Classroom Phrases in English for Teachers and Students
There
is so much vocabulary to be used in an English-speaking classroom along with
phrases as well!
Teachers have many
different ways of telling students to do things and also of interacting with
their students in a social way. In addition, students have their own phrases to
communicate with each other and also to talk to their teacher.
This article will
discuss a few examples of phrases used in the classroom. These phrases are
mostly familiar to me from British classrooms but I have tried to add American
variations as well.
We will go through
the school day in chronological order, so it is an easy step-by-step guide:
1. Beginning
the day
2. Activities
3. Lunchtime
4. End of the day (home time)
Here we
go!
Beginning the day
It’s the morning
and things are crazy at school, friends are sitting down chatting and teachers
are organising for the day ahead. We start first with the register:
1. Register
(role-call)
The teacher takes
(or ‘does’) a register every day to make sure they know who is present in the
class and who is absent. The teacher would initiate this process by saying
something like:
·
Now,
class, we are going to take (or ‘do’) the register.
At this point
students would have to be silent and respond only when their name is called
with “present” or “here”.
It is considered
impolite to answer with “Yep” or “Mhm” and
some schools even make students answer “Yes Sir/Miss”.
Also, the teacher
may use the register to ask students about previous absences or times when they
were not in class. Parents are usually required to inform the school about why
their child was not present, but they may also write a note in the student’s
“journal” or “contact book”.
It can also be a
time for the teacher to talk to students and ask them what they did at the
weekend or if they saw the big game on television last night.
Mrs Smith: Johnny?
Johnny: Here, Miss!
Mrs Smith: Did you
watch the Arsenal match last night? It was fantastic!
Johnny: Yes! It was brilliant Miss, I didn’t know you watched
football!
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…
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”.
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:
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.
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!
Here are 5 of the
best:
·
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.
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).
Activities
It’s time for the
first activities of the day! Everyone is ready to start learning and having
fun.
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.
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:
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!
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.
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 language
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.
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.
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!
Be careful, this
one can cause chaos as students are moving all over the place and often
teachers will start counting down from 10 to add a sense of urgency!
4. Come up to
the front and show the class!
Teachers can ask
students to come up to the front of the class for a variety of reasons but we
will focus on the good ones.
It can be an
honour for a student to go to the front! It means that your work is great or
you have done something really well, much better than the other children!
Here are a few
examples:
·
Come
up to the front and explain the problem to the class – this
is a reward for somebody who is doing well in class. They can explain it to the
students to make everyone understand it better.
·
Come
up to the front and write your answer on the board – This
can be fantastic for students because usually the board is reserved for the teacher’s
writing!
Sometimes if the
student does well, the teacher will tell the class to give them a round of
applause which means that they get clapped for their efforts! This is a great
feeling!
Lunchtime
Lunchtime!
Finally!
Before anything,
the teacher will check that everyone has their lunch because if not, then
he/she will need to get them some lunch.
1. Does
everyone have their lunch?
Followed
by…
·
Who
has a packed lunch? – A
packed lunch is a lunch that a student has brought. This will usually be
sandwiches and fruit with a few small treats.
·
Who
is having a hot dinner? – A hot dinner is provided by the school usually
for a small fee.
Lunchtime is a
great time of the day for students because (if the weather is good) they get to
go outside and eat their lunch whilst also playing sport or another type of
game.
There are lots of
possible games to play at lunchtime:
·
Sport
– football, rugby, basketball – Depending on the equipment
you have!
·
Tag – Everyone
runs around the playground, one person is “It” which means they have to try and
catch other people by chasing them and then touching them. The person that is
touched becomes “It” and they chase everyone else.
·
Catch – You
throw a ball to each other and try to catch it.
·
Dodgeball – More
American, but a game where you have to try and dodge (move out of the way) a
ball that is thrown at you!
Ben: Jamie, do you want
to play dodgeball when I’ve finished my sandwiches?
Jamie: No, everyone is playing tag! Then after we are
going to play football.
Ben: Okay! Let me finish my lunch and I’ll be there!
End of the day (home time)
After a few more
activities and lessons comes home time!
A child’s
favourite time of the day, time to go home! Here are some things that the
teacher may say:
1. Pack your
things away
This phrase can be
used to make students tidy up the classroom.
Often after an art
class or another class requiring a lot of equipment, students will have made a
mess. The teacher certainly does not want to tidy the class by themselves
so they ask the students to do it for them!
This usually
happens 5 minutes before the end of class and should be done very
quickly. To make this happen, the teacher will often offer a reward for
the quickest people to tidy up and sit down such as a sweet or a sticker.
Other examples of
this include:
·
Tidy
up time!
·
Tidy
your things away!
·
I
need the classroom spotless in 5 minutes!
There may be some
time left before the bell rings so the teacher will carry on talking…
2. Have you
had a good day?
A nice way to end
the day is to ask students if they have had fun at school or even What
did you learn today?
This can be an
excellent way to end things and to make sure that students are learning. It
also gives the students another opportunity to talk and express themselves!
Look at the
dialogue below:
Mrs Smith: Okay
children, it’s the end of the day! But before we go, Ellie, have you
had a good day?
Ellie: Um… Well I loved painting, I think I would like to be an artist
one day!
Mrs Smith: Great! You
are a really good artist! Now, Ben, what did you learn today?
Ben: Well, I learned that quadrilaterals are shapes with 4 sides.
Mrs Smith: Very good! That’s exactly right!
This makes sure
that the students go home happy and ready to tell their parents all about what
they have done today.
These are all
great phrases to use in a classroom environment!
What do you think?
Teachers, what
phrases do you like best?
Students, which
phrases would you be scared to hear?
If you have any
additions please add them in the comments below!
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