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Research studies report the existence of strong positive correlation between lesson planning and teaching effectiveness. However, despite being an essential feature of teaching in EFL settings, lesson planning has been a sparsely researched topic. The present study attempts to present an overview of the related literature on the topic to design a sample lesson on English imperatives. The study unfolds different facets of lesson planning, and tries to incorporate them in the proposed lesson plan. It is anticipated that the study will be helpful to EFL teachers, especially the novice in developing their awareness of lesson planning while teaching a component on language systems. The study might also interest researchers who are planning to conduct research on lesson planning or any other related area.

Introduction

Research has evidenced a strong positive correlation between teaching effectiveness and lesson planning (Alanazi, 2019; Sharifet al., 2023; Shen & Poppink, 2007). This entails that an effectively workable lesson plan is the key to achieving the stated learning objectives (SLOs). However, the frequency to which English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers plan their lessons, and the extent to which these plans are effective depends largely on contextual factors such as the institutional policies, teaching practices, teacher preparedness etc. Trainee and novice teachers have been reported to develop and implement lesson plans more frequently than their more experienced colleagues (Richard & Bohlke, 2011). Expert teachers engage in informed lesson planning, whereby they plan lessons “with efficiency, with comfort, with ease”, exhibiting an “ability to anticipate events of a lesson; strategies for focusing on lesson planning…to accommodate their students’ needs, challenges and interests” (Farrell, 2013, as cited in Li & Zou, 2017, p. 231). On the other hand, novice or less experienced teachers require training through teacher development and training programmes to enhance their expertise in the art of lesson planning which is acquired gradually though.

Developing a comprehensive and effective lesson plan is both meticulous and time-consuming. Equally challenging is the implementation of the plan in a real-time classroom setting. EFL lessons are typically designed either for teaching the language systems such as grammar and lexis, or language skills such as reading or writing. These lessons sometimes embed discourse features and academic literacy into the main plan or sometimes create a separate one with the sole focus on any of the discourse and literacy aspects. Teaching English imperatives is one of the most frequently occurring language system feature in EFL syllabus design. A good understanding and the ability to use them appropriately is likely to help EFL learners’ proficiency of the target language for academic, social, and occupational purposes.

Theoretical Background

Lesson plan or design refers to the way individual lessons are structured (Thornbury, 2002). Teachers have a range of lesson models to choose a particular lesson shape to suit lesson’s needs. The most commonly used model among the EFL teachers is the Presentation – Practice – Production, or PPP which is primarily used for teaching language systems such as grammar and vocabulary. Designed on three stages, the lesson starts with teacher-led instruction to semi-controlled and free practice. TTT–test–teach–test or task–teach–task refers to a lesson shape which first involves the learners in task completion, and then based on the emerging needs, the teacher designs and presents the target language. This develops into students attempting another task, and the cycle continues. McWilliam (2009) suggested “meddling-in-the-middle” where the teacher creates a highly relaxed classroom atmosphere to make use of strategies such as examining, questioning, doubting and reconstructing. Creativity is at the core of the lesson whereby the learners engage in restructuring or synthesizing the pre-existing concepts or skills in innovative ways. Another popular lesson design is the text-based lesson which is primarily used for developing the reading comprehension of the students. Learning occurs form an extensive exposure to a variety of genre as well as through the content itself. Similarly, Scrivener (1996) proposed ARC (authentic language use, restricted language use, clarification) framework to describe the setting of a grammar presentation lesson which begins with an explanation of rules. Input–learning–use model exposes learners to language use in real-life situations. The input which is provided by the teacher or the environment leads to the internalization of the language use which can be employed in similar contexts. Kumaravadivelu (2006) introduced macro-strategies framework for teachers to facilitate negotiated interaction and contextualize linguistic input. The framework also attempts to ensure maximum learning opportunities, minimum perceptual mismatches, learner autonomy, language awareness, intuitive heuristics, integrated language skills, cultural awareness, and social relevance (Can, 2009).

