Lesson Plan Delta Module 2 LSA0

Tuesday, 14 January 8pm

Teacher: Lucy Lundstrom
IH Buenos Aires
Room: 2

Group Profile

This is an intermediate B1 level course which meets four times a week (Monday to Thursday)
for a two hour class from 7-9 pm. The course takes place at International House in Buenos
Aires, and there are 5 teachers who take turns teaching the course. The students range in age
from 23 to 70, and have varying English learning experience. Some of the students are
interested in improving their English for career-related reasons, while others would simply like to
improve their language abilities for personal interest. In the first week of class, it was apparent
that attendance is generally good by the end of the class, although many of the students arrive
late regularly.

Individual Profiles

Student General Notes Abilities Relevant to the

Lesson

Aida Her listening skills are low. Aida is interested in learning

She needs to listen to English for work, which may
instructions two or three involve some presentations.
times as she does not pay
attention to them. She has
some problems with tenses.
Aida confuses 3rd person
singular of simple present
with simple past, and present
perfect with simple past. She
likes traveling. She would
like to improve her English to
visit her daughter in the USA.
She is a psychologist. She is
also interested in learning
English for her profession as
well.

Osvaldo Very secure intermediate. Osvaldo has a large

Good performer. Good use of
the vocabulary and verbal
expressions. He needs time
to thinks his sentence and
organize it but he delivers
good structures and conveys
vocabulary and is a strong
speaker. He is able to
express his opinions clearly,
so he may do very well with
this activity, and the specific
practice will benefit him.
 meaning. He wants to
improve his level of English.
He is a retired lawyer.

Ariel Ariel struggles a lot with Ariel does have to give

vocabulary and fluency when
speaking, and resorts to
Spanish a lot. However, he
may simply be nervous,
because he seems to be a
stronger speaker when
working in small groups or
pairs. He does seem very
motivated and says he uses
English every day at his job in
Digital Marketing, so he is
most interested in improving
his English for work. He had
a hard time using present and
past tense verbs correctly.
presentations and participate
in conferences for work, and
his work is in digital
marketing so this activity will
likely be relevant for him. He
is a good listener and I
predict that he will be very
capable at hearing important
phrases in the model
advertisement.

Julieta Julieta struggles a bit with Julieta is creative and enjoys

pronunciation but has a good speaking. I think she will
vocabulary and clearly feels enjoy this activity, and it will
comfortable speaking. Her benefit her to practice
use of subject/pronoun preparing before she speaks
agreement was consistently for a higher degree of
correct. She was able to accuracy.
switch back and forth
between past and present
verbs with some accuracy,
but still needs to work on that.
Her motivation is studying
abroad.

Sebastian His needs analysis form Sebastian’s strength in

indicated that he's not
particularly interested in
grammar (though
acknowledges that it is
important), reading or writing.
He work in software
development, uses English
every day at work. He speaks
quite fluently but with
mistakes (pronunciation &
grammar). He wants to
improve his fluency and
increase his vocabulary. He
also wants to improve his
speaking and outgoing
personality will allow him to
benefit from this activity. He
will be able to practice
fluency, but like Julieta, he
will benefit from preparing his
speech before giving it to
avoid and identify potential
errors.
 listening as he has trouble
understanding the accents of
the Americans he works with
(from St Louis). He seems
quite confident and he likes
English & languages in
general.

Cintia Her needs analysis form Cintia prefers to work in

indicated that she feels she smaller groups, so it will be
needs to practise all skills - good practice for her and
though this may be due to hopefully suit her learning
lack of confidence. She did style to work on and give
later say that she felt quite presentations in groups of 4.
confident in her listening
ability as she understood
people on her trip to London -
but could not speak back to
them, so speaking could be
her priority.
Cintia also wants to learn
English for work (in a
bilingual high school) and for
her studies (Chemistry) as
textbooks and online
information are all in English.
She is very shy and her main
issue is confidence, she
tends to freeze just before or
during speaking and
sometimes resorts to the
Spanish word while she's
thinking.
Is not comfortable working in
larger groups.

