Classroom Language

What is classroom language?

Classroom language is the routine language that is used on a regular basis in

classroom like giving instructions or praise, for example “Take out your
books” or “Please sit down”. This is language that teachers are used to using
and students are used to hearing

Why is it important?

Knowing these language basics reduces the amount that students are forced
to use their mother tongue and increases the amount of the target language
they are using; it makes the language classroom environment more
authentic.

What we’ll cover:

• Lesson stages

• How to give instructions/commands

• How to praise/encourage ….

• Common Phrasal verbs

• Classroom objects

• Classroom phrases and requests

• How to set up and start an activity

The start of the lesson

• Good morning everyone,

• Hi everybody

• Good morning, how are you doing?

• How are you today?

• Did you have a good weekend?

• Let's start with the lesson now.

• I think we can start now.

• Is everybody ready to start?

Roll-call Attendance

Let’s take attendance, shall we?

I’m going to (gonna) take attendance

I’ll call the roll

Who’s not here today?

Who’s absent? Who’s absent today?

Getting everyone’s attention

• Getting everyone’s attention

• Listen to me, please.

• Be quiet/Quiet down, please.

• Silent, please.

• Can I have your attention, please?

• Could you all listen to me, please?

• Would you pay attention, please?

• Hana, are you with us?

During the lesson

Get out your books

Open to page …/turn to page …

Look at exercise ….. On page ….

Let’s say it together / all together

Your turn / whose turn is it? / This is Emma’s turn

Sai it again / louder / speak up, please

Who knows the answer?

Eliciting / reviewing information and previous knowledge

Who can remember what we were talking about at the end of last lesson?

Does anyone remember …………………………….?

Who can tell me ……………………………………..?

Could you tell me what you remember from our last lesson?

Who would like to get extra marks/credit today?

Setting up an activity / Giving instructions for an activity

• I’d like you to get into pairs for this activity

• ……………to work with a partner

• …………..to work alone / in group of four

• Please, get into pairs / groups of four

• Can you 4 team up?

Setting up an activity / Giving instructions for an activity

• I want you to share a photocopy and work together

• What I want you to do is to …………………………

• When you finish you can………………………

Giving out / taking in workbooks / worksheets, etc.

Do you mind collecting the ….. for me, please?

Fran, would you take in / get/collect everyone’s writings/essays for me,

please?

Juan, can you hand out / give out / distribute these copies, please?

Take one and pass them on.

Take one between the two of you/for the two of you.

Would you pass the dictionaries / exams to the front / the back, please?

Checking understanding

Do you understand?
Are you with me?

OK so far?

Do you get it?

Do you have any questions?

Let's check …

Encouraging students and correcting errors

Very good.

That's very good.

Well done.

Great job

..

That's correct

Excellent

Yes, you've got it.

You've got the idea.

That’s correct

..

Good, you're getting better.

Your answer is very good / almost right.

You can do it / keep trying ….

Encouraging students and correcting errors

You need more practice with this.

You'll have to spend some more time with this.

Ok, that’s not the right answer, but let me help you with it.

Let me explain again.

Not exactly, have another try / try again.

Have a guess.
Guess.

Setting homework / assignments, setting deadlines and reacting to

homework

This is your homework for tomorrow.

There is no homework today.

Don’t forget your homework.

Do exercise 10 on page 23 for your homework.

Prepare the next two pages for Monday.

Before next lesson, I want you to read the story on page 15.

Take a worksheet as you leave.

Ending the lesson

It's time to finish.

Have you finished yet?

Are you done?

Let's stop now.

This is all for now

That’s all for now, see you Monday .

See you tomorrow

That’s all for today, enjoy the weekend

OK, you can put away your things.

See you next week.

Session 2

Notes

• These expressions are meant to be said naturally and accompanied, if

possible, by gestures.

• The teacher pronunciation should be clear, with the proper pace and
rhythm to be understood.
 • Intonation should follow the natural English speech, according to the
emphasis of words.

• The emphasis or stress is the extra force that you give to a word of
part of a word when you are pronouncing it.

