You are on page 1of 25

CLASSROOM VOCABULARY

TEACHERS SENTENCES

"This is not a democracy. This is a dictatorship!"


"it works if you work it Think smart, Not hard! Life ain't easy. You'll are two young to have a life. "Are you going to be my out-standing today? So what? Ignorance is temporary but stupidity is forever No eating in class! Do it right, do it light. Do it wrong, do it long. "Please take that out of your mouth." "Do we need to go talk to your classroom teacher about your behavior?" "Did you wash your hands?" "I'd prefer that you use Kleenex rather than your finger." "Remember, let's try to do our personal best." Be quiet! If you mouth is opened, your ears are closed "I'm going to count to three..."

God forbid if I teacher rhymes on accident because they usually say: "I'm a poet and don't even know it." "When you get your master's degree in English, come back to see me and we will discuss this." "All righty then..." "A chair was made for sitting on, not your desk." "Don't piss on my back and tell me it's raining." "So...essentially...

Classroom phrases
Add more words. Are the statements right or wrong? Ask questions. Can I go to the toilet? Can I help? Can I open the window, please? Can I say it in (German ...)? Check your answers. Choose two questions. Collect information about... Colour the picture. Compare your words with your partner. Complete the sentences with words from the text. Complete the text. Copy the chart. Copy the table into your folder. Correct the mistakes. Correct the wrong sentences. Divide the text into five parts. Do you agree with ... Draw a room. Explain... Fill in the right words. Find a partner. Find arguments. Find the questions to the answers. Finish the story. Give good reasons for your opinions. Guess... How might the story go on? Imagine... Listen to the CD. Look at the pictures. Make notes. Make sentences. Make up more conversations with a partner. Match the sentence parts.

Match the sentences to the questions. Move your counter. Open your textbook at page 25. (workbook, folder, diary) Put in the right verbs. Put the sentences in the right order. Put the verbs in the right groups. Read out loud. Remember... Sorry, I haven't got my homework. Sorry? Suppose... Swap your folder with your partner. Talk about pets. Talk to your partner. Tell your form. Throw the dice. Use ... What is the story about? What lines from the text go with the pictures? What's this in English? Write a story. Write about Peter. Write the sentences in the right order.

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 Verb Preposition Comma Apostrophe Adjective Pronoun Semicolon Hyphen Colon Question mark Quotations Dash Noun Adverb Appreciate. You're welcome. Pardon? Please. No, thank you. I'm sorry.

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 word. Ready? Are you ready? That's correct. Let's go/start. One more time. Listen carefully. That's right. Perfect. Looks good. Excellent.

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? How should I pronounce "blah, blah, blah"? How do you spell "blah, blah, blah"? How do you spell that? How do you pronounce this word? What does USA stand for? Could you explain a little bit more about that?

What do you mean? I don't understand the homework.

What is the difference between "a" and "b"? Just a minute/second/sec.

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?

All the expressions weve gathered here may be used with younger or older children and have been divided into categories according to context, so that you pick and choose according to your needs. Beginning the class Build up a set of routines at the beginning of the class. Students will grasp this language very easily. Hello! Hi! Good morning! Good afternoon! Take off your jackets, please. Close the door, please. Write the date on the board, please. Take out your books, please. Give out the books, please. Alicia, share your book with Laura, please. Exercise one at the top of page three. Activity two at the bottom of page three. Which exercise are we doing? Work in groups of three. Work in pairs. Work on your own. Have you done your homework? Juan isnt here today. He is not well. Have you got a pencil? Can I borrow your rubber? Can you lend me a rubber, please?

Ready? Lets start. David, you start. What did you say Juan? Just a moment. Wait a minute. Hold on a second. Classroom materials Encourage the use of English when referring to classroom materials. They are a great source of new vocabulary for all content areas. A sheet of paper. Has everyone got a sheet of paper? The textbooks. Put your textbooks in your schoolbags. The activity books. The activity books are on the shelf. The workbook. Pepe, collect in the workbooks, please. A flashcard. The flashcards go in that box. A poster. Help me stick this poster on the wall. A dictionary. Do you need a dictionary? Your picture dictionary. Draw it in your picture dictionary. The calendar. Hang the calendar next to the door. The weather chart. Lets all look at the weather chart. The chalk. A piece of chalk. The chalk is finished. Some plasticine. Get some plasticine and make an animal. The crayons. The crayons are Lauras.

