Planning
a lesson before teaching is an essential part of giving an effective ESL
lesson. Depending on the experience of the teacher and the type of information
included, the planning process for a lesson plan can be quite varied.
Experienced ESL teachers tend to make a mental plan of what they are going to
teach compared with newer teachers who tend to create very detailed lesson
plans.
An important
reason to prepare a lesson plan is so you can develop the structure of the
lesson as well as organize the content effectively. This improves your
ability to select ESL activities and materials that will best suit your
students. A lesson plan functions to give the teacher a framework for the
lesson. Furthermore, it helps the teacher to think about the process of
teaching. This gives the teacher a feeling of security knowing that they are
prepared to instruct the class. A lesson plan also helps the teacher with the
timing of activities to ensure the students receive a well-balanced and
time-managed lesson.
There are many
factors that you need to consider when planning a lesson. For example, how the
students prefer to learn, the level of the students, the class size and seating
arrangements, etc.
Here is a list
of questions to consider when planning a lesson:
The Objective: What is the objective of
the lesson? How can I best achieve the objective?
ESL Teaching Activities: What ESL teaching
activities will I need during the lesson to accomplish my objective? For
example, speaking activities, role-plays, brainstorming, listening exercises,
etc.
Beginning: What activity should I
use to start the class? For instance, a warmer, a review, etc.
Timing: How much time will I
spend on each activity?
Sequencing: What would be the best
order for the activities?
Extra Materials: Will I need to use any
other materials during the lesson? For example, worksheets, videos, etc.
Suitability: Will the students be
interested and motivated by the activities provided? Are the ESL activities
suitable for the students?
Level: Is the lesson pitched at the right
level for the students? What problems might the students have understanding the
content?
Groupings: In which activities will
the students work alone, work in pairs, or groups? Why?
Transitions: How will I move from one
activity to the next? How will the activities connect?
Language Focus: Is there enough language
focus in the ESL activities? Will the students need more examples before doing
the activities? For example, extra vocabulary, grammar examples, modelling,
etc.
Below
are 6 steps to follow when lesson planning.
Step 1: Decide on Your Lesson Plan Objectives
This is the daunting
part, but it’s crucial that you know this from the start. Step one is the
foundation of everything that follows.
As a suggestion, your
focus could be:
a song or a movie (be sure that your school
permits this and that it won’t disturb neighboring classrooms). Remember that
audio must be played loudly for students to understand it since it’s in a
different language.
a specific
grammar point,
such as forming questions or practicing the present progressive. Young or
beginning learners might need to focus on the conjugation of only one specific
verb such as “to be.” More advanced students could practice multiple irregular verb conjugations.
a general exercise
such as understanding a short passage
from a “Harry Potter” book.
a vocabulary group.
For example, you might teach cooking, colors, medical terminology or animals.
Step 2: Outline Your Lesson Plan
Remember that every lesson plan should include
individual work. To keep things organized, my outlines included the estimated
time spent on each section. For example, a movie outline could be this:
1. Waiting for students to arrive and for the class to
calm down (teenagers never arrive on time) — 1 minute
2. Welcome/quick review of previous week/
3. Pass out movie worksheets — 1 minute
4. Play preview of movie — 2 minutes
5. Introduce vocabulary needed to understand movie
scene — 5 minutes
6. Individual practice of the vocabulary on student worksheets
— 3 minutes
7. Giving answers to worksheets — 2 minutes
8. Listening exercises with the movie (includes
playing the movie scenes several times, then going over the answers and letting
the students watch the scenes a third time) — 20 minutes
9. Free watching of the movie (always a class
favorite, but get permission from your head teacher first) — 6 minutes
10. Wrap up the class by asking vocabulary review
questions — 2 minutes
It’s important to balance classroom organization vs.
time for the unexpected. Be ready for the unanticipated questions that can
throw off your timing.
Step 3: Choose ESL Activities to Accomplish Your
Lesson Plan Objectives
Variety is the spice of the ESL classroom. Everyone
learns differently. You need activities for visual and audio learners as well
as doers.
