Different Stages of a

Lesson
Warm-up stage
A warm up activity is a short, fun game which a teacher or trainer can use with
students. The purpose of a warm up is to:
• encourage the students
• wake them up – first thing in the morning and after lunch people are often
a little sleepy
• prepare them to learn by stimulating their minds and/or their bodies.
Warm ups should last about 5 minutes.
Warm ups are particularly useful:
• to help new students or trainees to get to know each other
• to mark the shift when students have finished learning about one topic
before starting on a new topic
Warm up activities are essential teaching techniques for good teacher and trainers.
https://www.eenet.org.uk/resources/docs/cambodia_warmups.pdf

WARM-UP & REVIEW

Some lessons begin with a warm-up. Others start with a review. It is even possible to
start with both a warm-up and a review. It all depends on your class situation.

A review connects the current lesson with previous lessons by going over points that
were taught or learned previously. For example, "Last time we learned about
introductions..."
Good reviews are not teacher dominated. Rather, they allow the students to
demonstrate what they learned and what they remember.

The review often leads into the current lesson. In such cases, the review
serves as a warm-up also. In some classes, such as those where a different
group of students shows up each time, a review is not an appropriate way to
begin. A warm-up activity is still needed, however.

The purpose of a warm-up is to help students get in the mood for class. A
warm-up may be necessary to "wake them up," make them happy to be there,
or to set the tone for what will follow.

A warm-up may take many forms. It can be a question, or a story. It might involve
showing the class a picture and drawing them into a discussion.

Use your imagination and creativity, but keep the warm-up connected to the lesson that
will follow.

For example...
 INTRODUCTION &
PRESENTATION

Introduction and presentation go together because the introduction

usually leads right into the presentation phase of the lesson. They
are still separate parts, however, because they accomplish different
purposes.

The INTRODUCTION provides interest and motivation to the

students. It focuses students' attention on the lesson and its
purposes. It also convinces students that they will benefit from the
lesson.
There are many ways to present an introduction. Here are a few:

 Asking questions to get the students thinking about the topic of the
lesson.
 Showing pictures that relate to the lesson topic.
 Telling a story to show the importance of the topic.
 Bringing in "realia" (real objects) related to the lesson.

The PRESENTATION phase of the lesson is when the teacher introduces new
information. The teacher guides the presentation, but there may be student input or
interaction.

The presentation may be...

Inductive (where examples are presented and the students draw conclusions based on
them), or Deductive (where the teacher states a rule or generalization and proceeds to
explain or illustrate it), or

Some combination or variation of inductive and/or deductive. Whichever method is

used, during the presentation phase, the teacher…

 Relates the new material to students' previous knowledge and experiences,

 Checks students' comprehension, and
 Models examples of the tasks that will be expected of students during the
practice phase of the lesson.
 Above all, when teaching English to people whose English skills are
limited, it is essential to ensure that students understand the
presentation by...

 Keeping the language simple,

 Illustrating the presentation, and
 Checking students' comprehension periodically.

Keep the language of your presentation understandable by…

 Using short, uncomplicated sentences (but don't resort to "Tarzan

talk")
 Using simple, basic vocabulary,
 Speaking slowly and distinctly (without exaggerating, of course), and...
 Pausing briefly between sentences.

You will have to be sensitive to your particular students (watch their faces, ask them for
feedback, check their actual comprehension) in order to adjust all these factors to the
right level for them.

Illustrate your presentation with…

 pictures (borrowed from a library, clipped from old magazines, drawn on paper or
the chalkboard, etc.)
 realia (objects from the real world, e.g., real carrots and potatoes for a lesson on
the names of vegetables)
 gestures (pantomime, make dramatic faces, etc. as you speak), and
 anything else that helps make the meaning clear.

Checking Understanding

When checking students comprehension, it is not enough to ask, "Do you understand?"
They will usually nod their heads or say, "Yes," even when they are lost. Have them do
something to show that they understand.

PRACTICE
 Practice is an absolutely crucial part of almost any ESL/EFL lesson.

Our purpose in language teaching is almost always to build students' skills.

When they are communicating in English, they will need to use English
grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation accurately and fluently, but they will
have to focus on what they are saying, not how to say it.

Therefore, if they are to communicate successfully, their language skills must

be developed to the point where they can use them naturally and
automatically, without even thinking very much about them. That takes plenty
of practice!

Building skills is very different from teaching content. For example, if you were teaching
history, you would probably teach content. You would teach your students about
history. You would expect them to understand history, but you wouldn't usually expect
them to go out and make history.

In contrast, you do expect your ESL students to go out of class and use English. That's
the whole purpose of the class. They need to communicate. If they are to do that, you
must build their communication skills in class, and that takes practice.

To summarize, don't confuse skill teaching and content teaching and merely teach your
students about English. Give them plenty of opportunities (in and out of class) to
practice their English skills.

This practice should take many forms. For one thing, it needs to be
varied just to keep students' interest high. Too much of the same kind of
practice can be boring and reduce their motivation and enthusiasm.

This practice also typically follows some sort of progression. One type of progression
goes from guided practice (where the teacher controls the students' responses) to free
(where the students choose and create what they want to say). Another type of
progression is based on a classification of language learning activities in three
categories:
  Mechanical
 Meaningful
 Communicative

MECHANICAL practice activities are teacher controlled. Students merely follow

instructions or a model. An example is a repetition drill. Mechanical practice activities
are good for some purposes (e.g., teaching accurate pronunciation). However, they
quickly become boring, and they cannot be used at all for developing many other
language skills.

That's why we need other types.

MEANINGFUL practice activities may also be teacher controlled, but the students are
aware of the meaning of what they are saying. That also allows them to have some
control over what they say.

In COMMUNICATIVE practice activities students choose the language they will use
and the meanings they will express. (These choices are usually based on knowledge
and skills gained in earlier presentation and practice activities.)

https://linguistics.byu.edu/faculty/henrichsenl/LessonPlanning