CLASSROOM LANGUAGE Asking Questions

Here is a list of some of the most common phrases used for asking questions in the classroom. Learn the phrases and use them often! Asking for something Asking about words Can I have a pen, please? Do you have a pen for me? May I have a pen, please? Asking to repeat Could / Can you repeat that, please? Could / can you say that again,

What's "(the word)" in English? What does "(the word)" mean?

please? How do you say "(the word in your language)" in Pardon me? English? How do you spell "(the word)"? How do you pronounce "(the word)"? Where's the stress in "(the word)"?

Apologizing Excuse me, please. I'm sorry. Sorry about that. Sorry I'm late.

Asking for help I don't understand. Can you help me, please? Is this right / wrong?

Saying Hello and Goodbye Good morning / afternoon / evening! Hello / Hi How are you? Goodbye Have a good weekend / day / evening / time!

Taken from http://esl.about.com/library/beginner/bl_commonphrases.htm retrieved 15 may 2012

Classroom Language
Submitted by admin on 2 April, 2010 - 11:55 TeachingEnglish - Classroom Language is a programme of in-service training to help teachers of English use English with more confidence in the classroom. In many countries in the world the demand for English language education has outstripped the capacity to provide fully trained English teachers. A significant number of teachers of English round the world are teaching with low levels of English language competence and professional training, and this can impact on their confidence and ability to teach effectively. TeachingEnglish - Classroom Language provides a core resource of materials for programmes developing the English classroom language skills of EL teachers. The focus is on English for the classroom. Training aims to develop participants' confidence and skills in using more English in their lessons, and gives them opportunities to reflect on and develop their ELT methodology. The principle behind the materials is that development begins with what the teachers actually do in the classroom. The teacher training materials are intended to be delivered by local trainers, who will be trained to

deliver the workshops and to adapt and add to the materials in response to the specific local circumstances of teachers. Some discussion activities may also be run in the local language to encourage a better level of debate. The training materials have been developed by British Council materials developers and qualityassured by external experts. The training programme has three elements:

A programme of 5 3-hour trainer-training workshop plans to prepare local trainers to deliver Classroom Language training A programme of 10 3-hour teacher-training workshop plans for teachers of English with less than CEF B1 level of English who wish to improve their classroom English language skills A programme of 5 3-hour mentor-preparation workshop plans to prepare mentors to support teachers of English involved in the Classroom Language programme Each workshop has notes for the workshop leader and worksheets for the participants. The training workshops for teachers deal with the following topics:

Starting and Finishing a Lesson Presenting New Language Giving Instructions Asking Questions and Eliciting General Classroom Management Correcting Learners Developing Confidence in using English in the Classroom Pronunciation Giving an Accurate, Clear Spoken Model for Learners Using L1 in the English Classroom The materials are designed to be used flexibly according to the local context. They can be:

Delivered as an intensive course, or as a semi-intensive course; and as regular sessions over a longer period, or as individual stand-alone workshops Delivered in any order, according to the needs and wants of participants Adapted and/or added to by local trainers to suit the specific contexts they are working in Have a look at some sample Classroom Language materials for the trainers and teachers below. (You must be logged in to access these materials). The full course may be available through your local British Council. Contact your local British Council to see if this course is available. If it is not available, you can express interest in the course using the Contact us form. We will collect this information for market research purposes and may pass on your details to your local office if this course becomes available in the future.

Taken from http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/training-courses/classroom-language retrieved 15 may 2012

Classroom Language
Russell Stannard

. Understanding the theory

The more that classroom language is used during an English lesson, the less the students will need you to use L1 (the studentsfirst language). Teaching and using classroom language during English lessons will make the lessons more authentic. Classroom language often occurs in an English class. Language such as Repeat that, please and Open your books, please is very natural. When students are exposed to this language frequently, they will eventually be able to produce it themselves. If classroom language is often used, it is quickly absorbed by the students and becomes part of their natural vocabulary. Students, and teachers, can use classroom language. If, for example, the students are working in pairs, it is useful to teach them expressions like, Its my / your turn and Whose turn is it? It is important to teach both the classroom language the students have to understand as well as language they need to produce. Students need to be taught language they can use when talking to you e.g. Can you repeat that, please? How do you say ... in English? and Thank you. Teach the students the language they need to be able to speak to you in English. Classroom language needs to be a regular feature of the English lesson. This language needs to be introduced over a number of lessons so that by the end of the term / academic year, the students have learned a significant amount. Always try to use gestures to explain the meaning rather than using L1. Introduce classroom language regularly and use gestures to show what this language means. Once you have introduced new classroom language, always use it in the lessons and make sure the students use it when they speak to you. Dont just tell the students what to say at the appropriate time. Make sure the students practise the new classroom language.

