Organising and Managing Learning

31/07/2020 Organising and Managing Learning
Organising and Managing Learning
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Course: 120-hour Advanced TEFL course Date: Friday, 31 July 2020, 6:38 PM
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Table of contents
1. Time to Start Planning Your Job
2. Lesson Planning
3. Considerations when planning
4. Formal and Informal Planning
5. A Formal Plan
6. An Informal Plan
7. Running Order
8. Planning – Background Information
9. Context
10. Assumptions and Timetable Fit
11. Target Language or Key Vocabulary
12. Language skills
13. Materials and equipment
14. Anticipated problems and solutions
15. Class pro le
16. Boardwork
17. Planning: Outline of procedures
18. Staging and stage aims
19. Timing
20. Procedures
21. Interaction patterns
22. Warmers, Fillers and Coolers
23. Lesson Plan Models
24. Presentation, Practice, Production (PPP)
25. Test-Teach-Test or Task-Based Learning
26. Engage Study Activate (ESA)
27. Longer Term Planning
28. Syllabus
29. Timetable
30. Materials and Resources
31. Adapting course book materials
32. Supplementary resources
33. Using authentic material
34. Technology in the Classroom
35. Social Media in the Classroom
36. Blended learning
37. References
38. Further Reading
39. Useful Websites
2. Lesson Planning
What is Lesson Planning?
If you are new to teaching, preparing and planning a formal lesson plan can sound very daunting.
You may have been taught by teachers who had the ability to think on their feet and react spontaneously to their students.
You may also have been taught by teachers who adhered strictly to their lesson plan with the result that lessons were slightly
dull and prescriptive in nature.
Newer teachers often nd it takes time to plan lessons at the beginning of their careers and this can be initially frustrating.
E ective teachers go on planning and preparing their lessons throughout their careers, even if their plans are very informal and
planning time is reduced.
For students, evidence of a plan shows that the teacher has devoted time to thinking about the class, showing a level of
professionalism and commitment to their students’ learning.
Lack of planning reveals the opposite.
Re ective Task 1
To what extent do you agree with the following statements about lesson planning? How would you de ne a lesson
plan?
1. Lesson planning is essentially a thinking skill, not an act of writing.

2. A lesson plan is a route map of what must happen in a lesson, not to be deviated from.
3. The main aim of asking a teacher to produce a lesson plan before an observation is to train teachers in ‘planning thinking’.
4. A plan is a schedule of timed actions.
5. A lesson plan shows the observer what kinds of thinking and preparation have gone into the lesson.
6. Experienced teachers don’t need to plan their lessons, only prepare them.
7. All teachers should write a detailed formal lesson plan for every lesson they teach.
8. When planning their lessons, teachers should start with the rst stage of the lesson, then the second and so on.
9. It is possible to overplan your lessons.
Some of the statements above contain common misconceptions about lesson planning which we will consider below:
Lesson planning is essentially a thinking skill, training teachers to imagine their lessons before they happen. Before you go
into a lesson, it helps to be clear about exactly what you want to do. You can never predict everything that will happen in a
lesson and how students will respond but, by planning e ectively, you will be better able to cope with whatever happens in
the lesson.
A lesson plan should not be a rigid route map of what must happen in the lesson but a guide to achieving the lesson aims,
giving the lesson a framework or overall shape. As Scrivener says, it is important to ‘teach the learners, not the plan’ (1) and this
may mean adapting the plan if necessary. However, in order to do this, e ective teachers need to think ahead, have a destination they want
their students to reach and know how to get there. A teacher who is mainly concerned with following a lesson plan to the letter is unlikely to be
responding to what is actually happening in class.
Producing a formal written lesson plan before a lesson, trains teachers in ‘planning thinking’. It is a useful tool for teachers to
analyse what they are going to teach, how they are going to teach it, which materials or techniques they will use and how they
1. Time to Start Planning Your Job
Time to start planning your job 💰✈🌏
can cater for their students' needs and learning styles.

Although it is useful to consider di erent stages of a lesson and think about timing, lesson stages should be more than a
series of timed activities. There should be a clear link between stages and to the main aims and objectives of the lesson.
When used in a lesson observation, a lesson plan shows an observer the kinds of thinking and preparation that have gone
into a lesson.
Though experienced teachers may take less time to plan and be more able to think on their feet in class, lesson planning is
essential for all teachers, new or experienced.
Though a formal lesson plan is not necessary for every lesson, teachers should be aware of their lesson aims and how to
achieve them.
Teachers should have their lesson aims clearly in mind before they approach the planning stage. In student-centred lessons,
the aims should re ect what the students will be able to do by the end of the lesson. When planning it is a good idea to start
planning the last stage of the lesson rst and then work backwards to make sure aims are achieved.
A lesson plan is a working document designed to teach your students. When lesson planning, think about the students you
are going to teach. Make sure some activities can be extended and personalised and have some extra activities ‘up your
sleeve’ that can be dropped in if necessary. Overplanned lessons can become extremely rigid and dull as often too much
attention has been spent on the plan. A plan needs to be exible, adapting to the students’ needs.
3. Considerations when planning
Re ective Task 2
What do you think are some general areas you should consider when planning a lesson?
Some general areas to consider when planning are: (2)
The learners. Will they enjoy the lesson? Will they bene t from it?
The aims. What will the learners be better able to do by the end of the lesson?
The teaching point. What is the subject matter of the lesson? Which skills or language areas will be studied? Which topics will
be used?
The teaching procedures. What activities will you use? What sequence will they come in?
Supplementary resources. What texts, audio-visual materials, exercises, supplementary resources will you use?
Classroom management. What will you say? How will seating be arranged? How much time will each stage take?
Activity 1
To which of the 6 general areas above would you assign the

following questions?
1. How many separate activities will there be?

2. Where will I stand or sit?
3. What do learners need?
4. What skills will learners be working on?
5. How will I control timing?
6. What are some things that may cause di culties or go
wrong?
7. How am I going to deal with mistakes?
8. Is there going to be variety of activity in the lesson?
9. How do the lesson objectives t in with longer-term goals?
10. What do they know already?
Suggested Answers
1. Classroom management
3. The learners
4. The teaching point
6. The teaching point
7. The teaching procedure
8. The teaching procedure
9. The aims
10. The learners
4. Formal and Informal Planning
There are three di erent approaches to lesson planning:
A detailed formal plan

A detailed informal plan
A brief note of running order for activities
On teacher training courses and formal observations, trainees are expected to produce a formal lesson plan for each lesson
taught or observed as an awareness-raising tool.
Producing a formal plan requires you to think carefully through aims and procedures and helps you to become clearer about
what works and why.
Some institutions may ask you to continue this process as part of your teaching role but this is often not expected.
5. A Formal Plan
A formal plan contains two parts:
Background information. Aims, target language, materials, predicted problems and so on.
Outline of procedures. Description of activities, their order and predicted timings
Activity 2
Below is a full lesson plan including both background

information and an outline of procedures. Information is
missing from the Background Information page. Match the
information to the appropriate headings in Background
Information. Use the outline of procedures to help you. (3)
1. Reducing my Teacher Talking Time (TTT).