Felt tips. The felt tips are dry. Coloured pencils. Colour it in with your coloured Pencils A pair of scissors. Has anyone seen my pair of scissors? Some pots of paint. The pots of paint are empty. Paintbrushes. Clean your paintbrushes. A rubber. Theres a rubber on the floor. Glue. Pass the glue, please. A piece of sellotape. Cut me a piece of sellotape, please. A drawing pin. A tack. Careful, theres a tack on the floor. A stapler. Be careful with the stapler. Staples. Dont touch the staples. A ruler. A ruler is for measuring. A cloth. Clean the table with the cloth. The puppet. The puppet only speaks English. The coloured rods. I cant find the coloured rods. A mask. Lets make a mask. Giving instructions and asking for information Instructions are one of the most important language functions in any bilingual setting. Please repeat after me. Could you repeat that, please? First listen, and then repeat. Say it with me.

Give me some more examples, please. Do you understand? Alicia, read the next sentence. Can you read this word? Look at exercise two. Can you read the instructions, please? Keep going. Can you speak louder? What does . mean? Can you spell it, please? How do you spell , please? Is this correct? Can you write it on the board, please? Whats the English word for ? Could you repeat that, please? Im sorry, I dont understand. What page are we on? Shall I go on? Can we play a game? Can I see your exercises, please? Please do the following exercises. Has anyone got a spare pen/pencil/rubber? Lets practise that again. Who has finished? Come here, please. Go back to your seat. Look at the board. Listen to the cassette. Listen to me. Tell me the answer. Write the answers.

Read the question. Colour the picture. Cut it out. Draw a ... Point to the ... Show me your work. Put your pencils down. Watch the video. Say the whole sentence, please. Say it again, please. Say it in English, please! Say it more slowly. Copy these words into your notebooks. Dont start yet! You can start now. Come to the front, please. Correct your partners work. Put your hand up if you dont understand. Put your hand up if you know the answer. Fill in the gaps. Match the words and the pictures. Match the words to the pictures. Finish the exercise. Do the crossword on page seven. Look for the words. Unjumble the sentences. Lets play bingo/hangman. Can you all see? Is that right? Pull down the blinds, please. Turn off the tap. Flush the toilet and wash your hands. Copy me. Follow me.

Fold the paper. Stick it on the poster. Put it on the wall. Tie your shoe laces. Wipe your nose! Blow your nose! Use a hankie! Bless you! Hurry up! Hands up! Hands down! Controlling the class These expressions are among the first that students learn and start using among themselves spontaneously. Learners like to take on the teachers role and control other classmates. Please be quiet! Speak quietly! Cant you speak more softly? No noise, please. Stop chatting! Stop speaking! Whisper, dont shout! Silence! Shut up, will you? Please pay attention! Dont do that! Dont touch! Put that away! Calm down! Settle down! Sit still! Juan, stop bothering David! Stop playing with your pencil. Stop talking and watch the video. Stop talking and listen, please Action games Take the opportunity to play games outside the classroom. Playground language promotes the learning of social language.

Lets go to the playground. Lets go to the gym. Lets go outside. The basketball court. The football pitch. The water fountain. A bench. Make two groups. Stand in the middle. 013_020_2_90743:BEST 24/2/09 16:45 Pgina 1516 Dont cross the line. Stay behind the line. Get into line. Youre in! Youre out! Dont cheat! Its not fair! Its your turn. Its my turn. Sit on the ground. Stand side by side. Stand face to face. Stand back to back. Skip! Hop! Jump! Turn around! Take two small steps. Take two giant steps. Walk like an Egyptian! Shake your arms! Wiggle your fingers/toes/bottom! Tickle your tummy! Pull your ears!

Nod your head! Sit down! Stand up! Cross your arms. Lie on the mat. Sit cross-legged on the floor. Kneel on the floor. Make a circle. Hold hands. Wink your eye! Snap your fingers! Stamp your feet! Freeze! Board games Working co-operatively is a great way of making children talk and use the language while playing. Try to include board games in your weekly schedule and you will see how language grows in a natural way. The board. A square. A counter. A man. Roll the dice! Go forward/back two squares! Miss a turn! Take a card! Its your turn again. Here you are! Good luck! Hard cheese, better luck next time!

