Classroom Language: The beginning of the lesson

1. Good morning

 Good morning, everybody.

 Good afternoon, everybody.
 Hello, everyone.
 Hello there, John.

2. How are you?

 How are you today?

 How are you getting on?
 How’s life?
 How are things with you?
 Are you feeling better today, David?

3. Introductions

 My name is Mr/Mrs/Ms Kim. I’m your new English teacher.

 I’ll be teaching you English this year.
 I’ve got five lessons with you each week.

4. Time to begin

 Let’s begin our lesson now.

 Is everybody ready to start?
 I hope you are all ready for your English lesson.
 I think we can start now.
 Now we can get down to work.

5. Waiting to start

 I’m waiting for you to be quiet.

 We won’t start until everyone is quiet.
 Stop talking and be quiet.
 Settle down now so we can start.

6. Put your things away

 Close your books.

 Put your books away.
 Pack your things away.

7. Register

 Who is absent today?

 Who isn’t here today?
 What’s the matter with Jim today?
 What’s wrong with Jim today?
  Why were you absent last Friday?

8. Late

 Where have you been?

 We started ten minutes ago. What have you been doing?
 Did you miss your bus?
 Did you oversleep?
 Don’t let it happen again.

Classroom Language: Simple instructions

1. Here are some common instructions which the class can easily understand:

 Come in.
 Go out.
 Stand up.
 Sit down.
 Come to the front of the class.
 Stand by your desks.
 Put your hands up.
 Put your hands down.
 Hold your books/pens up.
 Show me your pencil.

2. A number of instructions can be used at the beginning of a session:

 Pay attention, everybody.

 You need pencils/rulers.
 We’ll learn how to …
 Are you ready?
 Open your books at page…
 Turn to page …
 Look at activity five.
 Listen to this tape.
 Repeat after me.
 Again, please.
 Everybody …
 You have five minutes to do this.
 Who’s next?
 Like this, not like that.

3. A number of instructions can be used at the end of a session:

 It’s time to finish.

 Have you finished?
 Let’s stop now.
 Stop now.
 Let’s check the answers.
 Any questions?
  Collect your work please.
 Pack up your books.
 Are your desks tidy?
 Don’t forget to bring your … tomorrow.

4. Instructions can also be sequenced:

 First
 Next
 After that
 Then
 Finally

5. Comprehension language:

 Are you ready?

 Are you with me?
 Are you OK?
 OK so far?
 Do you get it?
 Do you understand?
 Do you follow me?
 What did you say?
 One more time, please.
 Say it again, please.
 I don’t understand.
 I don’t get it.
 Like this?
 Is this OK?

Classroom Language: The end of the lesson

1. Time to stop

 It’s almost time to stop.

 I’m afraid it’s time to finish now.
 We’ll have to stop here.
 There’s the bell. It’s time to stop.
 That’s all for today. You can go now.

2. Not time to stop

 The bell hasn’t gone yet.

 There are still two minutes to go.
 We still have a couple of minutes left.
 The lesson doesn’t finish till five past.
 Your watch must be fast.
 We seem to have finished early.
 We have an extra five minutes.
 Sit quietly until the bell goes.
3. Wait a minute

 Hang on a moment.
 Just hold on a moment.
 Stay where you are for a moment.
 Just a moment, please.
 One more thing before you go.
 Back to your places.

4. Next time

 We’ll do the rest of this chapter next time.

 We’ll finish this exercise next lesson.
 We’ve run out of time, so we’ll continue next lesson.
 We’ll continue this chapter next Monday.

5. Homework

 This is your homework for tonight.

 Do exercise 10 on page 23 for your homework.
 Prepare the next chapter for Monday.
 There is no homework today.
 Remember your homework.
 Take a worksheet as you leave.

6. Goodbye

 Goodbye, everyone.
 See you again next Wednesday.
 See you tomorrow afternoon.
 See you in room 7 after the break.
 Have a good holiday.
 Enjoy your vacation.