2. Use di erent prepositions of place accurately in spoken
English to describe where things are.
3. Students are familiar with household vocabulary e.g. fridge,
table etc.
4. Confusion about the meaning of opposite.
Pronunciation of weak forms ‘to’, ‘of’, ‘the’
5. A mouse is loose in the house. Where is it? Frightened
husband wants to know.
6. Speaking – describing where things are,
Listening – to descriptions
7. Prepositions of place: next to, on, on top of, near, under,
opposite, behind
8. My own material – pictures on white board
9. Draw a picture of two houses on opposite sides of the road
with arrows between them – elicit or teach ‘opposite’.
Model and repeat weak forms in a sentence – ask students
to repeat and practise in pairs – use the schwa sound on
the phonemic chart.
10. A multi-lingual group of 10 learners studying in
Manchester. Maria is the weakest in the class and needs
more support with instructions. Mohammed is uent and
con dent but lacks accuracy. Ivan is a kinaesthetic learner
and enjoys activities involving movement.
Suggested Answers
1. Personal aim
2. Main aim
3. Assumptions
4. Anticipated problems
5. Context
6. Sub aims
7. Target language
8. Materials
9. Solutions
10. Class pro le
Lesson plan – Background Information

Date 2nd January 2015
Time 9:00-9:50
Class Name Elementary
Teacher Lucy McDonald
Lesson Aims
Main Aim ·
Sub Aim(s) ··
Personal Aim ·
Context
Assumptions and Timetable Fit
Target Language
Materials and Equipment
Anticipated Problems and Solutions
Class Pro le
Outline of Procedures
Time Stage Name Procedure Stage Aim Interaction
Use board
drawing of
kitchen. Check
students know
the vocabulary
To revise
(table, fridge
5 Context setting vocabulary and
etc). Whole Class
mins Vocab review establish the
Establish
context
character of
frightened
husband
trying to nd
mouse.
Draw mouse
in various
positions in
the kitchen
and elicit
To present
where it is –
target language
Correct and
5 Present target and give
drill sentences Whole Class
mins language students
– husband and
controlled oral
wife
practice
H: Where’s the
mouse?
W: It’s under
the table
and so on.
Divide
students in
pairs and give
each pair a
role: Student A
– husband,
Student B –
wife
Students
practice
questions and
answers using
the picture on To provide
5 the board controlled
Controlled Practice Pair Work
mins A: Where’s practice of the
the mouse? target language
B: It’s on the
fridge
Students swap
roles half-way
through
Teacher
monitors and
provides help
with
pronunciation
and language.
In groups,
students
extend the
dialogue and
improvise to
extend and act
out the scene
using more
To provide less
10 Less controlled characters Group
controlled
mins practice Teacher Work
practice
monitors and
provides
support
Students act
out their
scenes for
others to
watch.
Appoint a
student as
‘writer’ at the
board. Class
recall and
Written dictate a
10 To consolidate
consolidation of oral sentence from Whole Class
mins target language
work the dialogues.
Continue with
di erent
students and
new
sentences.
Hand out
pictures of
whole house
labelled A and
B (Sheets A
and B have
the mouse in
di erent
places). In
pairs, students
explain to
each other To provide
exactly where freer oral
10
Freer practice the mice are practice in a Pair Work
mins
without communication
looking at activity
each other’s
pictures.
Partners must
draw mice in
the correct
places.Teacher
monitors and
takes notes on
errors and
good uses of
language.
Teacher
provides
praise to
students on
good language
use. Teacher
5 Error To consolidate
gives delayed Whole Class
mins Correction/Feedback learning
‘cold’
correction on
errors
including
pronunciation
errors.
6. An Informal Plan
An informal plan is a plan frequently used by more experienced teachers on a daily basis to record ‘planning thinking’ and to
guide them during the lesson to achieve their lesson aims.
An informal plan consists of notes about the procedure the teacher plans to follow.
Preparation for a 50 minute lesson can take 50 minutes preparation time, including thinking, searching, reading, writing,
cutting-up activities, etc.
Therefore, it would be bad value if the material or lesson was only going to be used once.
Preparing an informal plan with copies of materials then ling in a lesson materials le is a good idea as ideas and lessons can
then be recycled and used in future lessons, cutting down future preparation time.
An example of an informal plan is as follows: (4)
Intro – ‘Would you like to change the past?’ Discuss a little. Allow space for students to explain their thoughts. Say that in
today’s lesson we’ll be talking about the past – but especially about things that didn’t happen in the past – and speculating as
to what would have happened if things had been di erent.
Picture – JFK and NK – elicit who they are and what happened to them. Encourage ‘if’ sentences – correct errors and get
students to repeat correct sentences with good pronunciation (note: don’t get so carried away with form and correction that
you don’t listen to what they are saying – look for interesting ideas as well as correct grammar).
When structure is well-established in the class (after a number of sentences – and when most people are able to speak a
correct sentence) write up one or two on the board. Focus brie y on how the structure is made – (note: If + subject + had/’d +
past participle + would’ve/might’ve/could’ve + past participle etc.).
Introduce role-play topic – use board drawing to set the scene and explain problem/situation (hotel in chaos – whose fault is
it?) Discuss the basic situation brie y – then hand out role cards – give them only three minutes or so to read and think about
card.
Do role-play. Don’t interfere. Listen and take notes of usage of target structure – for use in next lesson.
7. Running Order
The simplest type of lesson plan used by many teacher is a basic ‘running order’ of activities, with a note of speci c language
points or materials that will be used.
This plan also helps record your ‘thinking planning’ and is very quick to produce. It can be di cult to refer back to this type of
plan in the future.
An example of a basic ‘running order’ is as follows:
Chat – last night – what did they do?

