Lesson Planning in

Second/ Foreign
Language Teaching
Kitty B. Purgason
 Introduction

 Being a teacher can indeed be a demanding and challenging job. To be a successful

teacher, one needs to know how to deal with various obstacles and occupational
hazards like stress.
 They said “The teachers’ job comes with them after the working hours”, to them
home. Therefore, to be a successful teacher, you need to love this occupation and be
ready for the constant change, innovation and improvement. Otherwise, teaching does
not make any sense, and classroom becomes difficult place for the teacher and the
students.
 Thus, teachers should prepare and plan their lesson.
 There are two types of teachers:
1. One type usually follows the lesson plan.
2. The other type of teachers usually relies on their experience. However, even
experienced teachers should have (at least long-term) lesson plan because planning
of the lesson is crucially important.
 What is a lesson plan?

 The simplest and the most precise and meaningful definition of lesson
planning would be: “Lesson planning is the process of taking everything we
know about teaching and learning, along with the everything we know about
our students in front of us, and putting it together to create road map for
what class period will look like”. (Purgason, 1991).
According to Purgason, planning lesson should contain the
following seven elements which are connected into complex
structure of what would be lesson road:
1. Second language acquisition theory,
2. methodology,
3. skill,
4. audience,
5. focus,
6. context,
7. philosophy of learning and teaching
 Why is lesson planning so important?

• Lesson planning means making decisions in advance about what to teach,

how to teach and the time assigned for every teaching procedure
• Teaching plan is necessary for both novice and experienced teachers.
Although the main teaching contents may be the same, the students, the
time and the mood are all different.
 Advantages of a Good Lesson Plan

1. Makes the teacher aware of the aims and language contents of the lesson.
2. Helps the teacher to understand the objectives properly
3. Helps the teacher distinguish the various stages of a lesson and to see the relationship
between them so that the lesson can move smoothly from one stage to another.
4. Provides guidance to the teacher as to what and how he should teach
5. Gives the teacher the opportunity to predict possible problems and therefore consider
solutions.
6. The teaching session is organized in a time-frame.
7. Gives teachers, especially novice teachers, confidence in class.
8. The teacher also becomes aware of the teaching aids that are needed for the lesson.
9. Helps teachers to think about the relative value of different activities and how much
time should be spent on them. The teacher soon learns to judge lesson stages and phases
with greater accuracy.
10. The plan, with the teacher’s comments and corrections, provides a useful, time-saving
reference when the teacher next plans the same lesson.
11. Lesson planning is a good practice and a sign of professionalism.
What is planning?

• Planning is a prototype consists of deciding:

1. what needs to be accomplished: Objectives.
2. how to accomplish it: Teaching Methods.
3. how to tell what has been accomplished: Assessment.

• The more systematic your instructional planning, the greater the probability that you
will succeed.

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Questions that guide thinking about planning:

Whom are you

planning to teach?

How are you

What are you
planning to assess
planning to teach?
student learning?

How are you

planning to manage How are you
the learning planning to teach?
environment?
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 1. Whom Are You Planning to Teach?

• Reflect on the following as they relate to instructional

planning:
1. Individual differences.
2. Language skills.
3. Classroom behavior.
4. Physical and learning challenges.

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 2. What Are You Planning to Teach?

• When you have decided what students should know and be able to
do, you are well on your way to effective planning.
• Teachers must develop pedagogical content knowledge and apply
it in their teaching.
• Pedagogical content knowledge fuses what and how to instruct
in a way that facilitates learning.

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 Resources that can help in making wise decisions
regarding what to teach when planning a lesson or
unit:

1. Course syllabus prepared by the school or district.

2. Teacher and student copies of the assigned textbook and ancillary materials.
3. Guidance from experienced teachers in the school building, district and
elsewhere.
4. Course frameworks prepared by state committees or local teacher teams.
5. Innovative curriculum materials and other related resources.
6. The Internet for all types of teaching resources and information about the
subject.

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 3. How Are You Planning to Teach?

