How do we start a new activity with our students? Well, clearly one of the important aspects to consider is about giving directions. Our directions are what tell the learners what we need to do for the next task and can help bring some sense of logic to the lesson being taught.
Take for example, if I just threw several handouts at you, would you know which ones to do or how to do them? Probably not, but if you did you'd likely spend lots of time trying to sort through them first, or give up on them at some point. This is why we, as teachers, should take our directions very seriously. Avoid situations like these:
In fact, one of the biggest takeaways for me from the sessions that I helped co-host with Svitlana Bulkina was something that she said in the second week. She pointed out that she has a 7-word limit for giving directions to an activity. While, as a teacher, I think I've been quite good at giving directions, this gave me something to consider and takeaway for my own teaching in the future. Keep it simple, short, and concise. Make sure that the words you are using are all necessary and (of course) that it's grammatically accurate.
For example, instead saying, "I'd like you all to open your books to page 95, please," we could instead say, "Open your books to page 95." That was only 6 words. By using the imperative, we keep our directions short and are less likely to confuse our students from the very beginning.
Do we really need Instruction-Checking Questions?
Instruction-Checking Questions (or ICQs for short) are questions that we ask learners to make sure that they've understood what and/or how they are supposed to do a task. An example follows:
Match these words with these definitions.
Do this alone.
Check in pairs when you finish.
What do you do with these words? (Match them)
Should you work alone first? (Yes)
Do you work in pairs after? (Yes)
If you've already had a conversation with me on this subject before, you might have guessed that when it comes to questions like these, I do NOT believe they are necessary. If anything, these questions will just end up wasting valuable time that your learners can spend actually doing the task. And why should you tell the learners to check in pairs after? Perhaps you could prompt the learners to begin checking in pairs while monitoring and seeing that they have finished the task.
When I first started my teaching, I felt that I needed to ICQs because that's what "good teachers" did. While it's true that they help break down complicated questions and clarify any directions that were misunderstood, they also cause problems with regard to time and also logic. Either get rid of the ICQs or elicit the directions from the students. For example:
Look at page 95.
Look at exercise 5.
What do you need to do? (Match [the words])
Good. Work alone for 3 minutes.
Later...
Now check your answers together.
It seems to me that this was a much more productive set of directions. Usually with students (unless they are starting at the very beginning) will probably know what a matching task looks like. By eliciting the directions from the learners, you can keep your classroom more student-centred since they will be the ones giving the directions.
Of course another option is just to give an example of the task before sending them on their way to complete the task on their own. This is why textbooks usually have the first one done - so even if a teacher completely fails at giving adequate directions, his/her learners can still have a fighting chance to understand what they need to do in the task. Keep this in mind if you are creating your own exercises and/or handouts for students.
ICQ Pitfalls
As I've already stated previously, I use ICQs very sparingly and usually only when I'm eliciting the directions from the learners about what they think they need to do. Another reason I avoid ICQs is because they can be used in a very illogical way that detract from the lesson in a negative way. Look at this example and see if you can spot the problem:
You are a police officer investigating a crime.
Ask me questions.
Now, are you a golfer?
A question like this will most likely confuse the student. Why are you asking me if I'm a golfer? What even is a golfer? Again, it's likely that the student has done a role play during a lesson before. It would be much more effective to just hand out a card with the role on it. Here's another example:
Read the text and answer the questions.
Now, do you run around the classroom?
Having taught a class that was A1-A2 of Young Learners, I could tell you exactly what would happen. Students will probably misunderstand your question as a new piece of instruction. Then you're in for a real problem. This, I can say, is yet another reason to avoid these ICQs entirely.
Conclusion
ICQs can be useful for higher level students that are mainly adults, but if you're teaching beginners or young learners (no matter their level), I would avoid ICQs like the plague. Instead use that 7-word limit mentioned previously and break the instructions into steps that you can give at the appropriate time.
You can also find a similar viewpoint from Teacher Trainer, Jo Gakonga, in the video below.
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