Recall things people said – collect as direct speech on board
Focus on useful verbs – explained/demanded/promised…
Pairs – turn into reported speech (write)
Stand up – tell each other about last night using reporting verbs
Do course book – page 5 ex 3 + 4
Filler game – famous quotations (if time)
8. Planning – Background Information
Lesson Aims
The key question of every lesson is ‘What are the aims of the lesson?’ If you can answer this clearly, you can be clear about what
you hope learners to be able to achieve by the end of the lesson and, as a result, all other considerations will become easier to
answer.
Knowing where you are going helps you to make moment-by-moment decisions about di erent paths or options you could
take in the lesson while keeping the main aim clear in mind.
In a student-centred lesson, lesson aims should re ect what the students will be able to realistically do by the end of the
lesson.
When planning it is a good idea to start planning the last stage of the lesson rst and then work backwards to make sure your
aims are achieved.
Lessons where the aim is unclear or too ambitious are often unsuccessful.
In a lesson, you may want to practise a grammatical structure and also encourage students to practise speaking.
You may also want to use or improve certain techniques while you are teaching. It is easier then, to divide aims into 3 separate
parts:
Main aims – the main focus of the lesson.

Sub-aims – other skills or language you want students to practice.
Personal aims – techniques or aspects of teaching you want to use or improve during the lesson. You may want a potential
observer to focus on this area.
As a general rule, in a lesson where the main aim is to introduce, practise or review language systems, the sub-aim should be
skills-based.
Likewise, a skills-based lesson should have a language systems sub-aim.
For example, in a lesson where your main aim is to practise a certain grammatical structure (language system), your sub-aim
may be to give students controlled and freer speaking practice (skill).
Aims should be clear, speci c and achievable, mentioning the context used in language systems lessons and what the students
will be doing by the end of the lesson.
For example, if your main aim is ‘to teach present perfect’, you can consider some of the following questions to ensure your
aims are clear and speci c:
Which function of the present perfect tense am I going to teach?

Which context can I use?
How will the language be introduced/reviewed – a text? Pictures? Situational context?
Which forms will be reviewed in the lesson – a rmative, negative, question forms? First/third person?
What is the sub-aim? – how will the students practise/review the language?
By considering the above questions, aims could be rewritten as follows:
Main aim: to review and give controlled and freer oral practice of the rst person a rmative, negative and question forms of
the function of the Present Perfect tense used to describe past experiences in the context of holidays, using a situational
context. For example, ‘I’ve been to Turkey.’.
Sub-aim: by the end of the lesson, students will be able to orally describe past experiences using the present perfect form in
the context of holidays.
Good phrases to use when describing aims are:

To raise awareness of...

To expose learners to...
By the end of the lessons, students will be able to...
To review...
To provide further practice of...
Activity 3
Look at the following unclear aims. How would you change the
lesson aim to make it…
1. Clearer
2. More speci c
3. Contextualised
4. Re ecting language forms practised with a skills sub-aim or
the sub-skill practised with a language systems sub-aim.
1. To practise expressing regrets using 3rd conditional

2. To read a ghost story.
Suggested Answers
1) Main aim: by the end of the lesson students will be able to

discuss personal past regrets using the a rmative, rst
person third conditional form e.g. If I’d gone to university, I’d
have become a doctor. (Language System)
Sub aim: to provide controlled and freer oral practice of the

3rd conditional form used to describe past regrets. (Skills)
2) Main Aim: to provide students with practice in reading for

detailed comprehension in the context of ctional stories.
(Skills)
Sub Aim: to review the use of past simple and past

continuous in stories to describe interrupted actions.
(Language Systems)
At this stage of the course, do not worry if you are not familiar with some of the names of the grammatical structures referred
to in this section as we will refer back to Module 3 when discussing how to teach grammar in Module 4.
Personal aims are also really important considerations when planning your lessons.
You may wish to develop further in your teaching or try out new techniques for the rst time.
In formal lesson observations, your Director of Studies or Academic Manager may have given you suggestions for improvement
in their post-lesson observation feedback.
By including personal aims, in future observations, you can get useful feedback about how well you have improved in certain
areas. Personal aims can vary from teacher to teacher but examples are as follows:
To reduce teacher talking time (TTT)

To organise the White board more e ectively
To use iPads in class
To give clearer instructions
To encourage self correction
To use an authentic song e ectively to teach vocabulary
9. Context
In Module 1, we learned how EFL teaching evolved from the teacher-cantered grammar-translation method to more
communicative approaches used today, with a focus on students using language in a meaningful and memorable way.
When teaching grammatical structures or vocabulary, it is useful to use a context to help students understand the grammatical
rule.
When you create a need for language with a meaningful context, students will understand and remember your language point.
Activity 4
Watch the teacher development video below entitled ‘Teaching

Grammar in Context’ (9 minutes)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnw3l21pWIc
1. What context does the teacher use to teach ‘Past Simple’?

2. Why is this context e ective?
3. Which other contexts could you use to teach past tense
forms?
Suggested Answers
1. Talking about lms