Cheat! We won Card games Card games are a great source of input as well as a wonderful way of working in groups. A pack of cards. Shuffle the cards! Deal out the cards! Turn over a card! Put the card face down/up! Snap! Me! Its my turn. Teacher, Pepes cheating! Stop cheating! Songs Needless to say most learners love singing songs in English. Why not accompany the songs with some extra expressions? The first/second verse. The first/last line. The chorus. Lets sing a song! Everybody join in. Everybody together. Just the boys. Just the girls! Listen carefully. Listen first, then sing. Do the actions! Copy me! 013_020_2_90743:BEST 24/2/09 16:45 Pgina 16Useful classroom expressions

17 Praise and correction Instead of just good and not very good here are some more expressions you can use from the start when praising or correcting students work. Brilliant! Excellent! Wonderful! Good! Good job! Very good! Great! Very well done! Yes, thats right. Thats it! Nice work! Yes! OK! Thats not right, try again. Not quite right, try again. Thats nearly right. Thats better! Today Im happy/not very happy with you. Ending the class Before your students leave get them ready for their next class and leave them with a positive message. Stop working! Its time to go. Its time for lunch. Its break-time. See you later! See you tomorrow. See you next week! See you on Monday! Put away your things! Books away! Clean up! Tidy up! Put it in the bin, please! Put on your jackets!

Clean the board, please. You worked really well today. We learned a lot today. Goodbye!/Bye-bye!/Cheerio! Enjoy your holidays! Have a nice weekend! And something else ... These expressions offer an excellent opportunity to teach students how to use fun English naturally! Couldnt you drag yourself out of bed this morning? Have you been playing truant? Hey! Wake up, your heads in the clouds! Stop your moaning! Watch what you are saying. Wash your mouth out with soap! Get your finger out! Dont be rude! Wipe that silly smile off your face! Whats so funny? Stop acting the clown! Dont go bananas! Dont be a rotter! Mind your own business! This is a madhouse! Youre driving me round the bend! Whats all the racket about?

Coming into the room The teacher coming into a room full of students "Can someone take this CD player and plug it in? Thanks." [hold it up as if you are offering it to someone, and look towards the socket or hold the plug and mime plugging it into something] "Can someone hold the door open for me?" [stop with the door supported on your back, then maybe make straining noises like you are trying to squeeze through] "Hi everyone. Just let me put my things down here and we'll get started." "Morning. Not many people here yet? / Where is everyone?" [gesture looking at empty seats and then as if searching for those people in the corners of the room] "Is this the right room? Mrs Andersen's class?/ Top set English?/ English club?" "Hello again. Mr Smithers is still sick"/ "Yes, (it's) me again!" The students coming in "Okay everyone, file in quietly and take a seat please" [use two arms to show the slowness and straight lines of the route into the room] "Upper Intermediate 1? Yes, this is the right class. Come (on) in." "Hi. Come in. Take a seat/ Sit anywhere you like/ Can you sit somewhere different from last week?/ "Can you sit near the front?" "Please put your homework into the tray as you come in"/ "Homework in the tray, everyone" "Please put your bags on your pegs/ in your desks/ on the back of your chairs/ on the stage/ in a pile by the door/ in your lockers" [mime putting or hanging the bag, then point at position] "We're going to do pairwork, so you need to sit closer to each other" [gesture two hands pressing something together]

"Sit in your usual teams/ the same teams as last lesson" "Boys on the right and girls on the left" [point at some boys, and then where they should be, etc] "Sit on the floor/ on the mats/ on the rug/ in the story corner" "Take a flashcard as you come in, they are for the first game" "Line up in order of age/ height/ the date of your birthday/ in alphabetical order" "Can the last person in close the door?" "As you come in, ask the next person their name and say 'Come in please' and 'Thank you'" [gesture hand coming from your mouth towards the other person, and then back from them to you] "Knock on the door and say 'Can I come in?'" [mime knocking with knuckles] "Entrance drill! Today's question is 'What colour is your bag?'" "Line up against the wall and then you can come in" [show the line where you want them to stand, and then mime squeezing up into that space]

Greetings "Okay everyone, stand up please. Jimmy, that means you too. Right. Good morning everyone/ Good morning class/ Good morning boys and girls/ Good morning children... Okay, just 'good morning' is right too, but I want you to say 'Good morning class. Good morning teacher.' like we practiced last week. Can you do that? Okay, one, two, three. Much better, but remember that the 'or' in 'morning' is a long sound, oooooooooor" [gesture something very long coming out of your mouth with your right hand] "Oooooor... Good. Moooooorning.... Okay, (that was) maybe a little too long, ha ha! Morning... Great. So, let's do the whole thing one more time from the start. Good morning class... Much much better. Okay, sit down please" "(Good) morning/ afternoon/ evening"/ "Hello/ Hi"

"Merry Christmas" "Happy New Year"

Introductions "My name is Mr/Mrs/Ms Kim. I'm your new English teacher/ I'm your English teacher this year/ this term/ today. (Can you ask me some questions, e.g. where I'm from and my free time?)" "I'll just introduce myself first" "I've got five lessons with you each week." "I'm covering for your usual teacher (today/ this week). He/ she has a cold" "I'm new to this school, so please be nice to me, ha ha!" "Your last teacher told me you are the best class, so I hope that is true!" "Can you all introduce yourselves to me?" "Can you tell me and the rest of the class two or three things about the person sitting next to you?" "Let's introduce ourselves, shall we?" "This is my name at the top of the board, it's pronounced..."

