KHAI THÁC kĩ NĂNG đưa RA và KIỂM TRA lời HƯỚNG dẫn của SINH VIÊN năm 4 TRONG TIẾT dạy VI mô của họ tại KHOA sư PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

ABSTRACT
This study aims at investigating how giving and checking instructions
techniques were applied by the fourth year students in their microteaching. To fulfill
this objective, both qualitative and quantitative methods with three research instruments
including questionnaires, interviews and observations were employed. The participants
of the study were 90 fourth year students at the Faculty of English Language Teaching
Education, University of Languages and International Study, Vietnam National
University. 7 out of 90 participants were randomly selected to be interviewed and then
observed in their microteaching. The most significant finding of the study was that
there was a paradox between what the student teachers reported and what they actually
performed in a micro-lesson. Added to this, there were some problems in giving and
checking instructions techniques applied by the participants in their microteaching.
These problems include language use, engaging students’ concentration and checking
understanding. The student teachers tended to use lengthy and polite language and they
all delivered handouts before instructing students. Also, a minority of them attracted
students’ attention. Moreover, instead of employing a particular technique for
instructions, the trainee teachers gave a chain of instructions at a time. Finally, without
checking to see whether their instructions were fully understood or not, the trainee
teachers carried out the activities right away. The paper would be a good reference for
those who want to learn about giving and checking instructions techniques. Besides,
from the findings proposed in this research, the fourth year students in the following
years can draw experience and learn a lesson for themselves to better their giving and
checking skill in their microteaching and future teaching.
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE
Acknowledgements
Abstract
List of figures, tables and abbreviations
ii
iii

vii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
1. Statement of the problem and rationale of the study
2. Aims and research questions of the study
3. Significance of the study
4. Scope of the study
5. An overview of the rest of the paper
1
2
2
2
3
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW
1. Keys concepts
1.1. Microteaching
1.1.1. Definitions of microteaching
1.1.2. Microteaching cycle
1.1.3. The importance of microteaching
1.1.4. The application of microteaching at FELTE, ULIS
1.2. Classroom management
1.3. Giving and checking instructions
1.3.1. Giving and checking instructions as a part of teacher
talk
1.3.2. The importance of instructions
4
4
6
8
9
9

11
11
12
12
13
ii
1.3.3. Types of classroom instructions
1.3.4. Effective giving and checking instructions
1.3.5. Techniques for giving and checking instructions
2. Related studies
2.1. Related studies on mircoteaching
2.2. Related studies on giving and checking instructions
13
17
18
18
19
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY
1. Participants
2. Data collection instruments
2.1. Questionnaires
2.2. Interview
2.3. Observation
3. Data collection procedure
4. Data analysis methods and procedures
21
22
22
23
24

25
26
CHAPTER IV: RESULTS AND FINDINGS
4.1. Research question 1
4.2. Research question 2
4.3. Research question 3
27
36
40
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION
1. Major findings of the study
2. Pedagogical implications
3. Limitations of the study
4. Suggestions for further studies
45
46
47
48
iii
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Questionnaires
Appendix B: Guided questions for interview
Appendix C: Observation scheme
Appendix D: Interview transcript
49
54
56
57
REFERENCES 60
LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS

iv
LIST OF TABLES PAGES
Table 1 Syntactic forms of directives
24
Table 2 Questionnaire content
32
Table 3 Reasons for giving clear instructions in order of importance
40
Table 4
Factors influencing the effectiveness of instructions
42
Table 5
How the fourth year students apply giving and checking
instructions techniques 48
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 Diagrammatic Representation of a Micro-teaching Cycle
16
Figure 2 4
th
year students’ perception of the importance of giving and
checking instructions in a microteaching lesson
39
Figure 3 Difficulty level of giving and checking instructions
41
Figure 4 The most effective technique for giving and checking
instructions
43
Figure 5
Language of giving instructions
45