Khoshsima and Khosravani (2014) mention that lesson plans serve variety of purposes. The foremost is to help teachers develop professionally by understanding the dynamics of effective teaching in terms of selecting, creating, and organizing the lesson content. As this practice evolves, the teachers become reflective practitioners who can evaluate and customize their teaching and the instructional materials to the benefit of the learning process. Lesson planning primarily provides a framework for the target lesson, thereby enabling the teachers to exercise appropriate control over processes and procedures that underlie successful achievement of the SLOs.

EFL teachers typically plan the lesson to start with a warm up activity which aims at developing the schemata of the learners for the target lesson. Teachers also identify what the learners already know and how the target lesson builds on their previous learning experiences (Ahmad, 2020b). They prioritize to maximize on the learners’ assimilation phase and it is then that they introduce new materials. In addition, logical sequencing of the activities is imperatives since each activity is built into the next with some SLO to accomplish. Communicative language teaching makes sure that learners are active participants in the learning process, and the classroom tasks and teacher management sets them into interactive patterns. This logically develops into the classroom interaction patterns and involve varied focus form the whole class response to pair or group work, and from the printed materials to the whiteboard or the overhead projector, and from one language skill to the other. It is also essential to keep changing the pace of the lesson as well as spare time to recap the lesson towards the end.

As mentioned in Student Teacher Assessment Instrument (STAI) developed by the Mississippi Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (MACTE), a lesson plan sets learning objectives, identifies teaching procedures, develops instructional materials, designs assessment tools, recognizes differential learning, identifies learning needs and preferences, integrates knowledge from diverse subject areas, and promotes multiculturism and diversity in class. Synthesizing all these elements in one lesson design requires a very strong professional acumen, and research has distinguished expert teachers from the novice based on how they respond to and create these multifaceted aspects of lesson planning in one document.

Planning to teach imperatives as part of the language systems could be challenging for it involves transferring form, meaning, use and phonology of the English imperatives. Moreover, the teacher must have a very clear cognizance about learners’ problems, and his plan must proffer viable provision for optimum learning outcomes through awareness raising and practical tasks (Ahmad, 2020a).

English Imperatives

Imperatives as sentence types and speech acts have high frequency in interactive situations (Biberet al., 1999, p. 219). They are also common in classroom discourse as instructions, commands, invitations, and requests etc. Although not as frequent in writing as they are in speaking, imperatives are commonly used in instruction manuals, textbook exercises, examination instructions and rubrics etc. The lesson plan has been created to raise EFL learners’ awareness of the use of imperatives, anticipating this will help them use appropriate language in and outside classroom as well as respond accurately to classroom tasks and examination questions.

Imperatives as Verbal Mood

Kroeger (2005, p. 163) defines mood as “a grammatical reflection of the speaker’s purpose in speaking”. Imperative is “a subcategory of verbal mood used primarily to express a request or command” (Trauth & Kazzazi, 1996, p. 540). Swan and Walters (1997, p. 218) suggest that we use imperatives to advise, and encourage people. Alexander (1990 p.140) points out that imperatives are also used for offers/invitations, directions, warnings, and prohibitions. Imperative clauses generally have an omissible subject (you), action and animate verbs (except for modal auxiliaries), and no passive form (Trauth & Kazzazi, 1996, p. 541). Since they require action after the moment of speaking, tense, aspect, or modal specification is not needed (Biberet al., 1999, p. 219).

Basic Form

According to Huddleston and Pullum (2005, p. 170) the major syntactic features distinguishing imperative clauses from declaratives are:

i) An omissible 2nd person.

ii) Plain/base verb form.

iii) Auxiliary do in verbal negations even with be.

In Table I, in (ia) the subject is obligatory, whereas in (ib) subject is implicit; You can be added (You tell her the truth!) but is less frequent. Are and follows in (ii) and (iii) are present tense forms; be and follow are plain forms. The imperative verb is distinct from the present declarative in just two cases: with the verb be as in (ii), and with 3rd person singular subject, like the everybody of (iii). In example (iv) auxiliary do is not permitted in the declarative version but is required in the imperative.

