
then when you find something you draw it on.
5 Steps to Better Instructions
5 Steps to Better Instructions

1. Be aware of your own instruction-giving

p Record yourself
p Ask others to watch you and give feedback
5 Steps to Better Instructions

2. Preplan essential instructions.

p Analyse the instructions beforehand, only include essential information in simple,

clear language, and sequence it in a sensible order.
p Use short sentences--- one sentence for each key piece of information.
p Don't say things that are visible or obvious.
p Don't give instructions that they don't need to know at this point.
5 Steps to Better Instructions

3. Separate instructions clearly from the other chit-chat, telling

off, joking, etc. that goes on.

p Creat a silence beforehand.

p Make eye contact with as many students as possible.
p Find an authoritative tone.
p Make sure they are listening before you start.
p Use silence and gestures to pace the instructions and clarify their meaning.
5 Steps to Better Instructions

4. Demonstrate rather than explain wherever possible.

5. Check that students have understood what to do.

p Dont't assume that everyone will automatically understand what you have said.
p Get concrete evidence from the students that they know what is required.
Part Instructions Practice
2
Practice

Here are some more examples of complicated and confusing instructions.

Think of some ways to re-write these in clear concise form. Then, come
up with some CCQs to make sure your students would understand these.
1. Now what you need to do is to please stand up and find a partner for this next
exercise so the two of you can exchange ideas on the subject of dating and how
young people actually meet in your countries.

2. Well that's an interesting answer but not really the one I was expecting…could
you please try to answer it again and give us the correct tense of the verb this time
rather than the answer you just gave?

3. Why don't you try to think of some more examples as interesting as the ones
Mona provided us the other day…you remember those, don't you?
Practice

4. If you could just hurry up a bit...we only have another ten minutes
before we'll have used up all of our time today!

5. Let's practice with the conditional. Just imagine that you had as
much money as you'd ever want. Tell us, what would you do with all of
that money if you had say a million dollars?…or as much money as you
could imagine?
Part Correcting Errors
3
? How would you think when your
students make mistakes?
Correcting Errors

Errors tells the teacher where a student is in his/her development and

are key indicators of what needs to be worked on in class.

Helping a student with his/her errors, and continue building the self-
confidence of the learner.
? What are the causes of learners'
mistakes in the ESL classroom?
 The Causes of ESL Learners' Mistakes

L1 vocabulary/grammar patterns imitated in English

I want to make a party for you.

L1 syntax used in English

Pass to me the salt please.

L1 pronunciation in English
Zat(That) is fine wiz(with) me.

Students are tired and forgot about what they already know
It’s cold outside, aren’t you?
 The Causes of ESL Learners' Mistakes

Match the examples with the causes.

I him asked why he did that. L1 imitated in English

I am here since Tuesday.
I'm going to heat (hit) you if you say that again. L1 syntax used in English
The ball to her kicked I.
She needs book about irregular verbs. L1 pronunciation in English
The flame (frame) is nice with that picture.
? When and how do teachers correct?
 When Do Teachers Correct?

Instant:
We immediately correct the mistake. This is vital during the present and
practice stages, where the students are learning the new material and
learning how to use it correctly. Here it is important that students are
accurate.
 Instant Correction Techniques

Echo the Error: Quick and easy, be an echo to your student’s error.
Ask for Repetition: Just say “please repeat” or “please say that again”.
Repeat up to the Error: Echo up to the error; let it hang for students to finish...
Ask a Question: Highlight student’s error by asking a question that will expose the error.
Provide Options: Without stopping the flow of the lesson, write options on the board.
Gestures: Especially useful with phrasal verb and preposition mistakes.
Write on the Whiteboard, Underline: The standard whiteboard technique. Highlight the
error with an underline
 When Do Teachers Correct?

Delayed:

We wait until the exercise is over before we correct. This is the main
strategy used during the perform or production stage. Here, we are trying
to improve the students’ fluency and confidence and we think that
interruption will cause them to lose their thought process and confidence.
 Delayed Correction Techniques

Echo the Error: “I heard ~”

Ask for Reformulation (questions): Can you change this question to get the same answer?
Repeat up to the Error: good for vocabulary errors, write the sentence on the board up to
the error, have students finish the sentence. This can be done with all students, thus re-
enforcing the correct form to be used by hearing several variations.
Ask a Question: Good for concept checks and getting students to repeat a section where
they made an error, simply ask them a question that will bring up the error. The question
can be directed at any student or all students.
 Delayed Correction Techniques

Use a Visual Aid: Draw a timeline, pie chart, picture or other visual aide on the board to
help students to understand the error. Have them self-correct.
Write on the Whiteboard, Underline: The standard whiteboard technique. Highlight the
error with an underline.
Highlight the Issue: Rather than bringing up a specific error, when you notice repeated
errors of the same type, highlight this issue and discuss. If necessary, mark students’ files
and teach the appropriate curriculum item as soon as possible.
 Delayed Correction Techniques

Repetition of the Correct Answer:

Once the error has been corrected, have students repeat the correct answer. This
technique works best with low-level students or when the error seems to have become a
bad habit.

Provide Options:
Write the error on the board and provide several options. Have students choose the
option they think is best.
Part Q&A
4
 THANKS
WE WILL DO A GREAT JOB !