Phrasal verbs for teaching

give up

fall behind

get along/on

get down to

keep up

fill in

Come on /in

Go on/ carry on

Catch up with

Pack away

Go ahead

speak up

look up/at/for

put off/on

turn off

Pass on

move over

Hurry up

Turn on /off

Tie up

Put up with
With movements

• Move over= move to leave space for others

• Pack away=take things back to their place

• Hurry up

• Pass sth on=to tell or give someone something that someone else has
told/given you

With clothes

• Put on

• Take off

• Tie up

• Zip sth up

• Button up

Encouraging

• Go on / carry on= continue doing sth or speaking after a pause

• Keep up= continue doing the same

• Come on = to encourage others

• Go ahead= permission to do or say sth

• Speak up= raise your voice

• catch up with= to succeed in reaching others who are ahead

• Give up=stop trying

To stop

• Knock it off

• Cut it out
Others

• Get down to=begin

• Look at / up / for

• Fill in=add information to complete a form

• Fall behind= not keeping up with others

• Turn on / off

• Put up with= tolerate or handle sth

• Get on / along = have a good relationship

CLASSROOM PHRASES

Responding to different behaviors

Spontaneous reactions

• Thank you

• Congratulations

• Do you feel well?

• Do you have the hiccups?

a headache, stomachache, a cold, the flu,…

• Sorry ( apologize )

• Sorry? ( say it again )

Showing sympathy

• Make it simpler

• Make it easier.

• Try again

• Once more / once again

• Say it again..

• Don't get it, can you repeat, please?

• What do you mean with.....?

 • It´s the other way round

• Relax!

Helping them to remember sth

• Does it ring a bell?

• Do you remember ?

• who can tell?

• remember when …..

Responding to talking and noise

• Be quiet please

• Why are you talking?

• I´m waiting for everyone to be quiet

• Stop what you´re doing and listen, please

• If you listened as much as you talk you´d be brilliant!

• Could you please not talk when I´m talking?

• I´m not going to put up with your noise any longer

Responding to noise and annoyance

Stop fidgeting around please!

Stop messing about please

Stop giggling please

Stop fiddling with your pen please

Stop clicking your pen…

Can you swap places with …….please?

Don´t make a fuss please

I expect more maturity

The joke is over!

Mind your language !

ACTIONS
 • Fiddling with the pen

• Clicking pens/pencils

• Crumbling papers

• Cut

• Rip

Punishment

Would you like to spend your break time with me?

See me after the lesson

You´ve got a detention!

Responding to lazy students

You need to catch up with your missing (home)work.

This is not your best work.

Please try harder/make more of an effort next time.

You can do better than that.

Class questions

• What class did you just have?

• What class do you have next?

• What time is it?

• What is today’s date?

• When does the bell ring?

• Is today a regular day, or is there a special schedule?

• Is the teacher here today?

• Who is the substitute?

• How has your day been so far?

Pupils’ language

These expressions are meant to give confidence to the student's

communication skills. As a result,
expressions should be encouraged within their classroom relationships.

Greetings and farewells

Good morning

Hello / Hi teacher!

How do you do?

Goodbye

Have a nice day

Enjoy your day

See you tomorrow

Take care

Asking for permission

Can I go to the toilet?

Can I sharpen, please?

Can I use a dictionary?

Can I borrow a pen/eraser/paper?

Can you lend me your pen/eraser/paper?

Asking for help

• I need help / more time...

• Sorry?

• Say it again..

• I don't get it, can you repeat, please?

• What do you mean with.....?

• What does ( word ) mean?

• What's the meaning of... ?

• Is this right? / Is this ok?

• May I ask... ?

• How do you say.... in English?

 • Tell me the difference between A and B

Most of the time, in order to be understood you have to change the

expressions right in the moment
In this case, some tricks are:

- Tell a synonym. Take this “handout” = paper / copy.

- When explaining opposites give examples: Low / High , Loud / soft ,

Long / short.

