Tips on lesson planning

I hope that now you have had the session on lesson planning, you feel more confident preparing your first lessons for teaching practice. If you don't fancy reading all the information below, you can listen to my three-minute summary here:



 Below are a few tips.

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1. Think about the lesson objectives of your session, It is a good idea to make these SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-led). Consider what you want the learners to be able to do by the end of the lesson and go from there. Avoid using words such as 'understand' and 'know' in your lesson objectives as it is difficult to assess whether the learners are actually learning something. Remember as well that you want the learners to put some cognitive effort into the lesson, i.e. there should be some evidence of deeper learning going on. All learners should be 'stretched' and 'challenged' to some degree. A useful resource is Bloom's taxonomy. This provides some useful language which you can use when writing your lesson objectives. The video clip focuses on the cognitive components of Bloom's taxonomy.



 

2. Present language via a context whereever possible. This context should be generative, e.g. if you are using a text or audio to present language, there should be several examples of the target language so that learners can perceive patterns and hopefully 'notice' rules for themselves. We shall look at different ways of presenting language during the course.

3. Keep the function of the language in mind. When you research the language point you are teaching, you will notice that it may have many functions. For example, a third conditional form can be used to apportion blame (e.g. "If you'd got up earlier, we wouldn't have missed the plane."), express regret (e.g. "If I'd studied harder, I could have got a better job.") etc. It is, therefore, essential that you keep to this function when learners are being introduced to and practising the language. Do NOT attempt to convey ALL the uses of the present perfect, for example, in one lesson. This is potentially confusing and I doubt whether they will retain this knowledge. If you decide to use of Murphy's English in Use exercises, make sure that the exercise practises the function of the language that the learners have been introduced to earlier on.

4. Be realistic! Do not attempt to cram everything into a 40-minute lesson. Teach the learners not the plan; be flexible. You may have to spend longer on one stage than another. This is fine.

5. Ensure there is a clear link between each stage of the lesson. Ask yourself how each stage leads onto the next. For example, if you are teaching a reading lesson, think about WHY you might need to pre-teach some vocabulary. Make this clear to your learners so they are clear where they are going. 

6. Finally, try not to get too stressed. Teaching should be an enjoyable process. You are here to learn so if something does not quite go to plan in your lesson, don't worry. Nobody is a perfect teacher!