Most teachers have experienced the "blank stare" when after teaching a lesson implementing all their best strategies using their best language-learning English and at the moment of releasing responsibility--that is, moving from the teacher's responsibility to prepare students for the task to their responsibility to carry it out--the students are confused. Interestingly, in this moment it is not only the students who are puzzled. Often the teacher's confusion mirrors the students'. The teacher wonders, "What wasn't clear about my instructions, and how do I reteach when I have already given it my best shot?" For insight into solving the problem of the blank stare, the Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) model (Pearson and Gallagher 1983) provides teachers with a structure that can be used to strengthen classroom lessons. In this article, the author introduces the GRR model in the EFL context, with an emphasis on training teachers in communicative language teaching (CLT) strategies. First she defines the four steps of the GRR using a standard EFL grammatical topic--the contrast between the gerund and the infinitive--to compare the nature of traditional lessons with those guided by the GRR. She also provides concrete examples of how she incorporates the GRR in two fundamental EFL teacher-training activities: (1) the information-gap activity and (2) reflections on model lessons. She uses examples from her experiences working with public high school teachers in Pernambuco, Brazil, to show how implementing the GRR model can strengthen student-centered professional development programs for local EFL teachers around the world.