Taking the register (= roll call) "Who is absent today? / Who isn't here today?" [looking around class at/ for empty chairs whilst holding class list in hand or miming doing so] "Oh, John's away. Does anyone know why? Is he ill?"/ "What's the matter with Stefano today? / What's wrong with Jim today?"/ "Where's Tony? He didn't look very well yesterday, so maybe he's sick./ In this weather,

maybe he's gone to the beach." / "Does anyone know where Hyo Young is?/ Any idea why Hyo Young is absent?" "So everyone is here except..." "So, only two people away." "Let's take the register."/ "Let's check to see who is here." "Remember to answer 'I'm here'" "Is everybody here?"/ "Is anyone away?"/ "No one absent today?" "So, Su Young isn't back yet. Does anyone know when she'll be back/ what has happened to her/ if she's dropped out of the class?" "There are a few empty chairs. Who is missing?" "Not many people here today. Is there a bug going round?" "Oh yes, Juanes said he was going to miss this lesson, didn't he? Can any remember where he said he was going?" "Let's see if everyone is here" "Listen while I call your names" "Shout out 'present'/ 'here' if you are here" "No? Is he/ she absent today?" "Let's all count to see if everyone is here - girls first, then boys." [mime counting on fingers] "Who's the class monitor this week? Rocky? Rocky, can you count how many people are here please?"

Initial chitchat "How are we all today?"/ "How are you (today)?" / "How are things?" / "How's life?"

"Did you have any trouble getting here? I heard there were problems on the Central Line" "You all look freezing. Is it still snowing outside?/ How's the weather outside now?" "(Did you have a) busy day at work?" "I see we have a few new faces. Can you briefly introduce yourselves to the class?" "Long time no see, Julietta. How was your holiday?/ Does anyone have any questions for Julietta about her holiday?" "(Did you have a) good weekend? Did anyone do anything different/ interesting/ exciting?/ John, you said you were going to.... How was it?" "Did you enjoy your holiday?" "Did anyone notice my haircut/ tan/ sunburn/ broken arm/ new suit? Any questions (about my evening/ weekend)?" [point at noticeable thing] "Vlad, you wanted to ask me a question. Can you ask it now?/ Can you ask that question to everyone in the class?" "You (all) look tired/ hot/ cold" "Is it hot/ cold/ humid/ snowing/ raining outside (at the moment)?" [mime rain or snow falling from sky, fanning yourself, or shivering] "Are you (all) feeling better today?" "(Have you )had a haircut?" [mime scissors with index and middle finger cutting hair] "(We are all) dressed up smart today, aren't we? (Is there) any special reason?" "I was sorry to hear about..." "Did you hear about...?" "Are you looking forward to...?"

"I can hear quite a lot of sniffing/ sniffling. Is there a cold going round/ does everyone have a cold?"

Waiting to start "I'm waiting for you to be quiet/ to settle down/ We won't start until everyone is quiet." [cross arms and look impatient, maybe tapping foot] "Please stop talking and be quiet" / "(Can everyone please) settle down so we can start." [arms out with palms down, moving slowly up and down] "(Everyone be) quiet please!" [index finger in front of lips, or zip across lips with thumb and index finger] "Okay, I'm glad you're excited, but let's calm down a little, shall we?" "Yes, okay, we'll play the Stations game, but you have to sit down quiet and then doing the normal greetings first." "I'm still hearing some noise at the back"/ "What's going on back there?" [stretch your neck and/ or stand on toes and look in that direction] "We have the same thing every week. What am I waiting for?... For you to be quiet, that's right." "They'll be plenty of time for speaking/ games once the class has started." "... or would you prefer to start by checking your homework instead?"

Getting started/ getting down to business "So, let's get started, shall we?" [maybe clapping hands together once] "I could talk about that all day, but I think we should study some English, shouldn't we?" "Are you ready (to start/ to learn English)?"

"English time! (No more Korean!)" [point at poster or those words written on the board if you have them] "Is everybody ready to start?" "I hope you are all ready for your English lesson." "I think we can start now." "Let's begin!"/ "Let's start!"/ "Let's rock and roll!" "Now that everybody is here..." "I was going to start the class by..., but it's too hot/ you all look too tired/ there aren't enough people/ the equipment isn't working. So, let's move straight onto..." "I don't think we need a warm up game today, do we?" "Can anyone remember what we did last week/ in the last lesson/ this morning? "I told you to prepare something for the beginning of this lesson, didn't I? It looks like some people have completely forgotten about it. Oh well, your loss. The people who did do it will find the next part really easy" "Whose turn is it to choose the starting game/ song/ the language point for the ball game?"