7. Leaving the room

 Get into a queue.

 Form a queue and wait for the bell.
 Everybody outside!
 All of you get outside now!
 Hurry up and get out!
 Try not to make any noise as you leave.
 Be quiet as you leave. Other classes are still working.
 It’s tidy up time
 Line up

Classroom Language: Language of classroom management

Here are some phrases that can be used for classroom management:
Giving instructions

 Open your books at page 52.

 Come out and write it on the board.
 Listen to the tape, please.
 Get into groups of four.
 Finish off this song at home.
 Let’s sing a song.
 Everybody, please.
 All together now.
 The whole class, please.
 I want you all to join in.
 Could you try the next one?
 I would like you to write this down.
 Would you mind switching the lights on?
 It might be an idea to leave this till next time.
 Who would like to read?
 Which topic will your group report on?
 Do you want to answer question 3?

Sequencing

 First of all, today, …

 Right. Now we will go on to the next exercise.
 Have you finished?
 For the last thing today, let’s …
 Whose turn is it to read?
 Which question are you on?
 Next one, please.
 Who hasn’t answered yet?
 Let me explain what I want you to do next.
 The idea of this exercise is for you to …
 You have ten minutes to do this.
 Your time is up.
 Finish this by twenty to eleven.
 Can you all see the board?
 Have you found the place?
 Are you all ready?

Supervision

 Look this way.

 Stop talking.
 Listen to what … is saying.
 Leave that alone now.
 Be careful.

Asking questions

 Where’s Bill?
  Is Bill in the kitchen?
 Tell me where Bill is.
 What was the house like?
 What do you think?
 How can you tell?

Responding to questions

 Yes, that’s right,

 Fine.
 Almost. Try again.
 What about this word?

Metalanguage

 What’s the Spanish for “doll”?

 Explain it in your own words.
 It’s spelt with a capital “J”.
 Can anybody correct this sentence?
 Fill in the missing words.
 Mark the right alternative.

Reference

 After they left the USA, the Beatles …

 The church was started in the last century.
 This is a picture of a typically English castle.
 In the background you can see …
 While we’re on the subject, …
 As I said earlier, …
 Let me sum up.

Affective attitudes

 That’s interesting!
 That really is very kind of you.
 Don’t worry about it.
 I was a bit disappointed with your efforts.

Social ritual

 Good morning.
 Cheerio now.
 God bless!
 Have a nice weekend.
 Thanks for your help.
 Happy birthday!
 Merry Christmas!

Classroom Language: The language of error correction

Here are some phrases that can be used when giving feedback to students:

 Very good.
 That’s very good.
 Well done.
 Very fine.
 That’s nice.
 I like that.
 Marvellous!
 You did a great job.
 Magnificent!
 Terrific!
 Wow!
 Jolly good!
 Great stuff!
 Fantastic!
 Right!
 Yes!
 Fine.
 Quite right
 That’s right.
 That’s it.
 That’s correct.
 That’s quite right.
 Yes, you’ve got it.
 It depends.

 It might be, I suppose.

 In a way, perhaps.
 Sort of, yes.
 That’s more like it.
 That’s much better.
 That’s a lot better.
 You’ve improved a lot.

 You were almost right.

 That’s almost it.
 You’re halfway there.
 You’ve almost got it.
 You’re on the right lines.
 There’s no need to rush.
 There’s no hurry.
 We have plenty of time
 Go on. Have a try.
 Have a go.
 Have a guess.

 Not really.
 Unfortunately not.
 I’m afraid that’s not quite right.
 You can’t say that, I’m afraid.
  You can’t use that word here.
 Good try, but not quite right.
 Have another try.
 Not quite right. Try again.
 Not exactly.

Classroom Language: The language of spontaneous situations

If we use English in spontaneous situations:

 We relate the target language to the learner’s immediate environment.

 We take advantage of spontaneous situations to use the target language.
 We exploit contexts which are not directly linked to the syllabus (language in use).