Declarative Imperative
i a You told her the truth (ibid) b Tell her the truth.
ii a You are more tolerant. b Be more tolerant.
iii a Everybody follows me. b Everybody follow me.
iv a You aren’t impetuous. b Don’t be impetuous.
Table I. Basic Form of Imperatives

Vocatives

When the position of you is fixed in relation to the verb it is best analyzed as subject. Vocatives (the addressee in imperative clause), on the other hand, can be placed either at the beginning or the end of the clause, and is separated by a comma:

Pass me the drink, Clare ! Or Clare , pass me the drink!

1st Person Imperatives

Greenbaum (1991, p. 104) suggests that 1st person imperatives may be formed with let and us. The informal use of let is to inflect ‘s for both affirmative and negative forms.

Let us play snooker       Let’s play snooker.

Let us not play snooker.   Let’s not play snooker.

Imperative + Question Tag

Imperatives with tags have tags with the modal verb will or would (Cowan, 2008, p. 114).

Help me, will you?

Coordinate Imperative Clauses Joined by ‘and’

When we have two imperatives together, we join them with and (not to )

Go and buy yourself a new pair of shoes.

The only exception is try. We can say: Try and help or Try to help. (Alexander, 1990, p. 141)

Emphatic and Other Imperatives

We can use do to make emphatic imperatives. Just and please are also used.

Do help yourself!

Just do it.

Please, take care of my laptop.

Meaning and Use

As mentioned earlier, imperatives can be used for the following variety of language functions (Alexander, 1990; Eastwood, 1994; Huddleston & Pullum, 2005):

Imperatives as Directives

Issuing directives is the characteristic use of imperative and include a range of more specific types of speech act (Table II).

Speech acts Examples
i. Orders/commands Stand up.
ii. Requests Please pass the jam.
iii. Instructions & directions Shake well before using.
iv. Advice Respect your elders.
v. Invitations Feel free to contact me.
vi. Permissions Come in.
vii. Slogans and advertisements Save the rainforests.
viii Warnings and reminders Look out! There’s a car coming.
xi Wishes Have a nice weekend!
Table II. Imperatives as Directives

Mostly, context and tone of voice help determine the type of speech act being performed. However, certain linguistic devices such as please as in (ii) and kindly are also used to distinguish requests from orders.

Vocatives

Vocatives are used to soften or sharpen the command or just to single out the addressee.

Ann, go first.

1st Person Imperatives

Thornbury (1999) states that we can use let’s for informal and let us for very formal use plus infinitive without to to make suggestions or give orders to a group that includes the speaker. Table III presents two examples.

Informal let Formal let
1 Let’s go swimming (affirmative) Let us go swimming (affirmative)
2 Let’s not go swimming (negative) Let us not go swimming (negative)
Table III. First Person Imperatives

Imperatives with Question Tags

These are used to make imperative more precise and insistent and are generally not used while speaking to a superior. Instead, please is used to achieve a softening effect of a request (Biberet al., 1999, p. 219).

Stop shouting, will you?

Stop shouting, will you please?

Coordinate Imperative Clauses

The coordinate clauses generally express a conditional relationship as in Touch them (tuning knobs) and the telly goes wrong suggesting if you touch them, the telly goes wrong. (Biberet al., 1999, p. 229)

Emphatic and Other Imperatives

The auxiliary do makes a positive imperative more urgent or adds a politely persuasive force to an offer, suggestion or invitation as in Do ring Cathy if you feel like it. Never and always are used for stronger negation and frequency respectively. Just makes the imperative less demanding and easier to comply with as in Just dump it at the door there.

Non-imperative Directives

Trauth and Kazzazi (1996, pp. 540–541) suggest that conditionals can also be used as directives as, for example, in Lose my book and I’ll make you buy me a new one. Requests can also be expressed in declarative sentences You’ll keep your promise! Or in interrogatives Why don’t you keep your mouth shut? where intonation and modal particles contribute to the identification of the speech act in question.