. Practical ideas for introducing classroom language

Put a large piece of paper or card on one wall of the classroom. Label it Classroom language. As you teach the students new classroom language, add the new sentence(s) to the list. It will allow the students to see this language easily. When you teach the students new classroom language, get them to practise it. If you want them to practise, How do you say ... in language?, write five new words on the board that the students dont know. Then get the students to ask you, How do you say one of the new words in Chinese? Do similar examples with the remaining words. If you are teaching the students, Can you repeat that, please?, move around the classroom, point to things and say, How do you say that in English?. When the students answer, pretend not to understand and say, Can you repeat that, please? Write some verbs in the present simple tense on the board and tell the students to find out the past simple tense of those verbs. They should ask, What is the past simple form of verb? Write some words on the board that the students are familiar with, point to one and ask, How do you pronounce this? Play an imperative game by getting the students to follow your instructions. Then they can continue the activity in pairs. Here are some example instructions:
Point to the window / door, please. Stand up / Sit down, please. Touch your book / pen / ears, please. Clap your hands, please. Draw a circle / the number 5 in the air, please. Open / Close your books, please. Turn round, please. Look at the board / door, please. Say Hello, please. Hold up 5 / 10 fingers, please. Put your bag/pen/ pencil on the floor / desk, please. Write ... in your books, please.

. Examples of classroom language (Note that this is not an exhaustive list)

The list in the table below is divided into three sections: Language for teacher-to-student communication for the teacher to use when he/she talks to the students

Language for student-to-student communication for the students when they communicate with each other Language for student-to-teacher communication for the students to use when they speak to the teacher
Language for teacher to student communication Open your books at page ..., please. Sit down / Stand up, please. Look at ..., please. Point to ..., please. Work in pairs / groups, please. Change roles, please. What s this / that? Spell ... for me, please? Come to the board, please. Write ..., please. Sit there / here, please. Change places, please. Colour it colour, please. Draw a(n) ...,please. Be quiet! Class, please say this sentence after me. Language for student to student communication It is my / your turn. Whose turn is it? You start. Ill start. You get one point. Youre the winner. Throw the dice, please. Can you repeat that, please? Can you speak louder, please? Colour it colour name, please. Draw a ..., please. Can I help you? Thank you (very much). Excuse me. Excuse me. May I have ..., please? May I borrow your ..., please? Language for student to teacher communication How do you say ... in English / Chinese? Can you repeat that, please? (I am sorry.) I do not understand. How do you spell it / that? How do you pronounce it / that? What is the past simple form of .? Can you write it on the board, please? What should I do? Which page is it on? What does this / that mean? Can you help me / us, please? Is this right / correct? teacher's name. I can't hear you. Im sorry. I forgot my book(s). Im sorry I m late. Thank you very much.

. Questions
1. Why is classroom language so important? What can it achieve in your English lessons? 2. What can you do to help students learn classroom language? 3. How should classroom language be taught? Have you ever done this? Give examples.

http://61.178.20.47/teta/chapter/1219909567718/qy/jxll/file/6.htm

Classroom language - Essential phrases

The language spoken in the lessons is English. These are the most important phrases you should know, understand, or be able to use. The Magic Words Excuse me. Thank you. Must Know Vocabulary Appreciate. You're welcome. Pardon? Please. No, thank you. I'm sorry.

Verb Preposition Comma Apostrophe

Adjective Pronoun Semicolon Hyphen

Noun

Adverb

Colon Question mark

Quotations Dash

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Greetings/Small Talk Good morning everybody. How are you today? What's up? Now, let's start today's lesson. Good afternoon everyone. Fine. Not much. Now, let's begin today's lesson. See you tomorrow/ Friday/next week. Not too bad. Have a nice/good day! Today we will be going to (blah, blah, blah).

General Clarity English Questions I don't understand. Are you saying "blah blah blah"? Could you explain it once more, please? Would you repeat that? Opposite meaning. How do you say "blah, blah, blah" in English? Can you say that again, please? What is the meaning of "blah, blah blah"? What do you call "blah, blah, blah" in English? What does "blah, blah, blah" mean? What does it mean?

Can you speak more slowly? Can you speak more loudly? What is the opposite meaning of " hot"? Would you mind speaking louder? Would you read the last sentence a little more slowly? What page?

"Cold" is the opposite meaning of "hot". It means the same thing.

What is another meaning for "Large" is another meaning "big"? for "big".

Teacher to Student Classroom English What's the problem? Here we go. Could you speak louder, please? I can't hear you. Now let's go/move on to... Please pronounce each Ready? Are you ready? That's correct. Let's go/start. One more time. Listen carefully. That's right. Perfect. Looks good. Excellent.

word. Student to Teacher Classroom English Can I come to your office? Would you pronounce the word "blah, blah, blah"? Would you give us an example? What do you mean? I don't understand the homework. How should I pronounce "blah, blah, blah"? How do you spell "blah, blah, blah"? How do you spell that? What is the difference between "a" and "b"? Just a minute/second/sec. How do you pronounce this word? What does USA stand for? Could you explain a little bit more about that? I didn't understand today's lesson. When is the homework due? Can I go to the restroom?

Excuse me, can I talk to you I'm sorry I am late. for a minute? Can I change seats?

http://www.weberberg.de/skool/essential-phrases.html