Here are some common situations in which spontaneous English can be used:

 Happy birthday!
 Many returns (of the day).
 “” has his/her 12th birthday today.
 “” is eleven today. Let’s sing “Happy Birthday”.

 Best of luck.
 Good luck.
 I hope you pass.
 Congratulations!
 Well done!

 Who’s not here today?

 Who isn’t here?
 What’s wrong with … today?

 I’m sorry (about that).

 Sorry, that was my fault.
 I’m terribly sorry.
 Excuse me.
 Could I get past please?
 You’re blocking the way.
 I can’t get past you.
 Get out of the way, please

 I hope you all have a good Christmas.

 Happy New Year!
 All the best for the New Year.
 Happy Easter.

 Hard lines!
 Never mind.
 Better luck next time.

 Do you feel better today?

 Are you better now?
  Have you been ill?
 What was the matter?

 I’ll be back in a moment.

 Carry on with the exercise while I’m away.
 I’ve got to go next door for a moment.

 I’m afraid I can’t speak any louder.

 I seem to be losing my voice.
 I have a sore throat.
 I have a headache.
 I’m feeling under the weather.
 Do you mind if I sit down?

Classroom Language for English Students

Here is a list of useful classroom language for students in English.

1. Asking for clarification: Can you repeat that?, Can you explain that more?, I’m sorry, I don’t
understand.
2. Participating in discussions: I have a question, Can I share my thoughts?, That’s a good point,
What do you think?
3. Giving examples: For instance, For example, Such as, Like.
4. Making comparisons: Just like, Similar to, Unlike, On the other hand.
5. Expressing uncertainty: I’m not sure, I don’t know, I don’t understand, Can you help me?
6. Summarizing information: In short, To summarize, To put it briefly, In other words.
7. Expressing agreement/disagreement: I agree, I disagree, I concur, I don’t agree.
8. Asking for help: Can you help me?, I need some assistance, Can you give me a hand?
9. Responding to questions: Yes, No, Of course, Sure.
10. Expressing appreciation: Thank you, That’s very kind of you, I appreciate your help, That’s
helpful.

Classroom Objects in English

Classroom Objects in English

Here is a list of words to learn for this lesson.

 Desk – a piece of furniture like a table, usually with drawers in it, that you sit at to write and
work
 Chair – a piece of furniture for one person to sit on, which has a back, a seat, and four legs
 Book – a set of printed pages that are held together in a cover so that you can read them
 Notebook – a book made of plain paper on which you can write notes
 Pencil case – a bag or box to carry pens and pencils in
 Scissors – a tool for cutting paper, made of two sharp blades fastened together in the middle,
with holes for your finger and thumb
 Compass – a V-shaped instrument with one sharp point and a pen or pencil at the other end,
used for drawing circles or measuring distances on maps
 Pencil – an instrument that you use for writing or drawing, consisting of a wooden stick with
a thin piece of a black or coloured substance in the middle
 Stapler – a tool used for putting staples into paper
 Calculator – a small electronic machine that can add, multiply, …
 Ballpoint – a pen with a ball at the end that rolls ink onto the paper
 Hightlighter – a special light-coloured pen used for marking words in a book, article, …
 Rubber (U.K)/ Eraser (U.S) – a small piece of rubber or similar material used for removing
pencil marks from paper
 Palette – a thin curved board that an artist uses to mix paints, holding it by putting his or her
thumb through a hole at the edge
 Protractor – a piece of plastic in the shape of a half-circle, which is used for measuring and
drawing angles
 Funnel – a thin tube with a wide top that you use for pouring liquid into a container with a
narrow opening, such as a bottle
 Binder – a removable cover for holding loose sheets of paper, magazines, …
 Computer – an electronic machine that stores information and uses programs to help you
find, organize, or change the information
 Map – a drawing of a particular area, for example a city or country, which shows its main
features, such as its roads, rivers, mountains, …
 Blackboard – a board with a dark smooth surface, used in schools for writing on with chalk
 Globe – a round object with a map of the Earth drawn on it