Use games in the classroom. I
believe in games in ESL classrooms. Used correctly, games let
students test what they’ve learned in a relaxed, exciting way. The key is to
make sure everyone participates. Without proper management, weaker or lazier
students will quietly sit back and do nothing. In a 45 minute class, a game
shouldn’t be longer than 12 minutes. Watch your motivations. There’s a big
difference between playing Charades to review animal names vs. playing Hangman
to let the teacher relax.
Consider the pros and cons of individual
vs. group ESL work. No lesson is complete without
individual work. Everyone needs time to practice material on their own. These
activities also help shyer
students, who can work quietly without the pressure of a
spotlight. Group work, on the other hand, is useful too. Students can practice
a dialogue with each other and learn from stronger partners. Team activities
are often fun and give everyone a chance to relax a little. The drawback of
group work, though, is that more advanced students tend to dominate the action.
The right mix is essential.
Repeat recent ESL activities. You
can repeat activities. How often depends on how popular the activity is. One of
my classes insisted on reviewing vocabulary by playing Pictionary every week. For classes that meet once
a week, it’s best to recycle activities once a month if you can. Otherwise,
your students might start to lose interest – and perhaps you will as well.
Ignore bad advice from ESL teacher
websites and chat rooms. There are some great ESL websites
out there. Just as many offer very bad advice. Be careful who you listen to.
Some teachers are only concerned with winning popularity contests and so play
games at every opportunity. Be sure that you’re listening to teachers who take
their jobs seriously. Ignore those who only want a party atmosphere in their
classes. Focus on advice that helps you structure your classes more while
leaving time for fun.
Step 4: Create ESL Materials and Worksheets
It’s true that the internet has a lot of free
worksheets. By all means, use them. Time, however, is your greatest enemy. You
first must know where to find quality ESL material. (The list above is a great
place to start.) Until you have a few favorite sites, searching for worksheets
on the internet will take a lot of your time. You’re not done there. You still
have to tailor it to your class’s level.
Here are some tips that could make things go faster:
Reuse workbook materials. Photocopy exercises from a
textbook, white-out the answers and let students complete the questions as a
review.
If you do make your own materials, remember to include
two sample questions with answers at the very beginning. Kids and low-level
students always need a clear model to look at before doing individual work.
For each grammar point, include five to seven
questions.
Include pictures on the worksheet. No one likes to
look at straight, boring text.
Puzzles of any type are fun and can help to quiet down
an energetic class. “Boggle,” word searches or riddles (make sure they aren’t
too hard) are always a welcome challenge.
Hang onto your ESL materials for future
classes.
Step 5: Create Stellar Visual Aids for Your ESL
Classroom
You’ll need visual aids that add depth and interest to
your class. It could be a PowerPoint presentation, a restaurant menu from home
or things from your kitchen. Whatever you choose, make sure it enhances your
lesson.
Decide:
Is a PowerPoint presentation necessary for this lesson?
Weigh the pros and cons of using videos in
ESL classes.
Find creative ways to add visual aids to
your ESL class.
Look at your lesson’s target language and see if
anything already in your home applies. Try not to buy too much. It’s not
necessary to spend a lot of money on this.
Step 6: The Final Stages of Lesson Planning
You’ve made it. Believe me, I sincerely congratulate
you. Before you head into class, do a few things first:
Get advice from other English teachers. Show your
coworkers your ESL materials. Especially if you teach in a foreign country,
their advice is invaluable. They understand your students better than you do
and they’ll see gaps in logic, things that are too hard and cultural pitfalls. Take their advice and
change your materials.
Don’t
stress about the outcome of the first class. Nobody’s perfect, and you won’t be either. On
the first day, make copies for only that day. You’ll probably come back to your
desk with a few things to change for tomorrow. Save trees by not making copies
that’ll only go in the recycle bin.
After the Lesson
After your lesson has taken place, you should review
how the lesson went. You should also review your lesson plans regularly to keep
track of activities that worked well. Lesson plans should also be kept as a
record of what has been covered.
Here are some questions that you can use to evaluate
the lessons success:
Did the students enjoy the lesson? What problems were
there during the lesson? Which ESL activities were successful and which were
not? Did I manage to achieve the objective of the lesson? How do I know this?
Will I teach this lesson again in the same way?
As a teacher, you may find a lesson that worked
perfectly well with one class has different results in another. You should
always be prepared to change the lesson plan as the class takes place and adapt
to the needs of the students.
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