Phonology

Phonology of imperatives involves stress on base form of verb as on Stop talking, and particle (in case of phrasal verb) for functions like giving instructions, orders, showing directions etc., and showing politeness or annoyance. For example: Look out! A bus is coming (warning). If an imperative is a phrasal verb it may also involve linking when spoken as a chunk, for example, pick up may be realized as /pi kʌp/ instead of /pik/ /ʌp/. In prohibitions, the stress falls on both the auxiliary and the base verb as, for instance, in don’t walk on the grass. In imperatives with question tags, the tag is also stressed: Stop shouting, will you ?

Learner Problems

Imperatives can be challenging to learners from the following aspects:

Problems of Form

Imperatives are not a serious problem as far as their form is concerned, (Thornbury, 1999) and whatever evidence is available on this issue is anecdotal (Cowan, 2008, p. 121). However, negative form can be a problem for low level learners due the implicit subject you, and learners can say does not move. Type 3 (transitive separable) phrasal verbs can be a challenge for higher level students where object falls between verb and particle as in Throw this paper away . Some of the EFL students can use a negative tag or modals other than will and would, for example, Shut the window, won’t you? They can also use coordinators other than and as well as subordinators to form coordinate imperatives as in Go straight or turn right . Even higher-level learners can inflect the base form of the verb with ‘s in case of a 3rd person subject. For example, Someone opens the door . Some L2 students from SOV L1 backgrounds such as Urdu have problems with the English imperative structure as it is just the opposite in their L1. For example, Give me a pen in Urdu would be Me a pen give .

Problems of Meaning and Use

Absolute or even false EFL beginners have problems with the basic meaning of the verbs and, therefore, cannot respond to instructions appropriately. Slang such as hang out can also be unfamiliar. Some learners confuse the specialized use of let in imperatives with the ordinary use (to allow). Finding L2 equivalents in L1 for idiomatic meaning can also cause problems. Many of the EFL students tend to understand Bring out the book as soon as possible incorrectly as Take out the book immediately. Similarly, the Arab EFL students may struggle to distinguish imperatives from declaratives as Arabic is also a VO language. Elementary or pre-intermediate learners may not be familiar with context of use and, and may not even identify the subject you as referring to one person or many. Some learners are likely to sound impolite not knowing how to request or warn as they assume that all imperatives are orders.

Problems of Phonology

Phonology of imperatives involves marked and unmarked stress patterns and rising and falling intonation. L2 learners of all levels may use stressed subject you when giving an instruction as in You wait here for a moment and conversely use unstressed you to express annoyance as in You keep quiet!

Teaching Approach

Traditional teaching focuses more on form than on meaning/use and phonology of imperatives with the result that students sound inappropriate in interactive situations.

Suggestions for Teaching

In this section, an attempt has been made to address learners’ problems through awareness raising and production tasks. The former aims to highlight the importance of imperatives in English and to expose students to usage where imperatives are used in context. The latter will provide contextualized practice and use of imperatives with a view to aiding retention and developing automaticity at a later stage.

Awareness Raising

Since imperatives involve action verbs, and Total Physical Response (TPR) combined with other approaches could be an effective strategy to raise learners’ awareness of the imperatives (Thornbury, 1999), especially with elementary and pre-intermediate learners. For example, the teacher can sit with two students facing the class and perform some imperatives such as stand up, sit down, turn off the light, turn on the light etc., with these students (Lead-in stage). Then he can set the rest of the class do the same. As a next step, the teacher can vary the commands such as point to the white board or window. Similarly, the negative form can be practiced when the teacher asks one student first to stand up and then don’t move. Teachers can prioritize inclusion of imperatives in context-based lesson; for example, at low levels–giving directions or designing holiday brochures, etc.; at pre-intermediate level, a lesson on giving advice, e.g., at the doctor’s; and so on for a higher level. A typical elementary lesson on directions will focus on meaning and use without explicit reference to form. It may include the following stages:

➢ Development of schemata through elicitation.

➢ Context build-up exploiting immediate physical location and objects involving imperatives, prepositions of place, and target lexis, e.g., Stand up and go straight.

