Unit 4: Setting the stage

Seating
One of the best ways of making sure you engage your students and maximise on communication in the
classroom can be as simple as arranging your classroom so that it's layout encourages interaction. Unless you
are particularly unlucky, most classrooms, even in the most modest of schools, will have moveable chairs and/or
tables.
Your previous learning experience probably involved sitting at rows of static desks. Human nature also normally
means that on each return visit to the classroom, you’ll sit in the same position in the classroom. One of our
roles as an EFL teacher is to maximise student interaction and increase confidence in the ability to communicate
in English.
A very simple method of achieving this is by thinking about the layout of the classroom. It’s important to
experiment with different seating and standing arrangements to find out what works best for different tasks such
as group activities, pair work and opposing team games.

 Whole class discussion: In a horseshoe layout students are able to interact more naturally because they can
see each other. It also ensures that the same students aren’t always dominating at the front of the class.
 Small group work : When students are placed in ‘islands’ they are able to collaborate effectively, feeling part
of a team but are close enough to work with neighbouring groups if necessary.
 Pair work: A traditional seating plan which allows students to work together in twos with the added
advantage that the teacher is able to monitor from the front of the class or by moving between rows.
 Opposing teams: Each team has its own corner which gets students really excited at the prospect of winning
against the ‘enemy’ side; great for getting students participating wholeheartedly in the task!
 A/B role-play: For role-play activities it’s best to have students facing each other rather than sat side-by-side,
this way they focus on their own part of the task rather than trying to work on the activity as a whole. Another
alternative would be to line up all the chairs in two rows in the centre of the classroom.
 Student-led lesson: Much like the horseshoe style, students in the circular layout can make eye-contact and
interact together easily. In this arrangement, however, the teacher is positioned in the circle with the
students, putting them on an equal level and encouraging the students to lead the class themselves.

Correct!

 Whole class discussion [D – in a horseshoe layout students are able to interact more naturally
because they can see each other. It also ensures that the same students aren’t always
dominating at the front of the class.]
 Small group work [F – When students are placed in ‘islands’ they are able to collaborate
effectively, feeling part of a team but are close enough to work with neighbouring groups if
necessary.]
 Pair work [E – A traditional seating plan which allows students to work together in two's with the
added advantage that the teacher is able to monitor from the front of the class or by moving
between rows.]
 Opposing teams [A – Each team has its own corner which gets students really excited at the
prospect of winning against the ‘enemy’ side; great for getting students participating
wholeheartedly in the task!]
 A/B role play [C – For role play activities it’s best to have students facing each other than sat
side-by-side, this way they focus on their own part of the task rather than trying to work on the
activity as a whole. Another alternative would be to line up all the chairs in two rows in the
centre of the classroom.]

 Student-led lesson [B – Much like the horse shoe style, students in the circular layout can make
eye-contact and interact together easily. In this arrangement, however, the teacher is positioned
 in the circle with the students, putting them on an equal level and encouraging the students to
lead the class themselves.]

Classroom rules
Whether you’re teaching a class of forty Chinese five-year-olds or twelve Arabic men, you will need to enforce
some rules in the classroom in order to establish control.
One option is to hand out a copy of the rules on the very first lesson and get students to sign it like a contract.
It may seem patronising but, the success of your lesson lies in not only building rapport, but in getting all
students involved and engaged in tasks.
There is nothing more frustrating than effectively setting up a task, all your students understanding and ready to
start, then a couple of late students wander in and the whole equilibrium is ruined.
Hence, a rule about punctuality is important. Having said that, people will always be late. (A good way to deal
with is to ask the rest of the class to explain what has happened and what they are about to do.
This further clarifies understanding for the class, encourages communication and means that not all the
language and explanation come through you. We want to maximise on student participation after all!)
Another technique for establishing classroom rules is to engineer a discussion of how the students are going to
learn, and for them to brainstorm their own classroom rules.
You can then suggest a few key areas such as only speaking in English in the classroom. This approach
engages students and stands a better chance of working if they are responsible for the creation of the rules.
Below is a guideline for some effective rules that are suited to an EFL classroom:
Effective rules guide

 Only speak English in the classroom.

 Switch off your mobile phone and never answer it in class.
 Be on time for class and come back from breaks on time.
 If another student is speaking, show interest and listen.

Below is a list of some ineffective rules that would not encourage communication in the EFL classroom:
Ineffective rules

 Silence in the classroom.

 Don’t ask questions.
 Only sit next to the students that you already know.
 It’s OK say small sentences in your language e.g. “Can I borrow a pen?”