2. The students have watched lms and were able to talk
about lms in class
3. You could use a text, talking about your last holiday or
the weekend, writing a story
In the video, the EFL teacher used lm plots as a context for teaching the Past Simple tense.
He needed to establish the context at the beginning of the class and students used the target language in a meaningful way to
describe past actions in lms they had previously seen.
Using a context is more meaningful and encourages more student communication than just presenting the grammatical form
and giving students dry exercises to complete.
You can set contexts in the following ways:
Situational context. Set up a situation using pictures or drawings on the board. An example of this is in the example formal
lesson plan above when the situation of a mouse in the kitchen was used to teach prepositions of place.
Pictures or picture story. Visual aids can be used e ectively to elicit and practice grammatical rules e.g. to teach the target
language ‘I used to be rich’, you could have two pictures, one picture in the present of a tramp and a picture in the past of a
millionaire to show a clear change in circumstances.
Written text. To revise grammatical structures, you could use a newspaper article or other text with clear examples of the
structures. Students then read the text, then analyse the text for examples of the target language.
Audio text. You could use an audio text, video or song to present or revise grammatical structures or vocabulary. For
example, you could use an interview to practise question forms or a song such as ‘Money, money, money’ to teach lexical sets
of vocabulary, in this case language for money i.e. ‘rich’, ‘penny’ and so on.
Spoken text. You could use a topic like your last holiday, your rst job to present and practise language in context.
Role-play or task. A motivating way of presenting language is by rst asking students to do a role-play in a certain situation
e.g. complaining in a shop, then provide the language they need to carry out the role-play more e ectively. Students then do
the role-play again once they have focused on the target language. This context provides a need for the language, motivating
students to focus on the language so they can complete the task more e ectively.
When deciding on a suitable context, it is good to think about the function of the grammatical structure you want to teach, the
learners’ interests and the level of the students.
For example, your target language may be Present Perfect for experiences, as in the example, ‘I’ve been to Turkey’.
If you were teaching an elementary class or low intermediate class, this language may be new to the learners.
A clear, situational context (for example, a tourist returning back from his travels) may be more appropriate to teach this
language for the rst time.
If you were teaching an Upper-Intermediate class, however, you would assume that they have already studied this language.
Therefore, a task-based approach, where you ask students to talk about their life experiences without providing language rst,
may be more appropriate to establish what the students already know and what they may need further practice in.
When thinking about suitable contexts, it is often useful to consult course books and supplementary materials to get a feel for
suitable contexts for certain language levels.
10. Assumptions and Timetable Fit
Another consideration when lesson planning is establishing how this lesson ts into a course of study and what prior
knowledge students bring to the lesson, based on previous lessons and the students’ learner level.
In the example lesson plan considered in the formal lesson plan section, the teacher assumed that the students were already
familiar with vocabulary to describe household items such as ‘fridge’ and ‘table’.
Therefore, at the beginning of the lesson, she was able to quickly revise this vocabulary rather than present this as new
language.
It is possible that she had taught this vocabulary in a previous lesson. She then built on this previous knowledge by teaching
prepositions of place using the context of household items.
We can also assume that students of a certain language level bring a certain amount of knowledge and understanding about
target language to the lesson.
For example, as previously discussed, we can assume that upper-intermediate students are familiar with certain grammatical
structures and vocabulary and we can build on that previous knowledge to teach more complex grammatical structures.
For example, when planning to teach a lesson on how to use the Past Perfect tense (i.e. ‘I had seen the lm’), we can assume
that learners are familiar with the less complex Past Simple tense (i.e. ‘he came home').
This makes it easier to present and build on previous knowledge to give students practise in using both tenses to highlight that
one action happened before another ('I had seen the lm before he came home’).
If you are unsure about what a learner should know at a certain level, it is useful to refer to the CEFR (Common European
Framework of Reference) can-do statements considered in Module 1.
Syllabi contained in course books and supplementary materials are based on the CEFR and can provide a clear reference.
Activity 5
What assumptions do you think teachers have made about their

students when planning the following lessons?
1. Students write a ghost story set 100 years ago.

2. Students practice comparing Past Simple with Past
Continuous.
3. Students read a tabloid newspaper article and a
broadsheet newspaper article about the same story and
compare how the story is presented in each.
4. Students read a text and underline all Past tenses.
Suggested Answers
1. We can assume students know how to use past tenses

and are familiar with vocabulary needed to produce a
story in this genre such as ‘ghost’, ‘haunt’ and so on.
2. We can assume that the students are familiar with how
to use both tenses separately.
3. Students are familiar with reading newspaper articles
and are familiar with the di erences between the two
written genres.
4. Students are familiar with past tenses.
11. Target Language or Key Vocabulary
When teaching a language systems lesson – either grammatical structures or vocabulary – it is important to analyse the
language you are about to teach in the planning stage so you are clear about what you are teaching and how to explain the
concept to your lessons.
You will need to produce a model sentence or sentences.
To analyse grammatical structures e ectively, it is essential to refer to a grammar book or resource, especially when you are
new to teaching.
Examples of good grammar books are included in the suggestions for further reading at the end of this module.
When analysing grammatical structures, it is important to consider the following:
Form: the parts of speech used to construct the structure

Meaning: the concept the grammatical structure expresses
Function: how the structure is used communicatively
To illustrate, here is an analysis of the following target language:
Target language – Present Perfect Simple

Model Sentence – ‘I’ve been to Turkey’
Form
A rmative: I (Subject) + have (have) + been (past participle) + to (to) + Turkey (country/place)
Negative: I (Subject) + have (have) + not (not) + been (past participle) + to (to) + Turkey (country/place)
Question: Have (Have) + you (subject) + been (past participle) +to (to) + Turkey? (Turkey?)
Meaning – to talk about past events which have a link to the present when there is no past time marker
Function – to talk about past experiences at an unspeci ed time
Activity 6
Try analysing the target language below for Form, Meaning and
Function. A model sentence has been produced for you.
1. I go to work every day.

2. You should go to the doctor.
Suggested Answers
1. Form: A rmative – I go to work every day (subject +

in nitive verb + to + place + time)
Negative – I don’t go to work every day (subject + not +
in nitive verb + place + time)
Question – Do you go to work every day? (Auxiliary ‘do’
+ subject + in nitive verb +…)
Meaning – Present tense used for regular actions
Function – to describe daily routines
2. Form: A rmative – You should go to the doctor
(subject + should + in nitive verb + place)
Negative – You shouldn’t go to the doctor (subject +
should + not + in nitive verb + place)
Question – Should I go to the doctor? (should + subject
+ in nitive verb + place?)
Meaning – It is a good idea that you go
Function – giving advice
You may have found the exercise above tricky if you are not yet familiar with some of the grammatical structures used in
English but, at this stage, it is enough to understand that target language must be analysed in your planning stage.
When teaching vocabulary, it is important to list the key vocabulary you want to teach to learners and think of how you are
going to teach or elicit such vocabulary from your learners.
Depending on the lesson and learner level, it is advisable to limit key vocabulary to 10-20 items rather than aim to teach all
vocabulary in a certain lexical set or family of words linked together.
Research has shown that a learner needs to be exposed to a lexical item approximately 6 times before it enters their active
vocabulary.
Attempting to teach all vocabulary in a certain lexical set could swamp the learners.
Of course, with higher level learners, you can assume that they will already be familiar with more familiar, high frequency
words based around a certain lexical set so key vocabulary should build on familiar vocabulary.
For example, when teaching types of transport, you can assume that a higher level learner will already know high frequency
words, such as ‘car’, ‘bus’ and so on, so key vocabulary to be taught could include low frequency words, such as ‘kayak’ and
‘canoe’.
In addition to analysing what you are going to teach, you must also decide how you are going to teach it.
Vocabulary can be presented in di erent ways depending on the key vocabulary to be taught and the learner level.
Some of the ways vocabulary can be presented are as follows:
Using pictures or visual aids. This works well for vocabulary used to describe objects e.g. clothes, animals and furniture
Using realia or real objects e.g. teaching clothes by pointing at the clothes you and the students are wearing
Using mime or actions e.g. teaching ‘frog’ by jumping around the room like a frog
Using sounds e.g. ‘to whistle’ by making a whistling sound
Using matching type activities in which vocabulary items are listed on one side of the paper and meanings are jumbled on the
other side (students then match vocabulary items to their meanings in pairs)
Through a text. For example, using a newspaper article about a crime to teach vocabulary items such as ‘steal’, ‘thief’ and so
on (students look at the words and deduce the meaning from context)
Using a story or situation e.g. teaching the words for relationships ‘get to know each other’, ‘fall in love’ by telling the story of a
couple meeting and their relationship progressing
Activity 7
How would you teach the following vocabulary items?
1. A nurse
2. To break down
3. To pass an exam
4. Rock music
5. To get divorced
Suggested Answers
1. Using a picture of a nurse