➢ Awareness raising using maps for giving and taking directions, e.g., Turn left from the church.

➢ Controlled practice using gap-fills, matching exercises etc.

➢ Semi-controlled practice through role play with maps where students give and take directions.

Similarly, to help pre-intermediate and intermediate learners overcome problems of form, matching activities where they match imperative clause with a non-imperative clause are useful. To overcome problems of meaning, intermediate learners can label imperatives in a text as commands, directions, suggestions, prohibitions etc. Authentic materials such as cooking recipes, processes, demonstrations, and dialogues in interactive situations can be used to figure out issues of meaning and use as well as spoken form. High frequency imperatives such as sit down, write this down, stop writing, hurry up etc. can be used in varying classroom contexts to raise awareness of form, meaning, and phonology.

Production Tasks

The following production tasks can be designed to help learners learn and practice imperatives:

Form/Grammar

To help students overcome problems of form, they can be asked to write affirmative or negative commands from pictures, for example, about classroom context. Students can also write advice (DOs & DONTs), for example, for their classroom. For problems of phrasal verbs, they can do gap-fill activity with the particle or verb missing, for tags, they can do matching tasks. Coordinate imperatives can be practiced with a set of two imperatives requiring use of and . The teachers can also develop a worksheet where students distinguish specialized use of let from the ordinary.

Meaning and Use

A number of production tasks can be designed to figure out issues of meaning and use. To help elementary students learn new vocabulary, matching activity where they match imperatives with the rest of the sentences can be effective to develop notions of negations, frequency etc. Students can also do gap-fills based on dialogues between teacher/students, doctor/patient etc. Advanced-level students can categorize the speech acts as commands, requests, warnings, suggestions, etc. to address issues of appropriateness.

L1 Transfer

To let elementary and pre-intermediate students handle L1 interference, give them jumbled sentences to order or a set of imperatives with structures from both L1 and L2, and they sort out imperatives in the target language. Intermediate and higher level can substitute the imperatives with non-imperatives or vice versa.

Context of Use

To help students with context of use, ask them to make posters e.g., Classroom Rules: Dos & Don’ts and post them on the wall for others to read. Higher level students can be given different situations, for example, a birthday party, and asked to use make imperatives using let’s.

Phonology/Spoken Form

To deal with pronunciation, choral drilling can be very effective for elementary and pre-intermediate students with highlighted stress and linking on the white board. Higher level students can change the imperatives to non-imperative directives such as, modals, declaratives, interrogatives etc. to resolve issues of appropriateness.

Significance of the Study

Research on lesson planning in EFL contexts is scanty as is also the case with English imperatives. This study proposes to address both of the relatively under-researched areas. The study includes an in-depth analysis of the imperatives in the context of their form, meaning, and use, and also provides an overview of the learners’ problems with this language system. The study also provides insights into how students’ problems can be resolved through awareness raising and practical tasks. A sample lesson plan is also provided which attempts to integrate the use of imperatives in a real-time classroom setting. The study is expected to help EFL teachers, especially the novice or less experienced to understand some important dynamics of lesson planning.

Aims of the Study

The study was primarily designed to raise awareness of the novice EFL teachers about designing a language system lesson by providing them an inside-out overview of the English imperatives.

Lesson Aims

The proposed lesson plan basically aimed at raising students’ awareness of imperatives for giving and following commands, instructions, advice, and requests in both positive and negative form. There was also a provision for controlled and semi-controlled practice of imperatives for commands, instructions, advice, and requests in the context of classroom discourse. The secondary aim of the lesson was to help students understand and learn how to write commands, instructions, advice, and requests in a classroom setting. Another sub-aim was to foster students’ awareness of the difference between soft and strict tone of imperatives.

