The structure of male and female teachers’ directives in English Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms

 The structure of male and female teachers’ directives in English Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms primarily involves three types of sentence forms: imperative, interrogative, and declarative. These forms are used to give instructions, commands, requests, or suggestions during teaching and learning activities13.

Types and Usage of Directives

• Teachers use directive speech acts mainly in three types:

  • Commands (most frequent) to attract attention, elicit responses, or instruct students

  • Requests to politely ask students to perform actions

  • Suggestions to advise or recommend actions to students2

• Directives can be performed in two ways:

  • Direct directives, which are explicit and straightforward

  • Indirect directives, which are more polite or implicit2

Gender Differences

While the search results do not explicitly compare male and female teachers’ directive structures, research on EFL teacher directives generally highlights that the structure of directives does not significantly differ by gender but rather depends on teaching style and classroom context. Both male and female teachers use imperative, interrogative, and declarative forms to manage classroom interaction and guide students12.

Features of Directive Speech Acts in EFL

• Imperative forms dominate as they are clear and efficient for classroom management and instruction.

• Interrogative forms are often used to check understanding or elicit student responses.

• Declarative forms can be used to provide information or indirect commands.

• Spoken directives often complement written instructions, clarifying and elaborating on task requirements through repetition, paraphrasing, and exemplification, which enhance student comprehension5.

Summary

Directive Structure	Function in Classroom	Typical Usage Frequency
Imperative	Commands, instructions	Most frequent
Interrogative	Requests, eliciting responses	Moderate
Declarative	Suggestions, indirect commands	Less frequent

Both male and female teachers in EFL classrooms employ these structures flexibly, often favoring direct imperative forms to maintain clarity and control during lessons. The use of direct and indirect forms depends more on situational factors than gender differences125.

References:
1 Neliti - Structure of Teacher's Directives
2 Jurnal UNIMED - Teachers’ Directive Speech Acts in EFL Classroom Interactions
3 Neliti PDF - Structure of Teacher's Directives
5 Nordic Journal of English Studies - Teachers’ Use of Written and Verbal Instructions

Citations:

1. https://www.neliti.com/id/publications/177373/the-structure-of-teachers-directives-of-the-english-lecturers-of-muhammadiyah-un
2. https://jurnal.unimed.ac.id/2012/index.php/eltu/article/view/35620/0
3. https://media.neliti.com/media/publications/177373-EN-the-structure-of-teachers-directives-of.pdf
4. https://jurnal.unimed.ac.id/2012/index.php/eltu/article/download/35620/18431
5. https://publicera.kb.se/njes/article/download/30400/24349/69487
6. https://journal.um.ac.id/index.php/jph/article/download/25435/7044
7. https://ijels.com/upload_document/issue_files/9IJELS-111202314-TheEffectiveness.pdf
8. https://edukatif.org/index.php/edukatif/article/view/5487

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