Leonardo Leonardo’s reasons for Leonardo is good at self-

wanting to learn English is correcting when he speaks,
that he often travels for work. and he will be able to further
He works at a Chinese develop this skill in the
company, and the language preparation stage of the
used for communication with lesson.
Chinese employees is
English. Additionally, he
sometimes travels to China,
and uses English while there.
Leo has indicated that he
considers reading of any kind
to be an area that he wishes
to improve, as well as writing
 and grammar.
Leo is a confident speaker of
English, although he has
issues with understanding
what he is asked. He shows
an awareness of grammar-
particularly tenses, and will
often correct himself while
speaking in order to maintain
proper form.

Micaela Her needs analysis form Micaela would like to practice

indicated that her main focus speaking, so this activity will
is speaking, followed by be relevant toher interests.
grammar, vocabulary and
listening. Does not put much
importance on reading or
writing.

Raquel Raquel has traveled Raquel is a strong speaker,

extensively and views but tends to get distracted or
learning English as a way of possibly overconfident when
enhancing her travel instructions are being given
experiences by enabling her and miss important
to communicate with people. information. It will be
Apart from this, she does not important to check
have any more extrinsic instructions with her in mind,
motives for learning English, and to separate her from Aida
and emphasised that she when doing group work as
primarily wanted to speak it the two tend to speak
more fluently. In class, she Spanish together quite a lot.
sometimes speaks Spanish
when sitting close to Aida.
Her chief concerns are that it
has been a long time (6
years) since she studied
English, and she worries that
this has impacted her level.
Raquel can talk on a variety
of topics with great depth and
complexity. She
demonstrated a high level of
fluency, but was inconsistent
with grammatical accuracy-
particularly so in her use of
tense while narrating events.

Valter He is in publicity and he Valter needs to practice

works as an editor/content pronunciation and wants to
writer. He is in Argentina as learn more vocabulary, but he
 he has a girlfriend here. He is able to speak proficiently
has not had any formal for this level. This will be a
training of English and has good opportunity for him to
self-learnt it. He thinks work on pronunciation and
reading, grammar and writing incorporating some new lexis
are the most important skills into his speaking.
to develop but not listening
for social situations or
academic reading. He is
interested in vocabulary
acquisition, discussion and
presentations. He feels more
comfortable working
individually than in groups or
pairs. Sometimes there is L1
(Portuguese) interference in
his pronunciation and certain
uses of vocabulary. He
seems to be very shy and not
very confident. He definitely
needs to polish his
pronunciation.
He needs English to continue
his MBA in Brazil (extrinsic
motivation) as well as for
social interaction and be
connected in social media
(intrinsic motivation)

Andres He works in digital media and Although Andres is more

is in touch with social interested in developing his
networks. He has studied negotiation skills than his
English for 6 years at school presentation skills, this lesson
and has reached an and the language/subskills
intermediate level. learned in it are likely to be
He thinks grammar, writing relevant to developing his
and speaking are very negotiation skills for work.
important and considers
listening in class and in social
situations less relevant. He is
interested in having
discussion practice as well as
developing his negotiation
skills (not so much for his
presentation skills).
He was a bit introverted at
the beginning of the classes
and started gaining
confidence and enthusiasm.
He makes some basic
 mistakes and needs to
consolidate his basic
grammar in use.
He has the extrinsic
motivation of sitting for the
FCE soon (June or
December 20)

Javier He works as a film director Javier is a strong

and has been a scriptwriter communicator, but makes a
for successful Argentine TV lot of errors when he speaks.
shows for Netflix. It will be useful for him to
He has been studying English prepare his presentation
for 1 year in private lessons before delivering it, and he
and considers English very will continue to develop his
important to communicate self-correction abilities.
with others.
He believes grammar is not
so relevant to learn, but
considers listening, speaking
and vocabulary more
important. He reckons writing
is not a priority but
vocabulary and discussion
are a must.
He is very enthusiastic and
seems quite confident. He
definitely needs to polish his
pronunciation and broaden
his vocabulary range. He is
getting quite self-aware about
his language and self-
corrects.
His extrinsic motivation is in
travelling to film festivals and
using English when directing
films. He needs English to
speak in public in those films
festivals.