2. Using a story or a situation with pictures showing a car
driving along then stopping and not working
3. A picture of someone taking an exam and a second
picture showing a the person getting results and
looking really happy
4. Play some rock music or mime or use pictures
5. Tell the story of a relationship – a couple gets married,
then fall out then mime taking rings o
Your ideas for teaching the vocabulary items may be di erent to the suggested answers and this is ne as there are sometimes
di erent ways in which vocabulary can be presented.
From our discussion in Module 2 about learning styles, it is also good to consider di erent ways of presenting vocabulary to
appeal to di erent learning styles.
For example, you could present the vocabulary item ‘guitar’ in three di erent ways to appeal to di erent learning styles:
A picture of a guitar
Play some guitar music
Mime playing a guitar
12. Language skills
If you are teaching a language skills lesson, you rst need to decide which skill you are going to give learners practice in:
In addition, it is useful to analyse which sub-skills you are going to give learners practice in and what you expect learners to be
able to do at the end of the lesson.
Examples of sub-skills for language skills are given below:
Listening for gist, listening for detail, listening for speci c sounds (i.e. phonology).
Reading for gist, reading for detail, skimming, scanning, extensive reading.
Writing in di erent genres (e.g. essay, short story) handwriting.
Speaking discussions, debates, turn-taking, interview skills.
In Modules 7 and 8, we will learn more about the language sub-skills listed above, but for now it is enough to appreciate that
more is involved in teaching a language skill and it is clear to have in mind which sub-skill you want to give students practice in
so you can achieve your aims.
13. Materials and equipment
While planning your lesson, you may have consulted di erent teaching resources and considered using equipment as part of
the lesson.
It would, therefore, be frustrating to enter the class and nd out during the course of the lesson that you had forgotten to bring
a copy of a resource you had planned to use or failed to set up your equipment.
It is, therefore, worth making a note of all materials you plan to use in a list, including reference numbers.
If you need to make photocopies of supplementary resources also make a note of this to ensure you are well-prepared.
Examples of materials and equipment could include:
Course books.
Supplementary materials – photocopies.
Games or activities cut up.
Grammar book or reference.
Pictures.
CDs/audio les.
DVDs/video clips.
Internet resources.
CD player.
Realia.
14. Anticipated problems and solutions
It may not be possible to predict everything that could happen in a lesson but it is worth considering possible problems and
solutions to those problems so you are fully prepared for anything that may happen.
Anticipated problems can include:
Possible di culties students may have with the target language or skill.
Potential classroom management
Issues with equipment and materials.
After you have analysed your target language or decided which language skills sub-skill you want students to have practice in, it
is important to consider potential di culties that may arise.
Students may confuse Present Perfect Simple (e.g. ‘I’ve been to Turkey’) with Past Simple (e.g. ‘I went to Turkey’) as both tenses
describe past actions.
When teaching vocabulary, students may have di culties pronouncing certain sounds.
Students may struggle with reading a longer text. Di culties may arise from a student’s rst language.
For example, Russian students may have problems using articles (‘a’, ‘the’) as these are not used in their language.
Turkish students will have di culties with word order as Turkish word order is di erent from English.
Students whose rst language does not use the Latin script may nd it more di cult to read or write, even at higher levels.
You may be familiar with some languages and know of potential problems that may arise.
Resources such as ‘Learner English’ (Swan and Smith, 2001) are extremely useful as they list potential di culties that may arise
in most major language groups.
Potential classroom management issues could involve student numbers.
If you have planned a pair work activity, what happens if an odd number of students come to class? If you have a small
classroom and have planned a mingle activity, classroom space may be an anticipated problem.
You may have planned an activity such as a role-play which needs clear instructions in order to work e ectively.
Classroom management also includes potential student issues, for example dealing with late-comers to class or students who
are shy when talking in a group.
Technology in the classroom can be an e ective resource when it is working but you also need to consider what you would do if
you have technical issues.
It may be worth considering a back-up plan if technology fails you.
You may experience di culties with the photocopier so may need to improvise or plan photocopying in advance if you have
planned to use extra hand-outs.
In addition to anticipating problems, you also need to consider possible solutions so you are fully prepared for anything that
may happen in class.
Activity 8
Think of possible solutions for the anticipated problems below.
1. My Arabic students read slower than my Spanish students

because of their rst language.
2. My classroom is very small and I want to do a mingle
activity.
3. I want to use a youtube clip in class but am worried about
issues with the wi- .
Possible Solutions
1. Prepare additional tasks for the Spanish students to

complete after reading the text so the Arabic students
have more time to read.
2. Consider using the hall or another room for the mingle
activity or consider using a mill-drill (i.e. half the
students seated and half move around).
3. Download the clip onto the computer so you do not
have to rely on the wi- .
You may have considered di erent solutions to the ones above and there may be multiple solutions to anticipated problems
which will give you more options in class.
15. Class pro le
Remember that you are ‘teaching the learners- not the lesson plan’ (5), so considering your class pro le before you plan your
lesson is essential.
It will also help you plan lessons which cater for your learners’ strengths and weaknesses and learning styles.
The following considerations are important when thinking about your class pro le:
Age.
Gender.
First language.
Reasons for learning English/motivational level.
Level of education.
Attendance.
Learning style.
Strengths and weaknesses in English.
The following is an example of a detailed class pro le:
Name Maria Mohammed Cristina Simon