Figure 6
Pre-plan the instructions before teaching
47
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
v
VNU
Vietnam National University
ULIS
University of Languages and International Studies
FELTE Faculty of English Language Teaching Education
ELT English Language Teching
L1 First language (Mother tongue)
vi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Statement of the problem and rationale for the research
In a study involving 60,000 students, Wright, Horn, and Sanders (1997 as cited
in Marzano, 2003) found out that the teacher is probably the single most important
factor affecting student achievement. Apparently, in order to improve education,
bettering the effectiveness of teachers is very much in need. A good teacher should not
only have sound knowledge in his/her major but also own some particular teaching
skills, one of which is classroom management.
In the Faculty of English Language Teaching Education (FELTE),
microteaching is a significant activity applied for 4
th
year students, which is supposed
as the necessary preparation for their practicum. In this activity, students have an
opportunity to sharpen and develop specific teaching skills as well as to be trained
some vital skills of classroom management.
However, having spent hours observing many 4
th

year students’ micro teaching,
I have identified several problems related to classroom management, one of which is
giving and checking instruction techniques. Hence, I have decided to investigate this
problem in a research paper titled “The exploitation of giving and checking
instruction techniques applied by 4
th
year students in their microteaching at FELTE,
ULIS, VNU”.
1
2. Aims and objectives of the study
The overall aim of this study was to explore how the fourth year students (the
student-teachers) exploited giving and checking instructions techniques in their
microteaching sessions. To achieve this aim, firstly, the research is expected to find out
how the fourth year students perceive giving and checking instructions skill. Secondly,
the student teachers’ real application of giving and checking instructions techniques in
their microteaching was also investigated. Finally, the researcher hoped to find out the
problems the student teachers might have when giving and checking instructions in
their micro-lessons.
In brief, the study would seek to answer the following questions:
(1) What are the fourth year students’ perceptions of giving and checking
instructions skills?
(2) How do they apply giving and checking instructions techniques in their
microteaching?
(3) What are some problems these students may have when giving and checking
instructions?
3. Significance of the study
If the mentioned objectives could be achieved, the study would hopefully
provide a closer look at the 4
th
year students’ implementation of giving and checking

instructions in their microteaching. Once finished, the paper would be a good reference
for those who want to learn about giving and checking instructions techniques. From
the findings proposed in this research, the fourth year students in the following years
can draw experience and learn a lesson for themselves to better giving and checking
skill in their microteaching.
4. Scope of the study
The scope of the research has been made quite clear in the research title. The
researcher wanted to investigate the giving and checking instruction skill of the fourth
year students at FELTE, ULIS in their microteaching. The reason was that the
2
researcher was one of these student teachers and it was easier for her to access
prospective participants. Besides, giving and checking instructions skill was one of the
teaching skills assessed by their university lecturer.
5. An overview of the rest of the paper
In order for the readers to follow this paper more easily, the rest of the paper
has been divided into four chapters as presented below:
• Chapter Two – Literature Review: This chapter provides basic
theoretical background to the research problem, helping the readers to better orientate
themselves to the contents of the study.
• Chapter Three – Methodology: This chapter is responsible for the
description of the sampling, participants, instruments used for data collection, and
procedure in which the data were collected and analysed.
• Chapter Four – Results and Findings: This chapter is devoted to the
presentation of the findings of the research with reference to previous studies and
relevant theoretical background.
• Chapter Five – Conclusion: This chapter summarises the findings of the
study, states the limitations and gives some suggestions for further research.
In short, this first chapter has justified the reasons for conducting this research
paper and simultaneously stated the three research questions as an initial guide for the
rest of the paper. Afterwards, the significance, the scope and the organisation of the