Method

Lesson Procedure

The learners will do imperatives to use them in a classroom context for giving instructions both affirmative and negative, advice, and requests. The lesson plan suggests the use of Total Physical Response (TPR) to develop the schemata and context for the target lesson. Assuming that this was students’ first exposure to imperatives, the teacher planned to first, raise their awareness of the form, meaning/use, and phonology of imperatives, and then take them to the production activities. The students will be engaged in enacting some imperatives so that they could develop their awareness about the affirmative and negative form as well as meaning. Then, to further raise their awareness of the form, meaning, and context of the target imperatives, they will write imperative sentences with the help of pictures. Next, they will match the imperative verbs with the rest of the sentence. The teacher will be using concept check questions (CCQs) at regular intervals in the lesson to ensure that the students understand, for example, the omissible subject you or the stronger effect of never for negation/prohibition. Finally, the students will do a semi-controlled activity and produce posters on “Classroom Rules”.

Learning Context

This lesson plan was design for the elementary level EFL students, and it was assumed that they have so far learned a number of items both from the language systems and the skills areas. More specifically, they have done the present simple, past simple tenses for affirmative, negative, and question statements; present progressive and perfect aspect; comparatives; personal pronouns; some basic vocabulary and phrasal verb used in travel; and some reading both for general and specific information using context clues. It was also assumed that since these students were familiar with phrasal verbs, it will be reasonable to introduce them to imperatives at this stage of the course. It is expected that in forthcoming lessons they will have the background knowledge about using imperatives in a classroom situation and will benefit from this in their future lessons.

Assumed Knowledge

The lesson was designed on the assumption that the target group of learners had received a good practice in the language skills and systems to do a lesson on imperatives. They have implicit exposure to imperatives such as get up/wake up in daily routines, or have heard chunks in classroom language stand up, turn on the lights, but this will be the first time they’ll get formal exposure to the form, meaning/use, and phonology of imperatives. Most importantly, they are familiar with present tense, base verb, subject, and personal pronouns, it will be appropriate to exploit this language base for the target lesson.

The Lesson Plan

Table IV presents a detailed overview of the lesson plan used in the present study.

Time Stage/Stage aim(s) Procedure Interaction Materials
7–10 min Lead-in & Context set-up: • to activate the schemata of the students (SS) for the target lesson by arousing interest in the topic • to develop a clear and meaningful context for the lesson using TPR and SS involvement • To let SS listen, observe/notice, and speak/use imperatives • Greet the SS • Sit between two SS facing the class • Stand up and ask the 2 SS to stand up, walk around the room, stop, turn around, walk, stop, turn around, sit down. Do it with SS • Now call one S and vary the order of commands • Give instructions • Demonstrate with one S—point to the wall, walk to the door, touch the floor, open the door, close the door, turn around, walk to the board • SS act out similar sets of instructions • Gradually increase the number and density of instructions T ↔ SSSS ↔ SST ↔ SS n/a
3–5 min Stage 1 • To raise SS awareness of the negative imperative using Don’t • To let SS listen, observe/notice, and speak/use negative imperatives Task 1 • With one S demonstrate the meaning of Don’t ….. by telling the student—stand up; don’t walk; don’t turn around; sit down–indicating when it’s appropriate to perform the action and when not • Context build-up stage is then repeated but with the inclusion of the negative imperative form don’t T ↔ SSS↔ SST ↔ SS
12 min Stage 2 • To further raise SS awareness of the form and meaning of imperatives • To help SS write imperatives in context with pictures • To perform CCQ Task 2 • Elicit an example by showing a picture • Give instructions • Give SS pictures of different classroom contexts • In pairs SS write affirmative & negative imperatives • CCQ for meaning, & form T ↔ S S↔S (PW)T ↔ SS Worksheet
15 min Stage 3 • To give SS semi-controlled practice in the use of imperatives • To help SS conceptualize & contextualize form and meaning of imperatives • To encourage SS do peer correction Task 3 • Form 2/3 groups • Give instructions • Give SS matching activity (Appendix 4) • SS complete the task in pairs • Paste the answer sheet on the wall/board • S goes, check the answer & reports to his partners • CCQ; elicit use of never, always, strong & softening effect etc. T ↔ SS S↔S (gw)T ↔ SS White boardPaper/notebook
10 min Stage 4 • To give SS semi-controlled writing practice in the use of imperatives in context • To let SS personalize new learning • To use comprehension check Task 4 • Elicit a few classroom rules • Give instructions • Form 3/4 groups • Give SS worksheet • SS write Classroom Rules & make posters • SS stick their posters on the wall • SS move around & read the posters • CCQ • Feedback T ↔ SS S↔S (pw)T ↔ SS Paper strips
5 min 03:25–03:30 Round-up • To recapitulate the lesson • To see whether the lesson objectives have been met • To praise & thank Back-up plan: (If time permitted) • Elicit from SS • Form groups for speaking activity • Give directions • SS discuss “Dos & Don’ts of improving English outside the class” • Give feedback T ↔ SSSS ↔ SS (GW)T ↔SS Worksheet
Table IV. The Lesson Plan