• Effective teaching is a complex set of actions that is based on

thoughtful planning and sound decision making.
• When organizing learning experiences for students, you will want
to employ a number of teaching skills.
• An instructional strategy is the manner in which an entire lesson
or a major part of it is approached.
• Experienced teachers tend to use multiple teaching strategies to
gain students’ attention and to involve them in learning.

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Employ many teaching skills:

• Initiating instruction.
• Giving direction.
• Asking questions.
• Giving feedback.
• Bringing closure to instruction.

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Use a variety of instructional strategies:
• Demonstrating.
• Discussing.
• Lecturing.
• Reading.
• Role-playing.
• Simulating.
• Working in the laboratory and field.
• Writing.
• Problem Solving.
• Projects.

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Incorporate techniques to enhance learning:

•Identifying similarities and differences.

•Using graphic organizers.
•Note-taking.
•Practicing.
•Reviewing.

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4. How Are You Planning to Manage the Learning
Environment?

• Creating a positive learning environment.

• Guiding student learning.
• Addressing student misbehavior.

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 5. How Are You Planning to Assess Student
Learning?

•The focus of assessment is on students being

able to demonstrate what they are able to make
sense of and appreciate the subjects they are
learning and apply their understandings in real-
world contexts.

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5. How Are You Planning to Assess Student Learning?

• Effective assessment is a process that is both

continuous and balanced.
• Assessment is considered continuous when it is
difficult to determine when instruction ends and
assessment begins.
• Continuous assessment is facilitated by the use of a
balanced approach to assessment.

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5. How Are You Planning to Assess
Student Learning?
• By balanced, we mean that assessment involves a mix
of alternative and traditional assessment techniques;
such as:
1. tests and quizzes.
2. performance tasks.
3. graphic organizers.
4. Observations.
5. Interviews.
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Types of Planning

Long Term Short Term Lesson

Plans Plans Plans

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1. Long Term Planning

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Need for Long Term Planning

• Serves as a curriculum road map.

• Enables teacher to:
1. See the year as a whole.
2. Focus on overall expectations for the year.
3. Organize the curriculum for balance.
4. Integrate across subjects.
5. Allow for use of and sharing of resources.
6. Consult other teaching partners (students, teachers, supervisors,
parents, ..)

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Components of Long Term Planning
1. subject
2. overall expectations ( general outcomes)
3. assessment strategies (ongoing and culminating)
4. resources
5. timeline
6. general notes about strategies ( specifics will be identified as
you develop each unit)

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 Considerations for Long Term Planning

1. Look at the timing of your themes, topics, issues or units of study,

i.e. Plant growth during the spring.
2. Be aware of holidays / winter break, & other potential interruptions
which are known in advance and could be incorporated.
3. Address which expectations can be naturally integrated into a theme,
topic, issue or unit of study from several subjects.
4. Check availability of resources and materials impact on the depth
and scope of planning.
5. Find out if there is a standardized format for creating long term
plans for your board or school.

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2. Short Term Planning (Unit)

• A unit is a group of lesson plans all focused on a particular

subject area or concept. Exampls:
Solids, Liquids and Gases: Science for 3rd grade.
 Multiply, Divide & Conquer: Math for 3rd grade.

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 Need for Short Term Planning (Unit)

• Enables teacher to:

Design the delivery of the program content.
Incorporate student interests.
Help students see connections.
Promote the development of autonomy through choice.
A series of lessons/activities to help students understand big
ideas or key concepts.

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3. Lesson Planning

• What you are going to teach for a

specific subject in a specific time
period.
• Goes into a Daybook.

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Main questiones to considered when planning a
lesson:
• What is to be accomplished?
• How is it to be done?
• Who is to be what?
• When, and what order, shall things be done?
• Where shall they be done?
• Why do we want to accomplish this, and why do we plan to do
it this way?
• How will we know how well we have succeeded?

