www.usingenglish.comGestures and body language“Do the (English) gesture for ‘be quiet’/ ‘stop’/ ‘please’. Can you remember what it is?”
“What does this gesture mean?... Good. Can you do the gesture and say what it means at the same
time?”
“Put your finger on your lips… Good, but pointing up… Got it. Now, what does that mean?”
Moving desks and chairs“Move two/ three/ four desks together and put your chairs around them”
“Push all the desks back against the walls”/ “Move your tables back (without making a noise/ one at
a time starting at the front)”
“Put your desks back where they were”
“Put your desks into two lines/ rows with your chairs behind/ in front of them”
“Leave your desks where they are and bring all your seats to the front”
“Turn your chairs round (to face the…)”/ “Turn back to face the front”
“Can you two take this table and move it over there? Thank you”
“Any volunteers to move these tables?”
“This table’s in the way, isn’t it? Where can we move it? Is there any space over there?”
“Move your chairs (and tables) so you can all see the TV/ whiteboard/ students performing at the
front”
“Move them (a bit) further back/ forward/ left/ right/ apart/ closer together/ towards the board”
“Leave enough space to move around/ walk between the board and your desk”
“Let’s make a (big) space in the middle/ at the front/ at the back/ in the corner of the classroom”
“Please make sure the desks are straight”
Standing up and sitting down“Stand up”/ “Everybody up (out of your seats)”/ “Stand behind your tables/ next to your desks/ in
the aisles”
“Sit down”/ “Take a seat”/ “Back to your seats”/ “You may sit down (now)”/ “Find yourself a seat”/
“Sit up straight/ properly”
Actions“Twist (your neck/ your wrist/ your waist)”
“Turn (around/ all the way around/ 90 degrees/ 180 degrees/ 360 degrees)”
“Keep your feet in the same position and…”
“Jump (up and down/ forward/ backwards/ sideways/ as far as you can/ towards…/ once/ with your
feet together/ until I say ‘stop’/ until I shout out another action/ like a kangaroo/ like a rabbit/ like a
frog/ quickly/ slowly/ onto the right flashcard)”
“Hop (on your right/ left leg/ in a straight line)”
“Wiggle (your leg/ arm/ finger/ fingers)”
“Make a (small/ big) circle/ rectangle/ square/ triangle star shape/ letter… with your fingers/ arms/
legs/ whole body”
“Move like a fish/ helicopter”
“Move more quickly/ slowly/ gently/ violently/ smoothly/ energetically”
“Pretend your hand/ arm/ body is fin/ propeller/ spider/ man (and make it ski down your arm/ jump
on your partner’s head”
“Pass/ throw/ bounce the ball over your head/ under your legs/ to the person standing next to you/ to
the person opposite”
“Sit up straight/ Stand up straight”
“Spin (with one finger pointing out in front of you/ with your eyes closed/ around once or twice/
quickly/ slowly/ anticlockwise/ clockwise/ in the opposite direction)”
“Put this blindfold on/ Put this scarf around your eyes and move where your team tell you”
“Open / close/ cover your eyes”
“On tiptoes”
“Hold hands (with your partner/ with the people on your left and right)”
“Shake hands (with your partner/ with everyone you meet”
“(Put your) hands up (when you know the answer/ if you want to go next/ if you spot a mistake”
“Move around the class (and speak to everyone you meet/ and stop when I shout ‘Stop’”
Directions“(Two steps) forward/ backwards/ left/ right”
“Towards the… (but not that far/ not touching it)”
“Face/ Facing the board/ window/ teacher/ poster/ your partner/ the other team”
“Turn your chairs back round and face the front”
Positions, space and shapes“Can you come here, please?”/ “Can you come to the front of the class, please?”
“Can you stand a little bit closer to/ further from the …?”
“It’s time for a story/ a game/ the exit drill/ goodbye greetings, so go to the usual place/ where do
we go to do that?”
“Move a little bit closer to each other/ a little bit further apart (so that there’s room for...)”
“You should be able to squat without touching anyone else/ spin round with your arms out/ touch
three people without moving your feet”
“There doesn’t seem to be enough room so continue the line along the wall/ start a new line/ split
that line into two”
“What’s that? I said a circle, not a jellyfish/ a straight line, not a squiggly line!”/ “What shape did I
say?... And what shape is this?/ And is this a…?”
“In the middle of the room”
“On the mats I put on the floor”
“In the corner (near the door)”
“Touching the (back/ front/ left/ right) wall”
“On the floor”
“Squatting (like this)”
“Sitting on your heels”
“Behind/ in front of/ next to your desk”
“Near the window/ teacher’s desk/ door/ pegs/ cupboards”
“Stand in/ Make a circle (and hold hands)”
“Stand in a line
“Hands on your heads/ shoulders/ ears/ knees”
“Turn and face the…”
“Turn all the way round”
“Face the other way”
“Stand behind the line”/ “Imagine there is a line from here to here/ from the edge of the window to
the teacher’s desk and stand behind that line”
“Stand about one metre apart/ so you can just touch your partner if you hold your arms out/ well
apart from each other”/ “Can everyone stretch out their arms (to the side/ in every direction/ all
round) without touching anyone/ anything?”
“Sit under the piano. Go!”
“Touch your desks with your noses”
“In two (straight) lines”
“(A bit) further apart”/ “Please leave enough space (for me/ the other students to get through)”
Miming/ pretending“Pretend you are a monkey/ banana/ letter A”
“Pretend you are holding/ eating/ making/ lifting up a cake/ gun/ elephant”
“Pretend you are in a small cupboard/ on a tightrope/ in the middle of a road/ between two hippos
on the bus”
Danger“Make sure you don’t touch/ knock over the OHP/ fish tank”
“Don’t touch the wall too hard (or you could go through!)”
“(Be careful.) There’s a sharp corner here”
“Remember that someone hurt themselves on this/ in this game last week”
“If you push, someone will get hurt”
“You’ll hurt yourself if you do that again”
Disturbance“No shouting.”
“Don’t jump so much, the class downstairs can hear you”
“Don’t bang into the whiteboard, the whole wall is going ‘bang’. From now on, everyone only
touch the card with your index finger. Hold out your index fingers. Good. Now, let’s try that”
“That was a bit noisy. Let’s try it again, but this time sliding your feet along the ground like you are
skiing. Let’s practice that first. Ski! Ski! Good, that’s better. So, this time when I say ‘go’, do the
same but skiing instead of running.”
“Plus one point to the boys for finishing first, and minus one point for the boys for making too
much noise.”
Other rules“You can/ can’t (only) use your hands/ both hands/ your head”
“The first person to do the right action gets a point/ is the winner”
“Anyone who does a different action loses one point/ is out of the game/ is out for one round/ has
one more chance and then is out of the game/ has to go to the back of the row/ is the crocodile next
time”