I seem to be starting all my articles with slight variations on “… is an important point which needs teaching more and/ or better”, but I really really mean it with phrases like “What does… mean?”, “Can you repeat that last word?” and “Can you speak a little more slowly?” – be it for classroom communication, teleconferencing, IELTS Speaking, or whatever.
I’ve therefore written a nice chunky article on the topic with a huge list of possible phrases, plus five new worksheets based on the ideas in the article. There’s also a link to my page on the topic below, including a classic one that practises both these kinds of phrases and typical misunderstandings such as 15/ 50.
Article
How to teach checking/ clarifying
New worksheets
Needs analysis and clarifying language
Brainstorming checking/ clarifying phrases by key word
Checking/ Clarifying politeness competition
Checking/ clarifying roleplays and card game
Ranking current affairs topics pairwork (for clarifying phrases)
Page
TEFLtastic 