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The Lesson Planning Process

Objectives

Activities Assement
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Learning Objectives (LO)

• Learning Objectives are statements of desired or

expected outcomes
• Can be expressed in terms of knowledge, abilities,
skills, attitudes, interests and habits.
• Example: Student should be able to:
1. Write questions about an animal.
2. Define the triangle.
3. Compare between gold and silver.
4. Draw a fine circle with a thread, a pin and a ruler.

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Guidelines for Selecting Instructional Activities

1. Potential to help students master the stated

objectives.
2. Actively involve students in learning and practicing
the behaviors stated in the objectives.

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Assessment
1. How will I know if students have achieved the learning
objectives of a particular lesson or an entire course?
2. What am I willing to accept as evidence that students have
achieved the objectives?

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How to plan
lessons
 Introduction Activities

• Make a list of any written or mental plans you make in your daily life
(What do you use them for? How useful are they?)
• Rate the following statements 0 (= totally disagree) to 5 (totally
agree)
A. Lesson plans restrict teachers when they are in the classroom.
B. Teachers should spend more time making good plans than
actually teaching.
C. If an activity is worth doing (e.g. an enjoyable language drill) it’s
worth spending some time doing it – eg. For 45 or 50 minutes.
D. It doesn’t really matter what’s in the plan so long as there is lots
of variety in it.
E. The most important thing about an activity in the plan is that it
should have the potential to amuse the students.
 Why plan a lesson?

1. For the students – students have more confidence in the

teacher
2. For the teacher before class – get ideas together
3. For the teacher during class – something to flexibly
follow
4. For the observer – to give a clear idea of what the
teacher intends to happen, to judge the success of the
lesson
5. For the teacher after class – to reflect, look back to see
what worked and what didn’t
What are the aims of a plan?

• A lesson needs to contain a blend of coherence and variety

1. Coherence – students can follow the logical pattern to the lesson
– Some connection between the activities
2. Variety – allows students to do different kinds of learning
activities
What should be in a plan?

• Experienced teachers – as much or as little detail

as needed
• Teacher trainee – a written plan that follows the
supervisor’s format, usually includes:
–Who is going to be taught
– How many in the class, what age, level, sex, what are they like?
Cooperative? Quiet? Difficult to control?
–What they are going to learn or be taught
– Ex- study a piece of grammar, write a narrative, listen to an
interview, read a passage (within a logical sequence)
–How they are going to learn or be taught
– Groupings, time for each activity, materials, etc
–How the lesson fits in with the ones before and after
What questions do we need to ask for each
activity?

1. Who exactly are the students for this activity? – describe the students’ age,
level, cultural background, individual characteristics
2. Why do you want to do it? – more than just because the teacher likes the
activity.
3. What will it achieve? – the aims
– How will students have changed as a result? Be specific
– Greater understanding of vocabulary
– Greater fluency in one particular topic area
– Better strategies for coping with long and difficult stories told orally
– Create a change in the class atmosphere
4. How long will it take?
1. Sticking to your time gives students confidence in the teacher
5. What might go wrong? – Anticipated problems
6. What will be needed?
7. How does it work?
8. How will it fit in with what comes before and after it?
What form should a plan take?
1. No ‘correct’ form
2. Should be useful for the teacher and anyone who is observing her
3. Highlighting, columns, introduction pages – all up to you and your
supervisor
4. Hints or complete sentences of what you will say, and what the students
should say
How should teachers plan a sequence of
lessons?

• Should be a connection between lessons so students can

perceive a pattern of aims
• Not too much same-ness
• Not too much predictability (have some surprises)
• In a two-week sequence:
1. All four skills covered appropriately
2. Logical sequence to the language being taught
3. Range of activities for variety and interest
4. Each lesson contains Engage, Study and Activate
 Writing up a Plan

A lesson plan must have the following elements:

1. Comments of the procedures: procedures and methodology how to
explain/do are crucial part of a lesson plan.
2. Activity vs. timing: this part of the plan shows how each activity will take
time.
3. Objectives: every plan needs to have clearly defined aims and goals which
are to be achieved during a lesson.
4. Materials/equipment: everything that teacher will use should be precisely
noted.
5. Step by step details: once the overall plan is ready, teacher (especially
novice) should write in details whole procedure, technique and methods on
how to explain/teach/reach/achieve with his students.
6. Interaction/setting: what does the classroom look like? How students will
sit? Will they work in groups, pairs, individually? Where should teacher
stand?
7. Emergency plan: Teacher needs to think in advance and anticipate potential
problems and how to deal with them?
 What to include in a lesson
Plan?
1. Characteristics:

Class, Time, Date, lesson, unit, Which period, How many in the class, what
age, level, sex, what are they like? Cooperative? Quiet? Difficult to control?