Discussion

The lesson aims at raising students’ awareness of the meaning and concept of imperatives as used in classroom context. The choice of the topic was motivated by two major factors: First, imperatives are quite frequent in classroom discourse and learners encounter them while listening to the teacher, other students in class as well as in textbook or workbook exercises. Secondly, awareness and functional knowledge of the use of imperatives will help them use appropriate language, for example, while giving or taking directions.

Owing to time constraints, the lesson focus was restricted to affirmative and negative imperatives which are used for instruction, directions, and requests. The students will also practice the use of please and never for politeness and stronger negation respectively. Since these learners may be doing a formal lesson on imperatives for the first time despite having an implicit knowledge of their use, it was decided to build the lesson around imperatives which were commonly used in classroom settings. It was anticipated that as these students progressed in English language learning, this would help them understand and learn more imperatives for other communicative functions.

The materials can be adapted from different sources as well as designed the teacher to use in the class to suit to the language needs and learning styles of my learners. In fact, this is something contextual, and the teacher can improvise selection of materials by anticipating the problems that his learners might have with the target imperatives. For instance, the researcher proposes to help his learners first, through a few awareness-raising activities which would facilitate them grasp the notion of imperatives and their use in language learning. Through activation of schemata, TPR, and visual stimuli, a meaningful context for further learning can be developed. In the next stage, reinforcement of new learning can be achieved by giving them more picture prompts and asking them to write imperative sentences. To further raise students’ awareness of the form and meaning of the imperatives, the teacher can set the learners to do a matching activity where they match imperative with the rest of the sentence. More importantly, concept check questions (CCQs) can be employed to see, for example, if the learners have understood the notion of the omissible subject you and the negative form with don’t . The last production activity could be a semi-controlled writing activity where students write posters on “Classroom Rules: Dos & Don’ts”. This activity will help students personalize the newly learnt imperatives.

Learner autonomy is crucial to the development of the language systems and the skills. So, the learners will be working in pairs or in groups and provide each other feedback on the activities. Equally important is the provision for different learning styles (Ahmad, 2017). Assuming that most of the students are visual, kinesthetic, and analytical learners, the tasks will cater for their learning styles also. For instance, pictures will appeal to the visual learners, moving in a group, ordering pictures or going to the board will suit to kinesthetic learners and, matching activity will appeal to the analytical learners. However, the teacher will have to cater for students with other learning styles or with special needs by modifying the implementation style of the task or activity. Teacher monitoring and scaffolding should be readily available in order to successfully complete the lesson and achieve maximum learning outcomes. It is always advisable for the teacher to keep a supplementary activity to use if the planned lesson is finished a little early or he feels the students need more practice, or the worksheets that he is using according to the plan are difficult or too easy for the learners.

Conclusion

Imperatives in English allow the user to control and maneuver his speech and writing in both social interactions and academic discourse. Since imperatives are one of the most frequently used language system feature in everyday speech, and a highly essential component of classroom discourse, an appropriate use helps the creation of meaningful and effective discourse between or among the interlocuters. Especially, in academic contexts, both the teachers and the students continually engage in giving and responding to instructions etc. These and many other functional aspects of imperatives make them a very significant learning component in EFL syllabus design.

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