paper are also provided.
3
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter embraces two main parts. In the very first part, some key concepts
related to the research topic are elaborated with the aim of providing a theoretical basis
for the study. The key concepts cover: 1) microteaching, 2) classroom management,
and 3) giving and checking instructions. In the next section, the researcher provides a
brief overview of some related studies.
1. Key concepts
1.1. Microteaching
1.1.1 Definitions of microteaching
The history of microteaching goes back to the early and mid 1960's, when
Dwight Allen and his colleagues from the Stanford University developed a training
program aimed to improve verbal and nonverbal aspects of teachers’ speech and
general performance. The Stanford model consisted of a three-step (teach, review and
reflect, re-teach) approach by using actual students as an authentic audience. The
model was first applied to teaching science, and later on it was introduced to language
teaching (Maheshwari, 2011).
In the next years, microteaching was seen as a professional development tool
applied in education. Therefore, many educationalists have provided a great deal of
approaches to microteaching.
In 1964, a critical study of microteaching techniques was conducted by Olivero
with a view to suggesting improvement in its implementation in colleges of education.
The objective of the investigation was to study the opinions of training-college
teachers about microteaching in the light of their experience while guiding and
observing lessons. The sample consisted of training college teachers teaching different
subject methodologies and 20 experienced and effective teachers.
4
Allen and Eve (1968, as cited in Maheshwari, 2011) explained that micro
teaching is a system of controlled practice that makes it possible to concentrate on

specific teaching behavior and to practice teaching under controlled conditions.
Meir (1968), sharing the same idea with Cooper and Stround (1966 as cited in
Shingh, 2011), defined micro-teaching as a scaled-down sample of teaching. In their
opinion, microteaching brings both pre-service and in-service teachers an opportunity
to enhance their pedagogical skills by teaching a small group of pupils (3 to 7) by
means of brief single concept lessons (3 to 7 minutes) which are recorded on video-
tape for reviewing, responding, refining and re-teaching.
McKnight (1971) supposed that microteaching is a scaled down but realistic
classroom context which offers a helpful setting for a teacher (experienced or
inexperienced) to acquire new teaching skills arid to refine old ones.
Passi (1976) described microteaching as a training technique which requires
student teachers to teach a single concept using specified teaching skills to a small
number of pupils in a short duration of time. According to him, the
most important point in microteaching is that the trainee teachers have an opportunity
to practice teaching skills in a definable, observable, measurable and controllable
environment.
In the book “Training foreign language teachers: A reflective approach”,
Wallace (1991) assumed that microteaching indicates a training context in which a
teaching situation has been reduced in scope and/or simplified in some systematic
way. Three factors may be scaled down in microteaching are: the teachers’ task, the
length of lesson and the size of class. The trainee teachers usually practice only one
skill at a time, so the teacher’s task is perhaps simplified and more specific. As
pertains to time, compared with a standard 40- 45 minute lesson, the “micro lesson’’
lasts merely five to ten. In the same way, there is a reduction in the size of the class.
Normally, a microteaching class is fewer than ten students who may be real students or
fellow trainees.
5
From all the perceptions above, it can be drawn that the basic features of
microteaching are as follows:
(1) It is a real teaching with the simplification of the classroom teaching in

terms of class size, time, number of students, content, etc.
(2) It focuses on training for the accomplishment of specific tasks.
(3) It is videotaped for reviewing, responding, refining and re-
teaching.
1.1.2. Microteaching Cycle
Wallace (1991) points out that in tradition, microteaching has four main stages:
“the briefing”, “the teach”, “the critique” (analysis and discussion), and “the re-teach”.
However, the flexibility of microteaching allows for a wide range of variation in
implementation.
In the book “Microteaching” (2004), Sharma and Singh provide a seven-step
microteaching cycle. According to them, without these seven important steps, the
microteaching process cannot be completed. These steps are as follow:
Figure 1: Diagrammatic Representation of a Micro-teaching Cycle
6
Modeling the skill
(First step)
Planning a Micro-
Lesson
(Second step)
Teaching Session
(Third step)
Re-Critique
Session
(Seventh step)
Re-Teaching
Session
(Sixth step)
Re-Planning
Session
(Fifth step)

