Purpose: Locating information on the internet is an important skill in the Information Society. Some recent studies showed that searching using non-English terms is a more demanding task than searching in English. Based on these observations, this paper aims to apply the Instructional System Design (ISD) methodology to analyse, design and implement a training course for Greek users. This instructional approach considers the explanation of the internal search engine intelligence and inefficiencies with respect to non-English natural language as its basic structural element. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the ISD methodology, the tasks that needed to be trained as a web searcher were identified and a six-phase instructional sequence was constructed. The instructional methodology is evaluated with the aid of students in an authentic environment. Findings: The evaluation revealed that learners who followed the structured approach and were aware of the search engines' limitations relating to the Greek language performed better in the web searching experiments. Originality/value: The instructional methodology described can be applied in any course which aims at teaching basic web searching skills. The instructional approach presented can also be adapted to other non-English languages.