12 Steps to Clearer Instructions - by Jaimie Scanlon

Published in the ESL / EFL JobFinder - 03/31/2003

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Making instructions clear for language learners can be a challenge. Unfortunately,
there is no magic formula for giving instructions that works for all students in all
situations. However, a variety of strategies applied in combination will help teachers
reach a wider range of students and will serve to clarify and reinforce instructions
for students as well.
Here are a few practical ideas I hope will be helpful for both teachers and students.
1. When lesson planning, consider how you will give instructions for tasks. For each
activity or assignment, think to yourself "How can I convey this task clearly to the
students?" I find it helpful to write down in my lesson plan what I will say and what
materials and visuals I will use to help clarify instructions.
2. Plan enough time in your lesson to deliver instructions thoroughly and to check
students' understanding. Do not deliver instructions hurriedly while the bell is
ringing, students are grabbing books, and backpacks and leaving the
room.
3. Be sure you have all students' attention when giving instructions - insist on it and
never make exceptions.

4. Be well prepared, not only for verbal delivery of instructions, but also with
instructions written in clear, concise, simple English on the board (or on a flip
chart). This additional visual will catch students whose listening skills may make it
challenging to follow verbal instructions.

5. Be simple and economical, verbally. Consider the following verbal instructions

strands:

"Ok, everybody, listen to me. I want to tell you what we're going to do next. What
we're going to do is... I want everybody to get together with the partners you were
working on the peer-editing with last week."

VS.

"Please find last week's writing partner."

6. Model the task and always do an example together with the class, even for
homework exercises. For in-class tasks, rather than just telling students what is
expected of them, show them as well. When assigning a task, physically DO the
task yourself in front of the students. Show them with your body, gestures and
facial expression, exactly what you want the task to look like when they begin doing
it. With pair tasks, have the class watch while you model with another student.
Check for understanding and model again if needed, or ask two students who seem
to understand the task to model together.

7. When assigning a textbook activity or exercise, ask students to open to the

correct page in their textbooks and follow along as you go over the task. Use your
own textbook as a prop. Point to the exercise, check that all students are following
and do the first question together as an example.
8. Repeat instructions at least once with slightly different wording, if possible.

9. Give students time to write assignments down. Insist that they do.

10. Break instructions down and deliver them in steps or "chunks". When
instructions include a series of steps, deliver the first step, wait, check for
comprehension, and then deliver the next small chunk of instructions. This gives
students time to digest smaller pieces of information at one time rather than to
grasp what bits and pieces they can of a lengthy explanation.

11. Use pairwork. Stop in the middle and at the end of instructions, and ask
students to confirm the task with a partner. Often, this eliminates the need for
repetition by the teacher.

12. Use comprehension checks and involve students actively in the instructions
process. Have students repeat assignments or instructions back to you. Ask, "Can
anyone tell me what you are going to do next/for homework?" Open-ended
comprehension checking questions (beginning with WH-words) such as "What is
still unclear?" "What questions do you have?" "Who has a question about that?" are
much more effective than "Any questions?" The former ask for a real feedback
response from students while the latter allows students to shake their heads or not
respond at all.

While applying these strategies may seem time-consuming, in reality they are great
time-savers. Think of the class time spent repeating and repairing unclear
instructions, the chaos created when students misunderstand a task, or the extra
time added to a lesson if students fail to complete a homework assignment as a
result of confusion about instructions. When we add it all up, it's a lot of precious
class time lost - time when students could be learning and teachers could be doing
what we are meant to do, serve student learning in the best way we can.

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Jaimie Scanlon received her MA in TESOL and teaching French from the School
for International Training (SIT) in 1997. She has taught ESL/EFL and conducted
teacher training workshops in the US, Japan and Romania. She currently works as
a trainer in the SIT TESOL Certificate Course.

To learn more about SIT and TESOL Certification opportunities in Poland visit:

http://www.tesol-certification.com/

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