Critique Session
(Fourth step)
Micro-
Teachin
g Cycle
(1) Modeling the Skill:
Orienting the trainees in teaching skills is very essential. This may be done by
stating the psychological base and rationale of the skill and then demonstrate it. This
step enables trainee teachers to focus their attention on the skill to be practiced.
(2) Planning a Micro-lesson:
This involves the selection of an appropriate topic and related content which
should be suitable with the short duration of a lesson (5 – 7 minutes).
(3) Teaching session:
This is the time for the plan of the lesson to be executed in the presence of the
supervisor and peer trainees. The trainee teacher should attempt to use the components
of the skills in suitable situations upcoming. He/she should have courage and
confidence to handle the situation arising in the class effectively.
(4) Critique session
In this step, the trainee teacher can receive feedback from the supervisor and
peers about his/her performance for some specific improvement. The evaluation tool
(videotape, etc) gives a rare opportunity for the micro-teacher to view his/her
performance objectively. This is one of the strong points of the microteaching
technique.
(5) Re-planning session
The trainee teacher re-plans his/her lesson incorporating the points of strength
and removing the points of weakness for improvement.
(6) Re-teaching session
This step provides the micro-teacher a chance to teach in the same unit with
some certain revised parts from the previous lesson.
(7) Re-critique session

This is the most important component of microteaching for behavior
modification of trainee teachers in the desired direction in each and every skill practice.
7
1.1.3. The importance of microteaching
According to Maheshwari (2011), microteaching is an excellent way to build
up teaching behaviors, skills and confidence “under the micro scope”, in a protected
environment of friends and colleagues and aided by video-recordings.
He also puts forward that microteaching session is a chance to adopt new
teaching and learning strategies and, through assuming the student role, to get an
insight into students' needs and expectations. It is a good time to learn from others
and enrich student teachers’ teaching methods.
Through microteaching, student teachers can practice what has been skillfully
taught as well as receive various precious feedbacks from the supervisors in teaching
skills. In addition, microteaching provides a “safe experimentation” environment for a
student teacher to pilot with new skills of teaching and thereby improve upon them
(Wallace, 1991).
Sharma and Singh (2004) pointed out plenty of benefits of microteaching.
They supposed that microteaching helps student teachers develop self-confidence and
equip them with a collection of teaching skills such as the skill of controlling over the
size of class, quality of the students, the length of the period, and the motivation of the
students (i.e. classroom management skill), which they can apply in the practicum later
on.
Besides, microteaching makes trainee teachers get familiar with teaching styles
including drawing learners’ attention, using teaching aids, asking questions, and using
and managing time effectively. They can acquire the skill to prepare lesson plans,
choose teaching goals and appropriate learner activities. Through those, the teachers’
classroom management skills are improved. In addition, microteaching also leads
trainee teachers to focus attention on teacher behaviors, the methods of criticising
students’ performance and analysing pupil learning (Sharma & Singh, 2004).
In general, microteaching makes the teacher education program more

purposeful, goal oriented and helps to decide common objectives for the program. It
8
provides individualized training with more realistic evidence to students, which
enables them to develop competency in using specific teaching skills in view of their
unique needs.
1.1.4. The application of microteaching at FELTE, ULIS
At FELTE, microteaching is seen as an indispensible assignment in English
Language Teaching Methodology 2 and 4 (ELT 2 and 4) for fourth year students. It
means that the student teachers have two opportunities to microteach their peers before
they have the teaching practice at secondary schools. In ELT2, after being taught about
how to teach a specific language element (i.e. vocabulary, pronunciation or grammar)
or a language skill (i.e. reading, listening, speaking or writing), the student teachers are
allowed to choose a unit from the English textbook 10, 11 or 12 and teach it in about
30-35 minutes. In ELT2, the students, most of the time, microteach in pairs or groups
of three. However, in ELT 4, they may have the chance to microteach individually or
just in pairs because this subject only focuses on microteaching.
In both ELT 2 and 4, the lecturer as a supervisor sitting at the end of the class
observes the students’ performance and then gives feedback. The other fellow students
act as students, observe and give comments on their peers’ microteaching in class by
filling in an evaluation form. The lessons are not video-recorded.
After finishing the micro-lesson, the student teachers have the chance to receive
comments and feedback from both the teacher and peer students for more
improvement. In ELT 4, they also write a reflection on their own teaching, which helps
them identify their own strengths and weaknesses.
At the time of this research all fourth year student had done their first
microteaching in ELT 2. Many of the participants also did their microteaching in ELT
4.
1.2. Classroom management
The most important job of a teacher is perhaps creating the conditions in which
learning can take place. The skill of creating and managing a successful class may be