2. Warm-up : introduction, picture, video, activity, story…………..

What to include in a lesson Plan?

3. Objectives/ learning Outcomes:

• An objective is an observational description of a performance you want

learners to be able to exhibit by the end of the activity.

• An objective describes an intended result of instruction, rather than the

process of instruction itself

• They must be ‘SMART’

 SMART Objectives

1. Specific: This means the objective is clear and unambiguous;

2. Measurable: the need for concrete criteria for measuring progress toward
the attainment of the goal, to know whether students are making progress
toward successful completion.

3. Achievable: they are realistic and also attainable. That is, the objectives are
neither out of reach nor below standard performance

4. Realistic/ Relevant: They are objectives that matter. An objective that

supports or is in alignment with other objectives.

5. Time-bound: grounding objectives within a time-frame

E: Evaluated – Ethical- Exciting

R: reviewed- reevaluated-
 What to include in a lesson Plan?
4. Activity / Instruction:
The means you will follow to achieve your outcomes (the method). It explains the
teacher’s role and student’s role.

a) Procedure: reading, writing, discussion, lecturing…..

b) Strategy: individual, pair, group or whole class
c) Material/ resources/ Teaching aids: Things that are used to learn/teach the lesson.
Examples: Flash cards; Computer; Blackboard; Worksheet; English text book, colors,
power point, book, website, newspaper, ……..
 What to include in a lesson
Plan? Cont.
5. Assessment tools/events: (after each procedures)
students’ written sentences, oral responses, students
answers to didactic questions, etc.

6. Evaluation

7. Closure
 Two Basic Principles in writing a Lesson Plan

1. Progression
1. What students have learnt before
2. What students need to learn next
3. Link between prior knowledge and new knowledge.

2- Differentiation
1. Differentiation is the process of adapting educational activity to suit the
diverse needs and characteristics of the learners.
• Task
• Outcome
• Support
What is Differentiation?
(Discussion)
 Differentiation
• Just as everyone has a unique fingerprint, every student has an
individual learning style. Chances are, not all of your students grasp
a subject in the same way or share the same level of ability.

• So how can you better deliver your lessons to reach everyone in

class?

• Consider differentiated instruction—a method you may have heard

about but haven’t explored.
 Differentiation
• Differentiating instruction may mean teaching the same material to all students
using a variety of instructional strategies, or it may require the teacher to deliver
lessons at varying levels of difficulty based on the ability of each student.

Teachers who practice differentiation in the classroom may:

1. Design lessons based on students’ learning styles.

2. Group students by shared interest, topic, or ability for assignments.

3. Assess students’ learning using formative assessment.

4. Manage the classroom to create a safe and supportive environment.

5. Continually assess and adjust lesson content to meet students’ needs.

 Differentiation is a powerful way to fix your lesson plans

What is differentiation in education?

• Differentiation simply means tailoring your instruction to meet the individual
needs of all your students.
• A simple definition, but a potentially difficult challenge! Especially when you
have 30 students needing 30 different things for each activity.
• But providing differentiated tools can be incredibly powerful, allowing your
students to get what they need, when they need it.
So, how can you differentiate in a way that is manageable for YOU?
• As an educator, 4 key areas to look at to differentiate for your students are
content, processes, product/assessments and learning environment.
 Four ways to differentiate instruction
1. Content: The medium used to practice skills, learn new ideas and research
information.

• As you already know, fundamental lesson content should cover the standards
of learning set by the school district or state educational standards.