Age 20 18 30 25
Gender F M F M
First
Spanish Arabic Spanish French
Language
Work Work
Motivation Go to Uni Pleasure
reasons reasons
Education High school High school University University
Attendance 100% 70% 80% 75%
Learning
Visual Kinaesthetic Auditory Kinaesthetic
style
Fluent,
Fluent Excellent con dent
Strengths Strong
speaker. grammar, speaker,
and grammar,
Slower at struggles grammar
Weaknesses shy speaker
reading with uency lacks
accuracy
From this class pro le, you can start to make the following decisions about your lessons to appeal to the di erent learners in
your class:
Include a range of Kinaesthetic, Visual and Auditory activities to appeal to di erent learning styles. Mohammed and Simon
will be more motivated if given Kinaesthetic activities to complete.
Three of the students’ L1’s share Latin script with English but one learner speaks Arabic. More support may need to be given
to this learner.
Cristina and Maria are both stronger at grammatical accuracy and weaker at uency. Mohammed and Simon are the
opposite. It might, therefore, be good to pair Mohammed with Maria/Simon with Cristina so the pairs have di erent strengths
and weaknesses and can help each other.
Simon and Mohammed have lower attendance than Cristina and Maria so there may be a risk of them not attending the
lesson. If you have planned a pair work activity, this may be adapted if there are only 3 students present in class.
Mohammed is weaker at reading so may need more time to read a text. You may need to plan extension activities for the
other 3 students.
Three of the students have speci c reasons for learning English so you may want to take this into consideration when
planning the lesson. If you are teaching a reading lesson, how can practising reading help Mohammed achieve his goal of
going to university? You could mention the importance of reading when preparing essays and so on.
Two of the students share the same language so you may want to separate these students in pair work activities to avoid
them being tempted to use their L1 in class.
There may be other decisions you could make about teaching this small group of learners but the suggestions above show that
considering your class pro le helps to shape your lesson and help cater for your di erent learners.
Of course, you do not need to write such a detailed class pro le for each learner for each lesson though you will nd it useful
when you start teaching or when planning a formal observation.
You could write a less detailed class pro le as follows, highlighting general considerations about your group as a whole:
Class Pro le
There are 4 students in class ranging in age from 18-30. The
class is mixed gender and multi-lingual – Spanish, French and
Arabic. Three of the students have speci c reasons for learning
English and, as such, are highly motivated. Attendance ranges
from 70-100%. There are a mix of learning styles so I need to
include a range of VAK activities. The female students are good
at accuracy but weaker at uency. The male students are the
opposite. Mohammed is weaker at reading.
16. Boardwork
An important resource in class is the white board.
This can be used e ectively to record vocabulary, target language, miscellaneous vocabulary, drawings and so on.
In module 2, we discussed the importance of practising your board work writing as it can initially be tricky to get used to writing
on a board.
It is also important to consider board work organisation in the planning stage, planning out your board on paper or on the
computer.
Board work provides students with a clear record of the work studied in class.
Students can write down board work and refer to it in the future.
If board work is poorly organised or messy, it will be confusing for students and would not be a useful record of the lesson.
Activity 9
How would you organise the following information on your white

board? Write it down on a piece of paper or use a Word
document.
1. Picture of a tourist.
2. I’ve been to Turkey.
3. Picture of Turkey.
4. I + have + past participle + to + place.
5. The word ‘tourist’.
6. Have you been to Turkey?
Suggested Answer
The board can be organised as follows:
(Your pictures)
I’ve been to Turkey Vocabulary
I + have + past participle + to + place Tourist
Have you been to Turkey?
You may have organised the board in a di erent way but I am sure you will agree that considering board layout and preparing
this advance will ensure that your board will be organised and easy for students to refer to.
Generally speaking, it is good to divide your board into di erent sections – in this example, a section for your situational
context, target language and vocabulary.
It is also a good idea to use di erent colours on the board, perhaps black for language work, red to show form and green to
highlight phonological features.
We will learn more about Phonology in Module 6 and which phonological features to focus on in class.
17. Planning: Outline of procedures
After you have looked at the lesson globally in the Background Information section of the plan, you are then ready to prepare
the lesson in detail, considering individual stages, linked to achieving the overall main aim, the timing of each stage, procedures
and interaction patterns.
18. Staging and stage aims
After you have looked at the lesson globally in the Background Information section of the plan, you are then ready to prepare
the lesson in detail, considering individual stages, linked to achieving the overall main aim, timing of each stage, procedures
and interaction patterns.
We will look at these in more detail below.
Staging and stage aims

As discussed previously, when considering staging a lesson, it is a good idea to rst decide what you want students to be doing
at the end of the lesson and then work backwards, deciding what you need to do in the early stages to ensure that students are
able to do the nal stage of the lesson e ectively, thereby achieving your aim.
Please refer back to the lesson plan used earlier in this module, in the ‘formal lesson plan’ section.
In this lesson, the teacher’s main aim was as follows:
Use di erent prepositions of place accurately in spoken English to describe where things are.
Therefore, in order to achieve this aim, the teacher’s nal lesson plan stage was:
Hand out pictures

of whole house
labelled A and B
(Sheets A and B
have the mouse in
di erent places). In
pairs, students
explain to each
To provide
other exactly where
freer oral
10 Freer the mice are Pair
practice in a
mins practice without looking at Work
communication
each other’s
activity
pictures. Partners
must draw mice in
the correct
places.Teacher
monitors and takes
notes on errors and
good uses of
language.
By the end of the lesson, the teacher wants the students to be able to speak fairly independently in pairs, using prepositions in
place to compare two pictures.
In order to achieve this end stage, it is clear that students need appropriate sca olding and support from the teacher
including:
Revision of vocabulary –stage 1.

Understanding of context –stage 1.
Target Language – prepositions of place – stage 2.
Controlled practice – stage 3 and 4.
Written record – stage 5.
Activity 10
Look at the end stages of the following lessons and decide what
the students will need to know or practice in earlier stages of the
lesson.
1. Students write about their last holiday.

2. Students take part in a debate about whether smoking in
public should be illegal.
Suggested Answers
1. Holiday vocabulary / past tense forms / oral practice of

describing your last holiday / time sequencers – rstly,
secondly, at the end
2. Smoking related vocabulary / consideration of pros and
cons / language used to give opinions e.g. I strongly
believe… / preparation time
It is also important to consider stage aims i.e. how each stage relates to the overall main aim.
This will help you ensure that your main aim is achieved.
19. Timing
Timing of lesson plan stages is key as your lessons will have a start time and end time.
In order to achieve your main aim, you want students to complete the nal and most important stage of the lesson.
If time runs out before students have chance to complete the nal stage, students will not have received su cient freer
practice of the target language.
If this does happen, you can always carry the lesson over to the next lesson, but the impetus may be lost.
Timing is also important to make sure that students have su cient time to complete each stage of the lesson.
If stage timings are too short, students may not bene t much from the lesson.
If stage timings are too long, the lesson will lose pace and students may start to feel bored and go o task.
Setting appropriate time limits and sticking to them will help avoid this problem.
If you know that a stage should take 5 minutes, you know when to stop the activity and move on, thereby ensuring the pace
does not dip.
Giving the students a time limit for activities will also challenge learners and avoid them being tempted to chat about the
weekend or go o topic.
Of course, always keep in mind that you are teaching the students not the plan, so all timings are suggested.
You may feel that in the lesson students need more time to complete the stage or you may feel that students complete a stage
quicker than expected.
You can then adjust timings as you go on. It is a good idea to think about exi-stages, i.e. additional stages that can be added in
or taken out without a ecting the lesson.
It is also a good idea to have a bank of warmers, llers or coolers, considered later, up your sleeve, in case a lesson ends earlier
than expected.
Once you know your class, you will be better able to gauge how long your students need to complete a certain activity.
For example, if you teach a group of students who do not use the Latin script in their rst language, they may need longer to
read a text.
20. Procedures
Procedures are written descriptions of what will be happening at each stage of the lesson.
When you rst start teaching, it is a good idea to make these descriptions as detailed as possible to give yourself the support
you need to ensure your lesson is a success.
Procedures can contain information about the following:
Student actions (for example, speaking in pairs, listening to the teacher).

