Useful phrases for taking a group class

“What did the teacher say?” “Please put your hand up if you can hear me!” “Can you say that again?” “Well done!” The EF English Live group class is a great way to practice speaking English.

To help you join in, it is good to know the language that the teacher might use. First they will welcome you and ask if you can hear them. Follow the details on the screen. This will help you know what to do if you cannot hear or speak. Let your teacher know if you are having problems and they will help you if they can.

Once in class the slides will give you lots of clues, and do listen and learn from the others. You may hear phrases like, “What do you think?” “Please put your hand up to answer”, “Can you read the slide please” or ”Does anybody know?” which means any student can answer. And be sure to listen for your name as the teacher might ask you something directly.

Don’t worry if you are not sure of the answer. Teachers do not like to interrupt or say if answers are wrong but they may stop you and correct you if it is clear you have not understood something.

If you pronounce something incorrectly they may say, “Can you try saying x again?” Again try not to worry about this, just give it a go, they are saying this to help you. If you are almost right, or they want to involve more students in the answers, they may ask another student whether they agree with you.

The teacher may want you to say more, so you could hear the expressions, “Carry on” or “ Can you expand on that.” And if your answer is right, the teacher will confirm this by saying things like, “Well done,” “ Brilliant,” “That’s a good answer” and “All of you have worked on this really well today.”

If they cannot hear what you have said, they may ask you to, “Repeat that please” or “Can you say that again please as I did not catch what you said.”

Remember your teacher may be making notes, communicating with another student, or just turning their mic back on so every now and then it might be a moment before they respond, but they are there.

Remember they are there to help you, so if there is something you do not know or understand, ask your teacher. Before you know it the lesson will come to a close, the teacher will signal this by showing you the final slide, checking if you have any final questions and then saying their farewells, with expressions like “bye” or “goodbye”.