• But some students in your class may be completely unfamiliar with the
concepts in a lesson, some students may have partial mastery, and some
students may already be familiar with the content before the lesson begins.

• What you could do is differentiate the content by designing activities for

groups of students that cover various levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (a
classification of levels of intellectual behavior going from lower-order thinking
skills to higher-order thinking skills). The six levels are: remembering,
understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.
 Four ways to differentiate instruction
2. Process: The Practices students perform to better understand content

• Each student has a preferred learning style, and successful differentiation includes
delivering the material to each style: visual, auditory and kinesthetic, and through words.

• This process-related method also addresses the fact that not all students require the same
amount of support from the teacher, and students could choose to work in pairs, small
groups, or individually. And while some students may benefit from one-on-one interaction
with you or the classroom aide, others may be able to progress by themselves.

• Teachers can enhance student learning by offering support based on individual needs.

Examples of differentiating the process:

• Provide textbooks for visual and word learners.
• Allow auditory learners to listen to audio books.
• Give kinesthetic learners the opportunity to complete an interactive assignment online.
 Four ways to differentiate instruction
3. Product or Assessment — The Assessment strategy students are asked to complete to
demonstrate mastery

• The product is what the student creates at the end of the lesson to demonstrate the mastery
of the content. This can be in the form of tests, projects, reports, or other activities. You
could assign students to complete activities that show mastery of an educational concept in
a way the student prefers, based on learning style.

• Examples of differentiating the end product:

1. Read and write learners write a book report.
2. Visual learners create a graphic organizer of the story.
3. Auditory learners give an oral report.
4. Kinesthetic learners build a diorama illustrating the story.
 Four ways to differentiate instruction
4. Learning environment

• The conditions for optimal learning include both physical and psychological
elements.

• A flexible classroom layout is key, incorporating various types of furniture and

arrangements to support both individual and group work.

• Psychologically speaking, teachers should use classroom management techniques

that support a safe and supportive learning environment.

• Examples of differentiating the environment:

1. Break some students into reading groups to discuss the assignment.
2. Allow students to read individually if preferred.
3. Create quiet spaces where there are no distractions.
 How can I differentiate instruction in
my classroom?
• Figure Out What You Can Differentiate
• (Content, assessment, process)

• Profile Student Readiness

• (Student readiness is what their current understanding is of a topic or unit of study. For ELL
students, it could also apply to their current level of reading, writing and oral skills.)

• Identify Meaningful Goals and Objectives

• (Once you’ve figured out what student needs are and what type of differentiation to use
in your class, you need to be clear about your goals.)

• Create Learning Profiles

• Create Your Differentiated Strategies with Assessment Data
What to include in a lesson Plan?
Anticipated Students’ Problems
1. The students will not understand some of my English instructions

2. The students will be unfamiliar with compound multi-word verbs and

get on with, look like, and take after to describe people and family
members.

Solutions
1. Give clear instructions using English in as simple language as possible.

2.Explain the language focuses bit by bit in a slower pace, check the
students’ understanding.
 Methodological Considerations in ELT Lesson Planning

1. Cognitive demand vs. contextualization

 Methodological Considerations in ELT Lesson Planning

1. Cognitive demand vs. contextualization

• What is the ideal path for structuring courses and activities?
• Which cell activities are the most insignificant? Why?
• Which cell activities are the key to pupils' development? Why?

• Cummins argues that the ideal path for structuring courses is to start in
Quadrant A and then move pupils via Quadrant B to Quadrant C.
• Teachers need to learn to increase the level of cognitive demand first and
then reduce the degree of contextualization.
• Cummins sees activities in Quadrant D as insignificant. The provision of tasks
for Quadrant B is often key to pupils' development.
 Methodological Considerations in ELT Lesson Planning

Essential Principles In designing Reading lessons

1. Build a Strong Vocabulary Base
2. Teach for Comprehension (Process not product)
3. Encourage Readers to Learn Skills. (skill/strategy)

Ex.
1. An computerized ………………… is a …………….. . skill/strategy
2. An computerized strategy is a skill.
 Methodological Considerations in ELT Lesson Planning

