Page 150 - Teaching English at Primary Level: From Theory into the Classroom

Inside the Language Classroom

we would be able to understand what the teacher is saying if she also
cups her hand behind her ear. Bradshaw (2005) also points out that it is
useful to make the gestures exaggerated and larger than life. Another
useful advice is to use or point to objects and make use of the context,
suchasholdingupandshowingthethingswhichthechildrenwillneed
for a task (a pencil, scissors, glue, etc.) and at the same time giving the
instruction orally.
• Give Instructions One Step at a Time. Children in the first grades cannot
concentrate for long periods of time and this is even harder for them
when they have to process information they hear in a foreign language.
It is therefore advisable to break down the instructions into easily man-
ageablesteps.Onlywhen theyhavecompletedthefirst part ofthetask,
aretheyreadytoproceedtothesecondone.Itisalsoagoodideatofirst
organise the pupils into the seating or grouping arrangement planned
and only then, when we have everybody’s attention, start giving the
instructions for the task. Another useful tip is to hand out the materials
after giving instructions as pupils get easily distracted.
• Make Sure Pupils Understand What to Do. Teachers generally check for
understanding by simply asking ‘Do you understand?’ However, this
is not a particularly effective strategy as pupils may just nod without
really understanding. As Scrivener (2011) points out, it is important to
get concrete evidence from the pupils that they know what is required,
such as getting one or two students to explain to the others what they
have to do in their mother tongue.

By giving instructions in the target language, the teacher creates a natu-
ral and purposeful context in which the pupils are constantly exposed to the
TL. However, in order for the teacher to efficiently exploit instructions for lan-
guage acquisition, it is advisable to pre-plan the instructions carefully, think
about how to modify and adjust the language to be used, and systematically
organise every step.

Corrective Feedback
Generally speaking, corrective feedback refers to the teacher’s response to
students’ utterances which contain a linguistic error. Its main purpose is to
help learners correct their language use by showing them which responses
are correct and which are incorrect and provide them with a model of cor-
rect language (Cameron, 1996). Several authors have argued that corrective
feedback plays an important role in the learners’ progress in learning an FL

150