Teffy She is a Medical School Teffy is a motivated student

student. She has been
studying English at
International House for 1 year
in the Elementary level
passing to Pre-Intermediate
level as she has shown
commitment. She considers
most learning areas of utmost
importance (especially
who clearly comes to class
ready to participate. She has
stated that she would like to
work on all aspects of
learning English, and working
in small groups will benefit
her learning style.
 discussion, vocabulary,
writing and listening), but not
academic reading and
believes that listening and
speaking are skills she needs
to work on the most. She
reckons she needs to gain
more confidence in using the
language. Teffy feels more
comfortable working
individually and in groups
than in pairs.
As for her motivation, she has
the intrinsic one of having a
British boyfriend, and
extrinsically, she would like to
travel and live abroad in the
long term. She needs to
communicate with natives.
There is a little of her accent
interfering in her English, but
she strives for improving that.

Sofia She has experience learning Sofia is an outgoing student

English only in high school, who is confident in her
and she is especially speaking abilities. She is
interested in learning also a strong listener and will
speaking, grammar, and be able to identify persuasive
vocabulary, although she is language used in the model
interested in practicing the advertisement.
other skills as well, except
listening, which she seems to
feel very confident about.
She would like to have more
homework in class for home
practice, and specified
practicing pronunciation as a
priority. She is interested in
nutrition, health, and vegan
cooking in her free time.

Lesson Aims

Main Aim:
By the end of the lesson, learners will be better able to effectively deliver a persuasive
presentation in which they convince their classmates to buy a new invention.

Subsidiary Aims:
By the end of the lesson, learners will be better able to use functional language related to
persuasion to create a presentation that is appropriate for the audience and context. They will
also be better able to organize a presentation by practicing brainstorming and planning.

Personal Aims:
To deliver a clearly staged, well-timed lesson which takes into account the needs of each
individual student. I also plan to continue building rapport and further assessing the students’
needs, as this is only the second week of class.

Timetable Fit

In the first week of class, students practiced language related to the context of trends. They
reviewed verb forms learned in previous levels, such as the present simple, present simple
continuous, and past simple. In the lesson which comes directly before this observed lesson,
students will have considered current trends and their own needs to create an idea for a new
invention. In upcoming classes, students will learn vocabulary and language related to money
and buying things. I believe that this lesson will fit well into the timetable because students will
need to draw from their previous discussion about trends to think about and convince their
classmates to purchase the invention that they create, using persuasive language.

Language Analysis

The focus of this lesson is on delivering a persuasive presentation meant to convince someone
to buy a new invention. To be able to deliver a presentation, students will need to be able to
use functional language of persuasion and organize their presentation in a logical way. They
will need to be able to notice and use paralinguistic features like emphatic body language to
deliver an effective presentation.

Functional Language

I decided to focus on a few important phrases for students to focus on and use in this lesson,
although there is a lot of other language that students might be able to use to deliver a
persuasive presentation. The language used in persuasive speech, especially when selling
something or trying to convince someone of an idea, often involves broad generalizations such
as “everybody knows” and “there is no doubt.” The phrases introduced in this lesson are typical
of that aspect of persuasive speech.

I believe cats are the best animals.

Everybody knows that sushi is delicious.
The evidence shows that 90% of people enjoy cleaning their houses.
There is no doubt that Batman is the best superhero.
Buy an iPhone. You won’t be sorry!
You’re going to love this new product.
Organization

One characteristic aspect of the organization of a persuasive presentation or speech is that it

begins by introducing the idea or product that the speaker hopes to sell, as seen in the
Shamwow commercial the students will watch as an example in the lesson. After the
introduction, the presenter will explain what the product or idea does/what problem it addresses,
and finally, why you need it or why you should buy it.

Paralinguistic Features

Some common paralinguistic features of persuasive speech involve eye contact and
exaggerated, sweeping arm motions to supplement what is being said.

Assumptions

-Learners will be familiar with advertising and the language commonly used in advertising in L1
-Most of the class will not have sold a product or persuaded someone to buy something
-Learners will be familiar with lexis and verb tenses used to give a persuasive presentation
-Learners will not be familiar with fixed phrases used to persuade such as you won’t be sorry
and there is no doubt that
-Learners will have given a presentation before and will be familiar with the concept of preparing
before speaking
-Learners will have background knowledge about the organization of a persuasive speech

Anticipated Problems and Solutions

Problem:
Students will write what they plan to say in their persuasive speech word for word during the
brainstorming stage, rather than ideas and words, with the intention of simply reading the text
rather than using their notes to help form speech.

