Overt instruction involves identifying students’ specific learning needs and creating lessons to address these. According to the New London Group (1996), overt instruction is the active interaction of teachers that aids students to understand what they are learning (Henderson & Exley, 2012). It also helps them with how they are learning (Gee J.P, 2002). Students explicitly learn metalanguage, which is language terms used to describe language. It also helps students build on what they already know (Literacy Society, 2013).
An example might be teaching grammar. Students are explicitly taught words such as indefinite article, pronouns, cases, mood, and inflections and are taught how they are formed. A German teacher might find that students struggle with the German grammar concept of cases, in which the teacher would explicitly revise this concept and provide activities related to this (board games for example). This is a very explicit example, but other examples may be through interactive websites, games, introducing native speakers to students, organising activity stations and so forth. Overt instruction is required for second language learners as foreign languages cannot always be naturally acquired. Despite this, a combination of experience and explicit instruction is recommended. It is important that overt instruction does not lead to teacher-centred lessons and that students are seen as key contributors as well (Gee J.P, 2002).
An example might be teaching grammar. Students are explicitly taught words such as indefinite article, pronouns, cases, mood, and inflections and are taught how they are formed. A German teacher might find that students struggle with the German grammar concept of cases, in which the teacher would explicitly revise this concept and provide activities related to this (board games for example). This is a very explicit example, but other examples may be through interactive websites, games, introducing native speakers to students, organising activity stations and so forth. Overt instruction is required for second language learners as foreign languages cannot always be naturally acquired. Despite this, a combination of experience and explicit instruction is recommended. It is important that overt instruction does not lead to teacher-centred lessons and that students are seen as key contributors as well (Gee J.P, 2002).