Ways of presenting
classroom
language
Classroom Language
STUDENT - TEACHER STUDENT - STUDENT
1 May I come in? 1 What do we have
to do now?
2 2
3 3
Fig.l
by Sally Gonçalves Introduction
Classroom language is the kind of
language necessary to communicate
and survive in the classroom without
having to use the student's mother
tongue. The exponents for classroom
language should be introduced
gradually and not all in one lesson.
Exponents which are most frequently
used in the classroom can be taught at
the very beginning of the course so that
students get the idea from the start that
the classroom is an English-speaking
environment.
Specific classroom language used for
certain activities should be taught
before such activities or when the need
arises. It is not really necessary to
devise special practice activities for
classroom language exponents as this
comes naturally during lessons and in
authentic situations. There are,
however, various ways in which
classroom language can be presented. I
will mention four, but many others can
be devised from them.
There is a list of classroom language
items at the end of this article which
you can use for reference. These items
should not be 'taught' but introduced in
one or all of the following ways.
1 From the student
Arrange your students into groups and
ask them to write down all the
expressions they can think of which
they might need to ask in the
classroom. They may write in their
own language at this stage if they do
not have the language to do it in
English. Exponents should be divided
into two categories - what they say to
the teacher and what they say to other
students. The teacher should give an
example on the blackboard before the
students begin (see Fig. 1). When the
students have done this, ask a member
of each group to read out their list. The
teacher asks other groups to help
correct/translate and then writes up the
exponent on the blackboard. If
necessary choral and individual drilling
can be done for each exponent, to give
students some practice in saying them.
After writing all the exponents, elicited
from the students on the blackboard,
ask them to copy these into their
notebooks and to start a Classroom
Language list. They should have
enough space to add to this list as more
classroom language is introduced
throughout the course.
Another alternative is to ask students to
make a wall chart with classroom
language. In this way new exponents
can always be added to it and you can
point to the chart to remind your
students to use English when they are
using their own language unnecessarily
in class.
2 From the teacher
Instead of asking the sutdents to draw
up their own list of classroom language,
the teacher writes up a list on the
blackboard or on an overhead projector
transparency. A clear explanation of
what classroom language is should be
given to students. Each exponent
should be shown to the students
gradually, drilled if necessary, and the
concept checked. When all the
exponents have been shown, the
students should be advised to copy
them into their notebooks to start a
classroom language section.
An alternative to the concept check,
and to give extra practice in the
language, is to ask individual students
to act out the situations either with the
teacher or with another student as
appropriate, e.g.
Exponent: May I come in ?
The Journal 5 5
 A student leaves the room, knocks at
the door and asks for permission to
come in. This is not a difficult activity
and can be fun, particularly as an ice-
breaking activity for the first lesson of
the course.
3 From a reading/writing task
This way of presenting classroom
language is only suitable for students
who already have at least some passive
knowledge of English (false beginners).
Absolute beginners would have
difficulty in understanding the task set.
Photocopy a tasksheet for each student.
The tasksheet should contain two
columns for students to fill in and all
the language exponents the teacher
wishes to introduce (see Fig. 2).
Arrange the students into pairs or
groups. They have to decide who
would have said each exponent, the
teacher, the student or both, and in what
situation. The situation column can be
done in their own language since the
objective here is to check that students
understand the exponent and not to
check how good their written English
is. When the students have finished,
the teacher goes through the task, drills,
explains and corrects where necessary.
Students can keep this tasksheet for
future reference and add to it as the
course progresses. This is a time-
saving activity as students do not have
to spend any time copying things into
their notebooks. When going through
the tasksheet for correction, the teacher
can also ask individual students to act
out each situation, as in the previous
exercise.
4 From real situations in the
classroom
At a later stage in the course the teacher
should take advantage of real situations
Tasksheet on classroom language
Exponents Who would have said it?
[filled in by the teacher] [filled in by students]
1 May I come in? 1 1
2 Can you pass me that book, please? 2 2
3 Open your books at page 27. 3 3
etc.
Fig. 2
5 6 The Journal
in the class to introduce and to add to
the classrooom language list. This can
be done just before an activity. The
teacher can predict what kind of
language the students will need and
therefore introduce it before setting up
the activity so that they get into the
habit of speaking English right from the
start.
For example, setting up a board/dice
game, present the classroom language
that students might need while playing
it:
Whose turn is it now?
I think it's your turn.
Who's going to start?
etc.
At other times it may be more
appropriate to fit in some classroom
language during an activity, or when
the teacher realises that students are
using certain exponents in Portuguese
all the time. At this point it is a good
idea to stop the activity and teach the
necessary exponent. Students will then
get the chance to practise it
immediately and in an authentic
situation.
If the teacher leaves it until the end of
the activity to introduce the exponent,
students will only make a note of it and
will not get any practice in using it,
which means they will almost certainly
forget all about it.
Conclusion
Many other activities can be derived
from these. It does not really matter
how classroom language is presented.
The important thing is to motivate and
encourage sudents to use it. It is the
first step to using real English in a real
situation.
[This article originally appeared in The
Journal. N°. 2, April 1993]
In what situation?
[filled in by students]
 CLASSROOM LANGUAGE EXPONENTS
STUDENT - TEACHER STUDENT - STUDENT

Excuse me. May I come in? Can you help me do this exercise?

Could you speak more slowly, please? Can you lend me a pen?

Can you repeat that please? I didn't understand. Have you done your homework?

Sorry. I don't understand that. What homework have we got to do?

How do you say 'mesa' in English? Sorry, I can't remember your name.

How do you spell 'table'? Can I share your book with you?

What's the difference between 'do' and 'did'? Where's Angela today?

I'm sorry, I've left my book at home. She's absent.

Excuse me. I'm sorry I'm late. What page is it on?

Can I leave a bit early today, please? Can you pass me that piece of paper, please?

Can you explain that again, please? Do we have to work in pairs?

9
I didn't have time to do my homework. I'm sorry. Who's going to start

It's time to go. Whose turn is it?

See you next lesson. It's mv turn now.

Have a nice weekend. Sorry, can you say that again'!

The same to you. Bye. Excuse me, that's my book.

Have you finished? What do we have to do now?

We have to compare our work.