9
the key to the whole success of a course. If lessons do not run smoothly, a number of
difficult problems can easily and unexpectedly arise. Students may lose motivation and
concentration, become disinterested in their studies, and even get to the point where
they join in with other students’ disruptive behavior as they feel there is no viable
alternative. To prevent this problem from becoming a harsh reality, classroom
management must be put into place. Burden (2003) supposed that teachers who
possess the ability to manage their classrooms are able to create an environment where
learning is focus. Kratochwill (as cited in Dinh, 2011) emphasises the importance of
classroom management or “classroom discipline” by stating that it is considered as a
priority for teachers. Furthermore, classroom management and instructional skills are
always identified by teachers as their priority.
Marzano (2003) accentuated the essence of classroom management by stating
that in a poorly manage classroom it is impossible for effective teaching and learning
to take place. He opines that if the students are disordered, the class is in chaos; in
such situations, both the teacher and students suffer. In contrast, a well managed
classroom provides an environment in which teaching and learning can flourish.
Classroom management is “the ways in which students’ behavior, movement,
interaction, etc… during class is organized and controlled by the teacher to enable
teaching to take place most effectively” (Longman dictionary, p74). Classroom
management is all the actions teachers take to create an environment that supports
academic and social-emotional learning. It includes all of the teacher’s practices
related to establishing the physical and social environment of the classroom, regulating
routines and daily activities, and preventing and correcting behavior. According to
Sasson (2007, as cited in Nguyen, 2010), classroom management is the act of forming
and maintaining order in the classroom in which instructions are conducted.
Aspects of classroom management may vary in accordance with different
approaches. Evertson and Weinstein (2006) offered the framework indicating that
classroom management has two distinct purposes: “It not only seeks to establish and
10

sustain an orderly environment so students can engage in meaningful academic
learning, it also aims to enhance student social and moral growth” (p. 4). According to
this framework, the teachers should do the following: (1) develop caring, supportive
relationships with and among students, (2) organize and implement instruction in ways
that optimize students’ access to learning, (3) use group management methods that
encourage student engagement with academic tasks, (4) promote the development of
student social skills and self-regulation, and (5) use appropriate interventions to assist
students who have behavior problems.
In their book, McLeod, Fisher and Hoover (2003) opined that classroom
management includes three main aspects: (1) managing time and classroom space, (2)
monitoring students’ behaviors, and (3) managing classroom instruction. In 2010, To
et.al. also put forward the framework for effective classroom management with
various elements: managing classroom space, giving and checking instructions, giving
corrective feedback, motivating students, keep disciplines, etc.
In the early 1970s, classroom management was seen as separate from classroom
instruction. Research in the 1980s, however, demonstrated that management and
instruction are not separate, but are inextricably interwoven and complex. Plevin (n.d
as cited in Dinh, 2011) stated that classroom management means that the teachers have
to get students to follow their instructions. The more clearly students understand the
instructions, the more smoothly the lesson carries on. Therefore, giving instructions as
a sub-skill of classroom management plays a crucial role in ensuring the success of the
lesson.
1.3. Giving and checking instructions
1.3.1. Giving and checking instructions as a part of teacher talk
Nunan (1991, p.189) indicated that teacher talk is of considerable importance,
not only for the organization of the classroom but also for the process of acquisition. It
is important for the organisation and management of the classroom because it is
through language that the teacher succeeds or fails to implement teaching plans. As
11
pertains to acquisition, teacher talk is important because it is probably the major source