- Definitions. To clap: to hit both hands together

- Use body language. Thumbs up for “right”

Session 3

Virtual Classroom language

Useful words to describe your screen

1. on the left/on the right

2. at the top of

3. in the middle of
 4. at the bottom of

5. bottom right corner/bottom left corner

6. below/under

7. next to

Before the class

• Meeting link

• Sign in / sign up

• Follow / click the link

• Enter the password

• Set up your camera / headset

• Our class starts at 8

• Be there on time

• All set / everything looks good

 Please turn your computer on.

 Press the on/power button on your computer.

 Please turn/switch on your monitor/printer.

 All of the computers should already be on.

 Press any key to reactivate the computer.

 Wait for it to boot up.

 Let the computer boot up.

 Don’t press/do anything while the computer boots up.

 Wait for the operating system/Linux/Windows to load.

 Enter your username and password.

 Type in/Give your username and password.

 Log in to the computer/network.

 Log on with your username and password/your user ID.

 It might be necessary to use a password.

 Click OK.

 Press/Hit return/enter.

 The desktop will now come up on screen.

 The desktop is now in front of you/on screen.

 Let’s check the connection.

 Have you checked the connection?

 Is the connection tight?

 Everything looks OK.

 Everything seems to be fine/correct/as it should be.

 It’s on/plugged in.

 There’s no loose connection.

 The button was definitely clicked.

 I’m not really sure where the problem is.

 I’m not entirely clear what/where the problem is.

 I can’t really see/say what the problem is.

 It isn’t very clear/obvious what’s wrong.

 It’s difficult to say/identify what the fault is.

 Let’s ask the technician.

 We’ll have to ask someone who knows.

 We need an expert to help us.

 I’ll ask for some technical help.

 We’ll have to wait until this is fixed.

 We can’t do anything until someone has fixed/solved/seen to the

problem.

 Is there a problem?

 Are you having difficulties?

 What seems to be the trouble/matter/problem?

  We seem to have run into a problem.

 There’s something wrong with the equipment.

 It isn’t working properly.

 I can’t make it/get it to work.

 Please be patient.

 This’ll take a few moments, I’m afraid.

 This hopefully won’t take very long.

 Thank you for your patience.

 Do/Try to bear with me.

 Maybe I could try this.

 I’ll just try pressing this button/adjusting the settings.

 Let’s try changing the/a new tape.

 Check that everything is plugged in (properly).

 What about swapping/changing desks/headphones.

 This has got me puzzled/confused.

 Does anyone have any suggestions?

 Do any of you know anything about camcorders?

 Is that any better?

 Has that made any difference?

 How about now?

 Is that an improvement?

 Good, everything’s working now.

 OK, we can carry on/continue now.

 All solved!

 That’s fixed it.

 Problem over.

 There we are (at last). It’s OK again.

  Thank goodness (for that)!

 That’s a relief.

 I’m glad that’s fixed/sorted out.

 Well, that was a bit of a mystery.

Always apologize when things are not working properly:

 I’m sorry about that/the mix-up/the delay.

 I’m sorry this isn’t working.

 Sorry to have to disappoint you.

 I do apologize for this.

When the problem cannot be solved you can say:

 It’s a shame we can’t (seem to) fix that now.

 It’s a pity this won’t work now.

 There’s nothing we can do about it.

 There’s nothing to be done.

 That’s life.

 That’s the way it goes.

 We’ll have to do something else.

 Have a hard time connecting

 Have a sound issue

 You’re breaking out

 Your voice is lagging / cutting out

 Sounded like … was cutting out (lost his connection)

 sound like someone has just joined us

 Am I frozen ?

 We lost …

 Lose connection / slow / not stable

 Stay put / sit still

 Face the camera

 Stop making faces

 Speak up / raise your voice

 Put on your headset

 Check/adjust your audio/video settings

 Put someone on mute

 The screen is blurry

 I had to change some settings

 Reconnect

 We can hear your echo…

 Use only one device

 Feel free to raise hand or send a message to the chat box if you have
any questions

 When computers stop working: my lap is down / has crashed/ frozen

 The screen is frozen / keeps flickering

 The mouse isn’t responding / the mouse cursor has disappeared

 Need to restart

 Hold on/hang on