Abi Bakr El Kadiri High School School Year 2020 - 2021

CLASSROOM LANGUAGE
FOR EFL STUDENTS

Mr. Abdelkarim Foulfoula

1 EXPRESS LACK OF UNDERSTANDING :

 Teacher, what’s (…..) ?

 Teacher, what does (…..) mean ?
 Teacher, what do you mean by (…..) ?
 Teacher, I don’t understand this word.
EXAMPLE :
- STUDENT : What does “ sit down ” mean ?
- TEACHER : It’s the opposite of “ stand up ”.

NOW EXPRESS YOUR LACK OF UNDERSTANDING. USE THE OTHER EXPRESSIONS.

- YOU : ………………….…..…….….. ? - TEACHER : It’s the opposite of “ rich ”.

2 ASK FOR TRANSLATION :

 Excuse me, how do we say (…..) in English ?

 Teacher, what’s the English word for (…..) ?
 Teacher, what’s (…..) in English ? .
 Teacher, what’s (this) in English ?
EXAMPLE :

- STUDENT : Excuse me, Sir. How do we say “ ‫ ” مكتبة‬in English ?

- TEACHER : It’s library , L – I – B – R – A – R –Y.

ASK FOR THE TRANSLATION OF THE WORD. USE THE OTHER EXPRESSIONS.

- YOU : ………………………..….. ? - TEACHER : It’s chair , C – H – A – I – R.

3 ASK ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE :

 Teacher, what’s the difference between (….) and (….) ?

 Teacher, can you tell us the difference between (….) and (….) ?
 Miss,is there a difference between (….) and (….) ?
 Sir, how is (….) different from (….) ?
EXAMPLE :
- STUDENT : Sir, what’s the difference between “ slow ” and “ slowly ” ?
- TEACHER : Well, “ slow ” is an adjective , “ slowly ” is an adverb .

ASK ABOUT THE DIFFRENCE. USE THE OTHER EXPRESSIONS.

- YOU : ……….……... ? - TEACHER : Well, “ tiger ” is male,“ tigress ” is female.

4 ASK FOR THE SPELLING OF A WORD :

 How do you spell the word (….) please ?

 Can you spell that/that word, please ?

 How is that / (….) spelled, please ?
EXAMPLE :
-TEACHER : A person who lives next to you is called a “ neighbor ” .
-STUDENT : Can you spell that, please ?
-TEACHER : Sure, it’s N – E – I – G – H – B – O – R.

ASK ABOUT THE SPELLING OF THE WORD. USE THE OTHER EXPRESSIONS.

- YOU : ………………….…...….. ? - TEACHER : Sure, It’s P–E–N–C–I–L–C–A–S– E.

5 ASK FOR REPETETION :

 Could/Can you repeat that, please ?

 Could/Can you repeat that one more time, please ?

 What’s that word again, please ?
EXAMPLE :
-TEACHER : Covid–19 appeared initially in the city of Wuhan, in China.
-STUDENT : Could you repeat that , please ?
-TEACHER : Sure,Covid–19 appeared first in the city of Wuhan, in China.

ASK FOR REPETETION. USE THE OTHER EXPRESSIONS.

- YOU : ………………….…...….. ? - TEACHER : Sure, snakes are reptiles.

6 ASK FOR PERMISSION :

 Sir, Can I + verb……. , please ?

 Miss, may I + verb……. , please ?
 Is it OK if I + verb……. ?
EXAMPLES :
1) - STUDENT : Sir, can I go out for a minute ?
- TEACHER : Sure, but please don’t be long.

2) - STUDENT 1 : Is it OK if I use your dictionary to check these words?

- STUDENT 2 : Sorry, I’m using it right now.

ASK FOR PERMISSION. USE THE OTHER EXPRESSIONS.

- YOU : ………………………………………………………….…...….. ?
- TEACHER : Sure, but please make sure you turn it off when you’ve finished.
7 ASK FOR CLARIFICATION :

 Could you clarify that more, please ?

 Can you explain that more, please ?
 Can you give us/me an example, please ?
EXAMPLES :
- TEACHER : The words “ expensive ” and “ costly ” are synonymous.
- STUDENT : Can you explain that more, please ?
- TEACHER : It means that we can use them both to mean the same thing.

ASK FOR CLARIFICATION. USE THE OTHER EXPRESSIONS.

- TEACHER : Marrakesh and Fes are inland cities.

- YOU : ………………………………………………………….…...….. ?
- TEACHER : Well, this means they are located away from the coast or the sea .
8 MAKE REQUESTS IN THE CLASSROOM :

 Sir, could + V….. , please ?

 Miss, can + V….. , please ?
 Teacher, would you mind + V+ing ….. , please ?
EXAMPLES :
- Sir, could you turn the lights on, please ? I can’t see anything on the board.
- Miss, can you open the window, please ? It’s very hot in here.
- Teacher, would you mind giving me another worksheet, please ?
- Could you write it on the board, Sir ?

CONSIDER EACH SITUATION GIVEN AND MAKE REQUESTS ACCORDINGLY.

a It’s cold in the classroom. You : ………………….……………………. ?

b You want another chance. You : ................................................ ?

 9 MORE CLASSROOM LANGUAGE AND USEFUL EXPRESSIONS :
 Sorry I’m late. Can I come in, Sir ?  Miss, can I change seats, please ?
 Sir, I don’t understand question 3.  Is this going to be on the exam, Sir ?
 Teacher, can I borrow a pen, please ?  Sir, can we pack our things now ?
 Sir, can I share the textbook with Aya ?  When is the homework due, teacher ?
 Do we have homework, Sir ?  Goodbye, Sir. / Have a good, Miss.
 Teacher, can you step aside, please ? I can’t see the board.
 Do we copy that in the lesson part or the exercise part ?
 Sir, have you graded our writings / exam papers … ?
 Which page please ? / Which exercise, please ? / Which paragraph, please ? / …
 Sorry, Teacher. I promise this won’t happen again.
 Teacher, can you play the audio one more time, please ?
 Sir, how many points is this question worth ?
 Teacher, how should I pronounce this word ?
TEACHER : Have you finished ? / Are you done ? / Should we move on to … ?

STUDENT : Not yet, Sir. / Just minute, Miss. / Almost, teacher.