Solution:
This is a common problem for many students when they prepare a speech or a talk, especially
those at a lower level or students who feel less confident when speaking. The preparation
stage is very important to provide students with the opportunity to organize their thoughts and
ideas, but since the aim of this lesson is to develop speaking skills and not writing skills, I will
give clear instructions and ICQs to students to ensure that they use the preparation time to write
notes and ideas instead of full sentences. I will also provide an example so students
understand clearly what they must do.

Problem:
Students may understand the individual words in the fixed expressions we will practice, but may
struggle with the form and use of some phrases. For example, they may try to use the phrase
 “you won’t be sorry that” rather than “you won’t be sorry” since many of the other fixed
expressions end with”that.”

Solution:
The fixed expressions and functional language we will practice in this lesson may be familiar to
some students and new to others. Since the lesson focus is on developing persuasive speaking
skills by using relevant functional language, it is essential that students feel confident enough to
use the language in their own presentations. I will practice and drill the fixed expressions both
alone and in sentences. I will also provide examples of correct and incorrect uses of the
expressions, as well as asking CCQs, to ensure understanding of the expressions. While
students are speaking during the production stage of the lesson, I will closely monitor and
correct mistakes as they are made.

Problem:
Some students will speak for longer than others when delivering the persuasive speech about
the product they have created in groups, due to varying levels of confidence and motivation.

Solution:
Among the 14 students in class, there is a great deal of variation in level and confidence,
especially when it comes to speaking. I want to make sure that all students are not only able to
practice and develop their speaking abilities during this lesson, but also that everyone has an
equal opportunity to do so, so I will make sure that students understand the activity by giving
clear instructions and asking ICQs and CCQs. I will also give examples and check
understanding of the organization of a persuasive speech and how one might go about
brainstorming prior to beginning the brainstorming activity. I will closely monitor students to
make sure that each takes a turn to speak.

Procedure

Time Stage/Aim Procedure Interaction Materials

7-8’ Lead-in: To Divide students into groups of 4 and Groups of 4 Slips of paper with
8:00-8:08 create interest in instruct them to move their chairs contrasting options
topic and activate together. Show a bag with slips of printed on them
knowledge of paper in it and explain that each person
giving a is going to take a slip of paper. Each
presentation paper has two options written on it (ex:
iPhone vs. Android) and the student will
have one minute to choose the option
they prefer and convince their group
why it is the better option.

Tell Ss that each person has one minute

to convince their group. Ask which
student from each group will go first.
 While Ss are completing the activity,
monitor for participation

Bring class together. Ask Ss “were you

convinced of your classmates’
opinons?”

5’ To give an Show the first part of a television Whole Video- Shamwow

8:08-8:12 example of a advertisement for ShamWow. Ask Ss class advertisement
persuasive questions:
presentation and “What is this?” (tv advertisement)
further activate “Is it a presentation or is it a
knowledge conversation?” (presentation)
“What type of presentation is it?”
(persuasive)
“How do you know it’s persuasive?”
(uses language to persuade)
What does he want to persuade you of?
(to buy a shamwow)
“How did he organize his presentation?”
(introduce the product, explain what it
does, explain why you need it)

7-8’ To draw attention Tell Ss that they are going to watch the Whole Video- Shamwow
8:12-8:20 to and provide an video again, but this time, they will write class, pairs advertisement
opportunity for down all the persuasive language they
noticing hear. Show an example (you know that Board
persuasive Germans make good stuff!/For everyday
language use) to check understanding. Show the
video again.

Instruct Ss to compare their answers

with partners, then bring the class
together to ask for examples of what
they heard. Ask Ss if they know any
other phrases or words used to
persuade.

4-4’ To draw attention Give Ss worksheet 1. Explain that they Individual Worksheet 1
8:20-8:25 to and provide must read the sentence and underline
input on specific the persuasive phrase. Do example 1
persuasive with Ss as a class, then let them
language complete the worksheet individually.