Instruction-giving
So, once you’ve set up your classroom and established some ground rules, before you can undertake any
activity you need to tell your students what they need to do.
Surprisingly, this can often be one of the trickiest things as many students will nod along when in reality they
aren’t sure what’s going on (which becomes obvious when you ask them to begin!).
That’s why it’s essential to keep your instructions clear and concise.
An untrained or inexperienced teacher might think it useful to constantly repeat words and instructions or speak
more loudly to help students understand what they want them to do but this isn’t really the case.
Compare the following examples of instruction giving and decide which one would be easier to understand.
Scenario 1
“Right then. What we’re going to do is to put you in pairs. One half of the class will be A and the remaining half
will be B. Both of you will be given a role card that will contain all the information that you’ll need. So, to clarify,
half of you will be A’s and half of you will be B’s. I’m going to tell you who you’ll be working with, alright? So,
we’re going to do a role play where one of you is a tourist and the other student will be a tour guide, then we’re
going to practise all the vocabulary and grammar that we’ve learnt this week. Right then. So, you’re in pairs. If
you wouldn’t mind, could you all sit in two lines parallel to each other. The one on the right is the tourist and the
one on the left is the tour guide. You’re on a coach, and the tour guide is going to point out what you can see out
of the window. The tourist should ask as many questions as they can. Next, we’re going to swap and take turns.
OK then. So get yourselves into the two rows and off we go. Let’s start.”
Scenario 2

 Before class, set up the classroom chairs in two rows.

 Instruct each student (by name) where to sit and appoint them A’s and B’s
 “A’s you are the tour guide. B’s you are the tourist”
 “OK. Look” (gesture to board of picture of tourists on a coach travelling through a city)
 Elicit the names (nouns) of what students can see, pointing to each; “coach, tourist, tourist guide, (name of
the city)”
 Write the words next to the pictures as you go.
 Hold up clear role cards stating “A: TOURIST listen to the tour, showing interest and ask questions ” and
 “B: TOUR GUIDE give a tour of the city.”
 “Speak.” (gesture to mouth). “10 minutes.”

Check understanding of the task by asking the following:

1. Who is student A?
2. What do they do?
3. Who is student B?
4. What do they do?
5. How much time?

Question 1 Answer B

Correct! In the second scenario the teacher uses imperatives (direct instructions such as “look”) and avoids
long sentences which may confuse lower-level learners especially. The classroom is already arranged in a
way that students are able to focus on the task with minimal commotion. The teacher also checks the
students’ understanding before beginning the activity using open questions to ensure everything is crystal
clear.

Now answer these true/false questions about scenario 2.

1. The teacher used as many sentences as possible to maximise on language exposure in the classroom.

True False
Submit Answer
Correct!

2. The teacher hadn’t planned their instructions

True False
Submit Answer
Correct!

3. The teacher had set up the classroom before the students had arrived
 True False
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Correct!

4. The teacher used repetition to help the students understand them

True False
Submit Answer
Correct!

5. The teacher avoided using future tenses in the instructions such as “What we’re going to do is….”

True False
Submit Answer
Correct!

6. The teacher used linking words such as “then” and “next” to explain the task

True False
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Correct!

7. The teacher used visual prompts to help understanding

True False
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Correct!

8. The teacher checked understanding by asking simple questions about the task

True False
Submit Answer
Correct!

As you have hopefully learned from the last exercise, the amount of language you use should be limited.

We term this ‘reducing your Teacher Talk Time’.

Of course, we are being employed because we are fluent in English but this doesn’t mean that we bombard
learners with too much language in instructions. This can overwhelm students.
We want them to focus on practising the target language of the lesson rather than listening to us needlessly.
An EFL learner might be studying anywhere from 2-25+ hours per week and we need to preserve their energy
for the main aim of a lesson by keeping instructions short and simple.
Notice also how the language used by the teacher was “graded”.
In other words, the language chosen was not over-complicated and difficult vocabulary was not used.
For example, in the first set of instructions the teacher said “So, to clarify, half of you will be A’s and half of you
will be B’s”. The students may not understand the word “clarify” or “half”.
In the second scenario, the teacher gestures to students and appoints pairs A and B (half the class) and clarifies
understanding by using ‘Instruction Check Questions’ for example, in the second set of instructions:
“Who is student A?” (Answer: A tour guide)
“Who is student B?” (Answer: A tourist)
Another key technique is to always set time limits for tasks such as “How much time?” (Answer: 10
minutes)
This reassures students that the activity won’t go on forever and they won’t run out of language. It also helps to
keep learners motivated in that they will want to move onto the next task.
It would be very easy with, say, a high-level class to just sit back and relax and let students carry on with a task
for double the time than originally planned. While this may provide an easy time for the teacher in the short term,
it sends a clear message to learners that you don’t really care about their learning and may very quickly undo
any rapport with a class as well de-motivate them in future tasks.
So, now that you have set up your classroom, established some classroom rules and are equipped to give some
clear instructions, you’re ready to move on to learning about first lesson ice-breakers…

Unit 4: Setting the stage: Questions

When doing an A/B roleplay activity, students should be placed:

A. side by side B. facing each other C. back to back

Submit Answer
Correct!

Once you have decided on a seating plan you should stick to it for the remainder of the course.

True False
Submit Answer
Correct! Change the layout to suit the type of activity you’re doing each lesson. Plus, it’s always good to
change things up to keep students interested!

When giving instructions it is important to: (Tick all that apply)

A: 'Grade' your language B: Repeat each instruction C: Use visuals D: Set time limits
Submit Answer
Correct!

A good way to deal with latecomers is to:

A. embarrass them in front of the class B. keep them behind at the end of the lesson for the amount of
time they were late C. ask other students to explain the activity and what they’ve done so far D. give
them detention or extra homework
Submit Answer
Correct!