a) asking them check questions – for example, for a roleplay : OK, if you’re student A put your hands up … Right …who are you? And what’s your problem? And who is student B?
b) asking them to repeat back to you the instructions. Don’t choose the strongest person in the group to do this. S/he is the one most likely to have understood and your check needs to be directed to the students who probably haven’t.
c) asking two students to demonstrate the activity in front of the class, or for a written exercise by eliciting the answers to the first two examples.
d) not giving instructions at all but asking students to look at the activity and tell you what they think they have to do. This can be useful for activity types which are already known the students.
10. As soon as the students start the activity, go around quickly to each pair or group just to check they are on task. Don’t stop to help or monitor one group until you have checked them all. If only one group has not understood, then go back and help. If several groups are off track, then stop the activity and explain again, using the students who have understood to demonstrate to the others.