Teacher actions (for example, writing on the board, monitoring).
Materials used (for example, white board, hand out, course book).
Written instructions (for example, ‘Work in pairs’).
Language taught (for example, ‘I’ve been to Turkey’).
When writing procedures, imagine that you are going to give your lesson plan to another teacher to use in class.
Ask yourself if, by reading your plan, the teacher would have all the information needed to teach your lesson e ectively.
Re ective Task 3
Read the procedures in the lesson plan above and try acting out the lesson. Do you have enough information to teach the
lesson?
21. Interaction patterns
A successful lesson is often a lesson that includes a variety of di erent interaction patterns and focuses, stimulating students in
di erent ways.
A student-centred lesson should include a range of student-centred interaction patterns including pair work and group work.
A lesson that has a lot of whole class interaction patterns may become very teacher-centred while a lesson that has very little
teacher direction may lack focus.
It is a good idea to review your interaction patterns to ensure your lessons are balanced and varied.
For ideas on varying interaction patterns, refer back to Module 2.
22. Warmers, Fillers and Coolers
As discussed previously, it is good to have a bank of short, 5 minute engage activities in mind to engage learners, end the
lesson on a positive note or ll time if your lesson is shorter than expected.
These activities can be used in di erent ways as follows:
To engage learners at the beginning of the lesson.

To change the pace of the lesson in the middle of the lesson.
To consolidate/round-o the lesson, leave students on a high.
Here are some example warmer, ller and cooler activities.
It would be a good idea to collect di erent activities so you have a collection of useful activities to use in lessons.
In Modules 4 and 5, we will also look at short, language recycling activities you can use in class and many of these can also be
used as warmers, llers and coolers.
Activity Procedure Comments

Kinaesthetic
Students stand up
learners
Sit down in order of
Sequencing/Ordering Encourages
A-Z of names, height,
students to speak
birthdays etc.
Quick
Students write names

on a piece of paper
Teacher mixes up and
gives students a Language practice
di erent name Controlled writing
Teacher gives Students usually
students half enjoy writing about
sentences which someone else
‘Mario’ game students continue Some sentences

according to their can be very
new personality imaginative
Students nd student Encourages
they have written communication
about and read them and rapport
sentences
Other student tells
them if true/false
Students write 4
sentences about
themselves - three
Great for controlled
Liar! Liar! true/one false
practice
Read to their partner
and they decide if
true/false
Students are asked to

write questions to ask
teacher
The teacher asks for a Great for freer
volunteer who now speaking and
becomes the ‘teacher’ question practice
The students ask Great for new
Interview by Proxy questions to the class/cover classes
student who must Good way of
answer as the teacher getting to know
Process repeats with students
student B answering
as student A and so
on
3 seats are placed at

the front of the class
and are names ‘a’,
‘the’ and ‘-‘ if
practicing articles or
another language
systems group
Kinaesthetic and
Class split in two and
fun
3 seats game 2 team leaders
Controlled
Teacher reads gapped
language practice
sentences and team
leaders run to the
appropriate seat
The quickest one to
sit down gets a point
– teams score points
and one team wins
Students are in
groups and ask
questions to each
other
Students change Loads of active
Speaking exchange groups and must tell listening and

new partners what speaking
the people in their
original group said –
can change groups
again
Students hold their

right hand out palm
facing down and
place a coin on the
back of their hand
Great for speaking
Coins on hands ask and answer
with distraction
questions
each partner tries to
steal their partner’s
coin with their left
hand
Students write down

questions on slips on
paper and ask the Loads of speaking
Question mill drill person to their right practice
papers are passed
around in a mill-drill
Students whisper a
message to the next
student and go
around the class or in
Great for listening
Pass the message teams
practice
The last person to
hear the message
writes what they think
it is on the board
3 people sit on three

seats and are experts
on a certain subject
they are asked
Experts Great for syntax
questions by other
students and must
answer one word at a
time
23. Lesson Plan Models
In this section, we will consider three di erent lesson plan models or ways to structure a lesson, used for di erent lesson types
or with di erent language levels.
All of these lesson plan models refer to language systems lessons i.e. lessons in which grammatical structures or vocabulary is
taught or revised.
In Modules 7 and 8, we will look in greater detail at how language skills lessons can be structured.
24. Presentation, Practice, Production (PPP)
As we learned in Module 1, the ‘P-P-P’ lesson model was an essential feature of Situational Language Teaching and was widely
taught to EFL teachers in the 1980s/1990s.
It is also called a ‘logical line lesson’ as it follows a linear sequence in which students are taught the language, given controlled
practice and then use the language in a freer way.
In the ‘P-P-P’ lesson plan model, the three P’s stand for:
Presentation – introduction of the new teaching item in context