Essential Principles In designing Speaking lessons

1. Be Aware of the Difference Between Second Language and Foreign
Language Learning Contexts.
2. Give Students Practice with Both Fluency and Accuracy
3. Provide Opportunities for Students to Talk by Using Group Work or Pair
Work, and Limiting Teacher Talk
4. Plan Speaking Tasks that Involve Negotiation of Meaning
5. Design Classroom Activities that Involve Guidance and Practice in Both
Transactional and Interactional Speaking
 Methodological Considerations in ELT Lesson Planning

Essential Principles In designing Vocabulary lessons

1. Introduce New Vocabulary in Context .
2. Introduce Old Vocabulary in New Context
3. Focus on the Most Useful Vocabulary First
4. Teach Learners Strategies for Vocabulary Acquisition so that They Can
Continually Add to their List
5. Pay Attention to Repetition and Spacing. Repetition:
• Spaced repetitions: a learning method by which you review learned
information at gradually increasing intervals. For example, you will
remember more information if you study for an exam for an hour every day
for a week leading up to the exam than if you studied 7 hours the night
before an exam.
• Mass (massive) repetition
 Methodological Considerations in ELT Lesson Planning

Essential Principles In designing Grammar lessons

1. Integrate Both Inductive( specific –general) and Deductive Approaches(
general- specific) into the Teaching of Grammar
2. Use Tasks that Make Clear the Relationship Between Grammatical Form and
Communicative Function
3. Focus on the Development of Procedural Rather than Declarative
Knowledge
4. Encourage Learners to Use Language Creatively Rather than Reproductively
 Methodological Considerations in ELT Lesson Planning

Essential Principles In designing Listening lessons

1. Teach Students to Use Both Bottom-Up and Top-Down Processing
2. Incorporate a range of Text Types into Your Listening Lessons
3. Incorporate a range of Pedagogical and Real-World Tasks into Your
Lesson
4. Incorporate Strategy Training into Your Teaching

• Top-down processing is the idea that to process and understand a text we start with
“higher-level” features – background knowledge, context, overall meaning – and
proceed through a series of steps “down” to “lower-level” semantic, syntactical and
phonological features.
• Bottom-up processing happens when someone tries to understand language by looking
at individual meanings or grammatical characteristics of the most basic units of the text,
(e.g. sounds for a listening or words for a reading), Example: Asking learners to read
aloud may encourage bottom-up processing because they focus on word forms, not
meaning.
• L2 learners use more of a combination of bottom-up and top-down processing.
Essential Principles In designing Listening lessons
 Learning Styles

Learning styles are simply different approaches or ways of learning

1. A learning style is a tendency rather than an obligatory type.
2. learning styles relative not absolute.
3. Adapting teaching to learning styles can act as a motivation booster and
learning facilitator.
4. People often say that motivation doesn't last that's why it is recommended
daily
 Teaching Strategies for the 8 Different Learning Styles
• It’s believed people processes information uniquely, so teachers should understand the
different learning styles. Everyone has a dominant learning style depending on the
situation. There are eight in total:
1. Visual learners: visual aids are used, such as, pictures, images, film clips, colors and
diagrams. They're also good at understanding visual data presented in maps, charts and
graphs.
2. Aural learners: respond to sound, music, recordings, rhymes, rhythms etc. They
remember conversations well and music causes an emotional response in them.
3. Verbal learners: using words and linguistic skills - in speech and in writing, such as,
reading, writing, listening or speaking. They like word games and rhymes and are often
strong public speakers.
4. Social learners: process information by interacting with others. They enjoy working
with others and are often strong leaders.
5. Logical learners: using logic and reasoning. They like to classify and categorize
information, solve problems with numbers , analyzing cause and effect relationships.
6. Physical learners: They put their learning into practice.
7. Solitary learners: work and learn by themselves and self-study. They are more likely to
speak up during presentations or group work.
8. Naturalist learners: They learn by finding patterns in nature and using scientific logic
for understanding.