English expression said in class

[oumhanni]

Often, there will be a “register monitor” which is a student nominated to deliver the register from the classroom to the school office. This is a big responsibility but most students love to do it!
Often after the register, there might be a bit of noise as students are excited, so then the teacher may gently use this phrase…

[oumhanni]

2. Is everybody ready to start?

This is something the teacher would say at the start of the lesson, mainly to gain attention.
Often after the register is taken, students begin talking and chatting about what they did yesterday or something they think is more interesting than school! So, the teacher saying “Is everybody ready to start?” is not really asking polite question but rather “Can everyone pay attention, please? I’m starting the lesson”.

[oumhanni]

Other examples of this include:

• I’m waiting…
• Settle down please.
• We won’t start until everyone is quiet.
• Okay, that’s enough…

And if that doesn’t work, the teacher will say politely:

[oumhanni]

3. Fingers on lips!

Another one that’s used to keep people quiet!
Teachers may say this if there is an argument or a group of children that are making too much noise in the class. It’s a way to cut through this noise and make sure everyone knows the teacher is in charge. The idea then is that the children literally put their fingers on their lips to stop them speaking over each other.
Then maybe the teacher will encourage the class to share ideas together about what they did at the weekend or something interesting that they have to show the class. They can do this in a couple of ways or by using a couple of activities.

[oumhanni]

4. Homework excuses

In the morning, students usually have to hand in their homework so that it can be graded by the teacher. This is definitely one for the students, excuses for not having done homework!

[oumhanni]

Here are 5 of the best:

[oumhanni]

• The dog ate my homework. – I don’t know if this has ever actually happened, but its the classic excuse for all students.
• I did it but I left it at home. –This is a brilliant excuse because the student can pretend to be surprised and also claim to be a good student having done the assignment!
• I left it in my mum’s car. – Same as above, although the danger here is that the teacher may call your mum to ask her to bring the homework that isn’t complete!
• I didn’t know it was due today. – An excuse that sometimes works, but usually not in my experience. The student claims that they thought it was due on a different day (usually after the weekend) to gain some more time.
• I have a note from my parents. – Fantastic, as long as you actually have the note to backup the excuse! This is usually a lie.

[oumhanni]

If you are a teacher, you need to be ready to see these excuses on a regular basis! And if you’re a student, well maybe it’s time to start doing the homework (or to start thinking of some better excuses).

[oumhanni]

1. Show and Tell (showtime)

Show and Tell is a part of the class where students bring in something that is special or important to them and talk about it to the rest of the class. This helps students that may be shy or timid to participate and contribute to class discussion whilst gaining confidence.

[oumhanni]

This is an exercise generally used with younger students, but I have also used it with older, more mature students to get them talking and asking each other questions.
It can also be highly entertaining!
Here is an example of a show and tell dialogue:

[oumhanni]

Mrs Smith: Now, Ben has brought in something to show the class! Ben, what have you brought for us?
Ben: I have brought my dad’s guitar. I love listening to him play it. It has six strings and it is brown.
Mrs Smith: That’s great! Can you play the guitar?
Ben: A little bit, my dad teaches me a new song every month so that I can play little bits of music!
Mrs Smith: Fantastic, thank you for sharing Ben!

[oumhanni]

This can be done in many different ways. You can ask students to show and tell as a whole class, or you can ask three people each day to prepare something, that way it won’t take up the whole lesson.

[oumhanni]

2. Circle Time

This is very similar to Show and Tell and also helps to get students talking!
It is a very good way to facilitate a group discussion and would be fantastic with all ******** learners of all ages. In Circle Time, the class sits in a circle and will take it in turns to speak about a chosen subject.
The thing is, they can only speak whilst they are holding an object and when a student does not have the object, they cannot speak. This helps to keep people focused and listening to each other.

[oumhanni]

3. Find a partner/get into groups of (number)

These phrases are used for group work and to get students to work together.
Some classes have predetermined groups to make sure that friends aren’t always together.

[oumhanni]

Mrs Smith: Now, class, get into groups of three please! We’re going to do an activity.
Ben: Miss, can I work with James and Ricky?
Mrs Smith: Of course you can, as long as your group is a group of three, it’s not a problem!
Ben: Yay, thanks miss!