10’ To check When Ss have finished the worksheet, Whole Worksheet 1

8:25-8:35 meaning, form, check answers with the class. Write the class
and pronunciation persuasive phrases on the board. Board
of specific Check meaning, pronunciation, and
language to be form using examples and CCQs.
used in practice
 activities

5-7’ Controlled Show worksheet 2 to Ss. Explain that Individual, Worksheet 2

8:35-8:42 Practice: To they are going to complete the pairs
practice worksheet by writing the correct phrase Board
persuasive in the space. Give each Ss a copy of
language in a worksheet 2 and complete example 1 as
controlled setting, a class. Let Ss finish the worksheet
to reinforce individually, then check answers in
understanding of pairs.
language

7’ Freer Practice: Tell Ss that they are going to prepare a Individual, Worksheet 3
8:42-8:49 To give time for presentation to persuade their groups to groups of 4
preparation buy the product they invented. They will Paper
before presenting have 5 minutes to prepare and organize
their ideas for the presentation (they can
take notes), using the language we
practiced. Ask ICQs (“Are you going to
write your presentation word for word or
are you going to write ideas and
important words?”) and provide
examples (worksheet 3) to check
understanding.

Freer Practice:
To practice using Monitor as Ss prepare their
target language presentations, providing support as
and organization needed.
to deliver
persuasive
presentations

7’ Feedback: To Tell Ss that they are going to give their Groups of 4 Notes taken in
8:49-8:56 provide an presentations. Each Ss has 2 minutes to previous stage
opportunity for persuade their classmates.
reflection on the
activity Monitor as Ss present to their groups,
making sure that all Ss present and
listening for use of target language and
organization.

4’ Feedback: To Bring class together. Ask the question, Whole

8:56-9:00 provide an “Whose product did you want to buy? class
opportunity for Why? What did they say to persuade
reflection on the you?” and call on volunteers.
effectiveness of
the language and Ask the question, “Did it help to have
skills learned and time to prepare and organize your
practiced in the presentation the second time?” and
 lesson “Does it help to use persuasive
language in a presentation?” Call on
volunteers.

Rationale (548 words)

Learners of English often state that they are more interested in learning speaking than writing or
reading. In schools and institutes where I have worked in the past, there has been a strong
focus on the communicative aspect of language learning. However, because speaking activities
are generally regarded as effective tools for learning due to the fact that students are interested
in speaking, I have found that it is easy to plan speaking activities in class which are enjoyable
for the students and generally regarded as a positive aspect of the class, but which don’t focus
much at all on developing speaking as a skill by focusing on specific subskills. I chose to plan
a speaking lesson because I wanted to improve my ability to support students in their efforts to
improve speaking skills.

When we are speaking in our day-to-day lives, we don’t usually have the opportunity to plan
ahead what we are going to say. In fact, that is the very nature of speaking and what sets it
apart from writing as a productive skill. Presentations are a unique form of speaking in that they
allow for preparation time and often don’t demand the same skills used in conversations, such
as turn-taking. However, some of the students in this class expressed their need to learn
English in a work-specific environment in which they are required to give video presentations
and calls in English. Of course, presentations are directly useful for those students who need to
give presentations at work, but I also believe that the ability to organize one’s ideas and deliver
persuasive ideas in presentation form is useful for all learners. Perhaps they will not be selling
an item of their own invention, as they were doing in the context of this class, but the language
learned and skills developed in this lesson will be useful for students in conversational
situations. As these intermediate learners develop fluency, they may not require much time to
think about what they will say so as to present it in an organized way, but I believe that it is quite
valuable for intermediate students who may not have a great deal of fluency to practice
organizing their ideas before presenting them in speech.

Although I have only taught these students once before delivering this lesson, I have had the
opportunity to observe them in various other classes. While there are a few students who feel
confident when speaking, the majority of the students are sometimes nervous about
volunteering and speaking in class, so I felt that practicing the activity in small groups would be
an effective way to lower the affective filter for those students and allow them to practice in a
more comfortable environment. Additionally, many students (including those who are
comfortable with speaking in class) are making errors related to basic topics like subject/verb
agreement in the present simple and verb form in the past simple. Since they have reviewed
these topics in the last few classes, it is clear to me that they understand the form, meaning,
and use, but simply need to continue practicing the forms in an environment where they can be
nudged to correct themselves. This speaking activity also serves as an opportunity to practice
those basic forms in a specific context.

Appendix

(full worksheets given in class)

1.
2.