of comprehensible target language input the learner is likely to receive.
Cullen (1998) provided some features of teacher talk as follows: (1) the use of
“referential” questions, (2) content feedback by the teacher, (3) attempt to negotiate
meaning with the students, and (4) the use of speech modification, hesitations and
rephrasing in the teacher’s own talk, e.g. when explaining, asking questions and giving
instructions, etc.
In the classroom context, teacher talk is generally the only source of
comprehensible input and live target language model. Therefore, the amount of teacher
talk and speech modification plays an important part, contributing to the effectiveness
of the lesson.
According to Nunan (1991), the reason for teachers to modify their talk is to
make their speech “more comprehensible, and therefore, potentially more valuable for
acquisition” (p.191). Chaudron (1988, as cited in Nunan 1991) also found out the
features of teachers’ speech modification: (1) Rates of speech appear to be slower, (2)
Pauses, which may be evidence of the speaker planning more, are possibly more
frequent and longer, (3) Pronunciation tends to be exaggerated and simplified, (4)
Vocabulary use is more basic, (5) Degree of subordination is lower, (6) More
declarative and statements than questions, and (7) Teachers may self-repeat more
frequently.
In the idea of teacher talk needed for good classroom management, Gower,
Philips and Walters (1995) explained that giving clear instructions, telling the students
what to expect, calling on students by names, etc. are dispensable parts of any lesson.
Hence, giving instructions can be seen as an essential skill that teachers should develop.
1.3.2. The importance of instructions
Barber and Mourshed, as cited in Dean et al. (2011), stressed the essential of
instructions in classroom: “The only way to improve outcomes is to improve
instruction” (p.11). That determines how successfully students will learn depend on
12
the way instructions are formulated. Unless the directions or instructions are
effectively and clearly constructed, there will be unwanted result in the quality of the

lecture
Instruction is defined by Huiit (2003) (as cited in Dinh, 2011) as "the
purposeful direction of the learning process" and is one of the major teacher class
activities (along with planning and management). Sharing the same viewpoint, Ur
(1991) considered instructions as “the directions that are given to introduce a learning
task which entail some measures of independent student activity” (p16).
“To ensure that all students succeed academically, we believe that high-quality
instructions must be the norm” (Dean et al., 2011, p.12). This idea indicates that the
teachers should develop instructional strategies in order to increase student
achievement.
Apparently, instruction is one of the momentous factors contributing to the
success of a lesson.
1.3.3. Types of classroom instructions
According to Brashaw (n.d) (as cited in Dinh, 2011), instructions in the
classroom include two main types: instructions between activities and instructions to
organize an activity. The former one used to guide students’ behaviors between the
main activities in classroom are often simple and easy to understand through the given
context. The latter one are supposed to be more problematic because of the quantity
and over-complexity of the language use. For each activity, instructions may include
explanation and time limit of the task(s), instructions to group students (if necessary),
instructions to check student understanding of the task and signals for beginning the
task.
1.3.4. Effective giving and checking instructions
1.3.4.1. Instructional language
After analysing directives in L1 classroom in New Zealand and Britain, Holmes
(1983, as cited in Maria, 2002) grouped teachers’ directives or instructions in three
13
main categories in terms of speech forms: imperatives, interrogatives and declaratives.
The classifications are as follows:
Table 1: Syntactic forms of directives

Speech Function: Directives
Form Example
1. Imperatives a. Base form of verb
b. You + imp.
c. Pres. Part.
d. Verb ellipsis
e. Imp + modifier
f. Let+ 1
st
per. Pro
Speak louder.
You go on with the work.
Looking at me.
Hands up.
Turn around, please.
Let’s try.
2. Interrogatives a. Modals
b. Non-modals
Will you read this page for me?
People at the back are you
listening?
3. Declaratives a. Embedded agent
b. Hints
I want you to draw a picture.
Sally, you are not saying much.
Of these all types, according to Holmes (1983), imperatives are stated as the
most frequent and explicit enough not to cause any misunderstanding among students.
Lewis and Hill (1985) stated that teacher’s instructions in the classroom should
be “simple, precise and explicit” (p.47). If the directives are clear, easy to understand
and straight to the points, students will certainly know what they are expected to do.