Unusual starting tactics "Catch!" [really throwing something or miming it] "Is no one going to ask me what I'm doing?" "The first person to the front of the room gets a sweet/ doesn't have to do any homework tonight" "What's this?" "One point to Sebastian for being quiet"

"Who wants a sweet?"

Stating your aims "Now I'd like you to continue asking and answering questions about your weekend/ your hobbies, but using the structure on the board/ but as a game" "I'd like to start the lesson by revising what we did last lesson/ seeing how much you remember from last week" "I'd like to start the lesson with a pop quiz/ a warmer/ some revision/ some pairwork speaking" "The aims of today's lesson are.../ are at the top of the board" "Today, we are going to..." "As I explained last week, today is the day for the final test/ presentations/ course feedback questionnaires" "Today, we're going to do something a bit different/ unusual/ strange. This is to.../ Why we are doing it will become clear later on." /"This may seem a little unusual, but it's all part of the plan!" "Today/ In this lesson/ This week we'll learn how to ... / we will study.../ we will practice ... (from last week)" "The aim of this class is (to) ..." "I know we don't usually start by checking the homework/ by doing a song, but we are going to move onto..."

Lateness "Where have you been?" [gesture tapping watch or look at clock] "We started ten minutes ago. What have you been doing?"

"What time does the class start?... And what time is it now?" "Sorry, we are in the middle of a listening exercise. Can you wait outside for two minutes until we finish?" "Did you miss your bus?"/ "Are there still problems with the underground?"/ "Did you get stuck in traffic?"/ "Did you have problems getting a taxi (in the rain)?" "Did you oversleep?"/ "(Is your) alarm clock broken (again)?" "Don't let it happen again." "It's okay, but come in quickly/ quietly so we can get on with class" "Don't worry, but try to be on time next time" "You missed the progress test, so you'll need to do that another time" "You can do the part you missed for homework" "Can someone explain what we are doing to Jose Maria?" "Where were we?"/ "Right, let's get back to/ get on with..."

Tests "Today is the test, remember. So, I want you to come in without speaking and take out just one pencil and one eraser. No books and no pieces of paper. Got it? How many books are you allowed?... No, Sabrina, not a hundred. Yes, okay, a thousand, very funny. Seriously. How many books?... Yup, zero, none, nowt. When you've got your pencil and eraser out of your bag, put your bags at the back of the classroom. Ready? Quietly, come in one at a time." "Any questions before the test starts?" "Today's the test, but we'll do something else for 10 or 15 minutes to give other people a chance to get here"

Things to think about/ Discussion questions for teachers


What stages above wouldn't you bother doing in your classes, e.g. initial chitchat in a large class, low level class or very young class? What order do you usually do the stages that you do? Could you do them in a different order? Which of the phrases in each of the stages you do use above is the right language level for your students? Is each one also suitable for their age, polite enough etc? If not, how could you change it? Pick at least 5 sentences above that are totally unsuitable for your classes. Why are they unsuitable? What kinds of classes and situations might they be suitable for? What could you say instead in your classes? How could you make each of those phrases easier to understand, e.g. what gestures could you use and what language could you add to your syllabus? Once your students get used to that phrase, how can you make it more complicated in order to boost their level but still making sure they understand? Is there any way of getting students to use the same phrases with each other? Do you do any of the stages above in L1 rather than English? What do you think students' reactions to you switching to English would be? How could you make that transition easier? Many of the sentences above have natural conversational grammar rather than traditional written grammar, e.g. "Alarm clock broken?", which a native speaker is probably more likely to say rather than "Is your alarm clock broken?" What do you think about using these kinds of sentences? There are also some examples of more difficult and idiomatic words and phrases like "nowt" and "How are things?" that students would probably still understand from the context. How do you feel about using these in your classes? If you use natural sentences at natural speed students will hopefully learn to guess the meaning from context, to accept not understanding every word, and to remember language in longer stretches rather than word by word. They might, however, never understand what the individual words are and might never be able to tie it in with the language on the syllabus. Which of these are more important for your students, do you think? Some people like to start English class in exactly the same way as the other classes so that students take it seriously, and other teachers like to start it in a more relaxed and friendly way to set the atmosphere that they need for an interactive, communicative classroom. Which thing is more important to you? Is there any way of combining the two things?

Read more at http://www.usingenglish.com/articles/classroom-language.html#X0JQyVaS811hx764.99

You might also like