Sharing the same idea, Gower, Philips & Walters (1995) also put forwards the
tips to make instructions effective by using simple language and expressions. They
supposed that the language use should be “lower level than the language being taught”
(p.40). Thaine et al. (n.d) also supported the clear and natural language use in the
classroom. They stated that teachers need to make sure that they do not use more
language than is necessary with students.
14
Regarding polite language, Gower et al. (1995) stated that using polite
language may waste the time; it just leads the lessons to be slower and hinders students
from understanding. Sharing this view, Hughes (2004) opined that instead of saying a
polite request, for example, "Would you mind standing up?” teachers might expose
students to a straightforward way: "Stand up". This way of asking is not regarded as
being rude or offensive. Students may recognise it is a “firm directive manner” of the
teacher (p.40).
1.3.4.2. Planning the instructions beforehand
Ur (1991) supposed that teachers should make a preparation before giving
instructions. Teachers ought to plan how they are going to give the instructions, what
words to be used and the illustration for complicated directives.
Lewis and Hill (1985) also put emphasis on planning “in advance what is to be
done and how it is to be done” (p.47). If the teacher just only has some woolly ideas
about their instructions in class, the pace of lesson will drop.
Hughes (2004) suggested teacher preparing instructions by rehearsing as well as
planning what gestures and words they want to use. One of the best ways is let their
colleagues pretend to be students and get their feedback.
1.3.4.3. Drawing full attention before giving instruction
According to Gower et al. (1995), attracting the students’ attention is regarded
as the very first criterion for effective instructions. They advise teachers not to start
any explanations until they make sure that students have stopped whatever they are
doing, are turned towards and listen to the teacher.
Thaine et al. (n.d) recommended teachers not give out the worksheet too early;

otherwise, they will lose their students’ attention.
Both Gower, et al. (1995) and Ur (1991) also agreed that hand-outs, materials
should not be delivered and group should not be formed during or before giving
instructions which may distract the students’ concentration.
1.3.4.4. Breaking the instructions down
15
In order to prevent students from forgetting the first point in the teacher’s
instructions by the time the final steps are explained, the teacher should divide
instructions into manageable steps (Hughes, 2004).
Because learners have only a short attention span (Ur, 1991), instructions
should be given in segments rather than given all at once. Also, the teacher should
check if the students understand the instructions (Gower et al., 1995).
1.3.4.5. Demonstrating
Demonstrating rather than explaining is one of the best ways to have effective
instructions suggested by many scholars. Lewis and Hill (1985) indicated that
demonstration helps “reduce the amount of unnecessary teacher language” (p.51).
Thaine et al. (n.d) reported that demonstrating using gestures and body
language is a good way to reduce the amount of teacher talk and make teachers’
instructions clearer and more understandable for learners.
Scrivener (2005), as cited in Dinh (2011), pointed out teachers should
demonstrate whenever and wherever possible.
“Showing what to do is more effective than telling what to do” is one piece of
advice proposed by Gower et al. (1995, p.41). It is better to model the task and always
do an example for students in the class.
1.3.4.6. Using visual or written clues
Gower et al., (1995) pointed out that visual clues such as real objects, pictures,
gestures or mime… are supportive tools to explain or give instructions. Moreover,
teachers can even note down some key points of their instructions on the board in
order to be easier for students to understand and remember.
1.3.4.7. Using L1

Swift (2007), having over thirty years experience in the field of ELT, states that
with weak students and complicated instructions it is more efficient for the teacher to
use L1. With a view to raising students’ proficiency, the teacher should give the
instructions in English first and then in the L1. Later on, as soon as possible, they may
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give the instructions in English only but check comprehension by asking the students
to repeat them back in their L1.
1.3.4.8. Checking students’ understanding
Always checking students’ understanding before starting an activity is a rule
after giving instructions. According to Ur (1991), just asking students if they
understand the instructions or not is not enough.
Swift (2007) explained that the question "Do you understand?" is as good as
useless. Students may be too shy to admit that they do not understand, or may think
they understand when they actually do not. She suggested some ways for teachers to
have students confirmed that they heard the instructions as follows:
(1) Ask students Instruction Check Questions (ICQ) which may be Yes/No
questions or open-ended comprehension checking questions (Wh - questions).
(2) Ask learners to repeat back instructions.
(3) Ask students to demonstrate the activity in front of the class.
1.3.5. Techniques for giving and checking instructions
Techniques for giving and checking instructions proposed by Nguyen et al
(2003, as cited in ELT Methodology II) are “Step by Step”; “Say, Do, Check”; “Show
Don't Tell” and “Recall”.
(a) “Step – by – step” or “feed-in” approach:
The teacher gives the students one instruction at a time, not a list of instructions
all together. Breaking down instructions into small, separate steps helps the students to
understand them completely, especially when there is a lot of information in the
instructions and the teacher wants students to understand every word.
(b) Demonstrate it, “model” it or “show – don’t – tell”:
The teacher does not talk about what the students must do; instead he/she shows

them what to do by giving a demonstration. A demonstration is easier to understand
than an explanation and reduces teaching talking time.
(c) Say – do – check
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The teacher follows three steps for each instruction. First, he/she says the
instructions, then he/she gets the students to do it, then he/she checks that they have
done it correctly before going on to the next instruction. Using Say – Do –Check the
teacher can tell straight away if the students have not understood something and can
take action to make sure that they understand it.
(d) Student recall
After giving instructions in English, the teacher checks if the students
understand everything by saying “Tell me what you have to do in Vietnamese” or “Say
it again in Vietnamese”. Asking the students to recall what they will do in Vietnamese
is helpful as at lower level they may not understand the instructions. It makes them
clear about what they have to do and allows the teacher to check that they understand
what to do.
2. Related studies
2.1. Related studies on microteaching
Micro-teaching is seen as one of the innovations to strengthen the teaching
skills of student teachers. It is relatively a new departure in teacher training; it employs
an analytical approach to teaching and training. Therefore, there are quite a lot studies
on this issue.
In 1964, a significant study of micro teaching techniques with an aim to suggest
improvement in its implementation in colleges of education, department of
postgraduate education and research was conducted by Olivero. The objective of the
paper was to study the opinions of training-college teachers about microteaching in the
light of their experience while guiding and observing lessons. The sample consisted of
training college teachers teaching different subject methodologies and 20 experienced
and effective teachers. The study indicated that while training the science student-
teachers, activities such as teacher talk, questioning, blackboard work and

demonstration should be taken into account in preferential order.
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In the context of ULIS, ‘The value of ELTM microteaching from perspective of
4
th
year students” by Dam Ha Thuy (2009) is an interesting research paper about
microteaching. This research attempted to provide a closer look at the situation, the
application of teaching techniques in microteaching sessions, some common
advantages and disadvantages of microteaching practice and also suggest some possible
changes to improve the practice of microteaching. According to the researcher, the
advantages and disadvantages coincided with each other. Specifically, the use of fellow
trainees as mock students brought a safe teaching environment which was evaluated as
an advantage of helping the teacher trainees feel more confident to perform the lessons.
However, from the opposite viewpoint, this could be a big disadvantage as it was not
challenging enough for the teacher trainees to practice their teaching techniques. In
addition, the facilities helped liven up the micro lessons, attracting more attention from
the mock learners. However, those facilities could hardly be handy at their real teaching
institution – high schools. From this finding, the researcher came up with a suggestion
that is to provide some basic theoretical background of microteaching for the 4th-year
students and they should be allowed to decide which types of microteaching will be practiced
so that they are furnished with the essential knowledge of this technique, helping them
to make wiser choice of the appropriate type of microteaching.
2.2. Related studies on giving and checking instructions
“Classroom management skills among 4
th
year students during their practicum”
by Vo (2009) and “4
th
year students’ classroom management skill during their
practicum at ULIS: Difficulties, causes and solutions” by Nguyen (2010) are two

research papers in which giving and checking instructions were seen as one element of
classroom management skills. The significance of these two studies lies in the fact that
they pointed out the difficulties encountered by pre-service teachers in their practicum.
Being carried out in 2011 by Dinh Thi Ha Phuong, “Giving and checking
instructions skills among 4
th
year students during their practicum” aims at exploring
teacher trainees’ perception of effective instructions and the level of effectiveness with
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