Practice – controlled practice of this item
Production – a freer practice phase
As discussed in Module 1, a teacher could teach the Present Perfect tense used in the model sentence ‘I have been to Turkey’ in
the following way using the ‘P-P-P’ model:
Presentation
The teacher draws a picture of a man, aeroplane, passport etc. on the board plus a picture of Turkey or Istanbul.
The teacher elicits or teaches the vocabulary.
The teacher asks simple questions to establish the context e.g. ‘Where is the man?’ ‘Where did he go on holiday?’
The teacher elicits or teaches the model sentence ‘I have been to Turkey’.
Practice
The teacher asks the students to listen to her say the modal sentence clearly.
The students repeat as a group.
This process is repeated with the teacher focusing on pronunciation.
The teacher asks individual students to say the repeat the modal sentence, correcting pronunciation if needed.
The teacher writes the model sentence on the board.
The teacher analyses the language on the board, showing students how to make the grammatical structure.
Controlled practice continues with the teacher asking the question ‘Where have you been?’ and the students replying ‘I have
been to Turkey’.
Students then work in pairs and take turns to ask and answer the modal question and answer.
The teacher monitors the pairs and helps if needed.
Production
The teacher gradually introduces more freer practice activities, asking learners where they have been. Students answer giving
personal answers, using the target language e.g. ‘I have been to Spain’.
Students practise in pairs and groups with more freer activities introduced depending on the learner level.
The ‘P-P-P’ lesson plan model can be used e ectively to teach new language, giving students the opportunity to see the
language in context, providing them with support with using new language in controlled practice activities and then giving them
the opportunity to use the language in a freer, more personalised way at the end of the lesson.
25. Test-Teach-Test or Task-Based Learning
The ‘P-P-P’ lesson plan model works well with lower levels when you can assume that the students have not seen this language
before.
However, its use is limited at higher levels, when you can assume that students are already familiar with the grammatical
structures you are planning to teach.
At higher levels, students may be familiar with certain grammatical structures but fail to produce them e ectively when
speaking.
You may wish to check what students already know at the beginning of the lesson, provide practice in language gaps then
assess how much they have learned.
This model is called Test-Teach-Test and is also the model used in Task-Based Learning (TBL).
The main phases of a ‘T-T-T’ or TBL lesson are as follows:
Test/Task – students are given a test to highlight the language they already know and any possible gaps.
Teach – students are given controlled practice on any language gaps.
Test/Repeat task – students are given another test or task to see how much they have learned.
A teacher could teach the Present Perfect tense used in the model sentence ‘I have been to Turkey’ in the following way using
the ‘T-T-T’ model:
Test
Teacher puts a few visual prompts on the board and elicits phrases such as ‘ride a bike’, ‘stay in an expensive hotel’, ‘eat
something unusual’ and so on.
Teacher puts students in pairs and asks the pairs to ask and answer questions about past experiences using the picture
prompts – no language input is given.
Teacher monitors and listens to the students' conversations taking notes to give delayed feedback.
Teach
Teacher provides delayed feedback on the language used in the task.
Teacher elicits the correct tense to use for life experiences in the past with no time reference.
Teacher records model sentences on the board ‘I’ve ridden a bike’ etc.
Students do controlled written or oral activities perhaps comparing Present Perfect and Past Simple.
Test
Students repeat the task at the beginning perhaps with some variation.
Teacher monitors and provides feedback on better language production.
In the lesson above, the teacher will have some assumed knowledge of how familiar students are with the Present Perfect
Simple tense so the initial phase helps reveal how much the students know about how to use the structure and what help they
need in the ‘Teach’ phase.
It may be that students are familiar with the Present Perfect Simple tense but when asked to speak about the past, resort to
using the Past Simple structure incorrectly.
They may be familiar with the structure but make errors with form or pronunciation.
This initial phase reveals the gaps while the middle phase provides students with the additional knowledge they need to know.
The last phase helps consolidate learning.
26. Engage Study Activate (ESA)
Both the ‘P-P-P’ and ‘T-T-T’ models follow linear sequences.
However, language lessons don’t always follow this model and the ‘E-S-A’ lesson plan model was developed to describe such
non-linear lessons.
‘E-S-A’ refers to the three elements present in a language classroom to help students learn e ectively.
A successful lesson should have a balance of these elements. These elements are: (6)
Engage – arousing the students’ interest

Study – focus on language and how it is constructed
Activate –students using language freely and communicatively
When students are engaged or interested in what they are doing, they progress better.
Activities and materials which engage students include:
Music.
Discussions.
Stimulating pictures.
Dramatic stories.
Anecdotes.
Games.
Engaging learners also involves getting students interested in what they are doing i.e. asking learners to predict the content of a
text before reading it or guess someone’s occupation before listening to it.
Even the driest text or course book activity can be interesting if time is taken to fully engage learners.
Study activities refer to any activities in which the learner is asked to focus on language and how it is constructed.
Examples on study activities include:
Controlled grammar practice.

Learning new vocabulary.
Receptive skills – reading and listening.
Controlled productive skills – speaking and writing.
Focus on pronunciation.
The study element covers quite a wide area of language learning and can include a variety of di erent learning styles including
listening to the teacher or taking part in group work guided discovery activities, in which learners try to work out the rules for
themselves.
It also includes activities in which students are asked to engage with the language through practising reading and listening skills
as well as controlled writing and speaking activities.
Activate activities include all activities which are designed to get students using language as freely and communicatively as
possible.
Suitable activities include:
Role-plays.
Debates.
Discussions.
Story writing.
Writing in groups.
The activate element is important as it gives learners the opportunity to actively use the language.
Activate activities focus on uency rather than accuracy so delayed error correction is used.
The three elements of an ‘E-S-A’ lesson are all important and need to be balanced.
A lesson with too many ‘study’ stages, for example, will not provide learners with su cient freer practice of the target language
while a lesson with too many ‘activate’ stages may be unsuccessful as students may not have su cient language support to do
the freer tasks e ectively.
An ‘E-S-A’ lesson may have a linear sequence but can also have a ‘patchwork’ (7) sequence in which stages have di erent
focuses throughout the lesson.
An example of a ‘patchwork’ sequence is below:
Engage – students look at pictures of sunbathers and respond by commenting on the people and the activity that are taking
part in.
Activate – students act out a dialogue between a doctor and a sunburn victim.
Activate – students look at a text describing di erent people and the e ects sun has on their skin.
Study – the teacher does vocabulary work on words such as ‘pale’, ‘freckles’ ‘tan’ etc.
Activate – students describe themselves or people they know using the vocabulary.
Study – teacher focuses the students’ attention on the relative clause construction used in the text (‘I’m the type of person
who easily burns’).
Engage – the teacher discusses advertisements with the students.
Activate – the students write a radio commercial for sunscreen.
Such lessons are common, especially at higher levels.
Not only do they re ect how we learn, they also provide an appealing balance between study and activation, between language
and topic.
Activity 11
The lesson plan below uses the ‘E-S-A’ ‘patchwork’ lesson plan
model. Label each stage with the correct element – Engage,
Study or Activate. (8)
1. The teacher gives students a number of words and tells

them they all come from a story. In groups, the students try
to work out what the story is.
2. The teacher reads a ghost story aloud and the students see
if they were right.
3. They discuss whether they like the story.
4. The students read the story and answer detailed
comprehension questions.
5. The students look at the use of the Past Continuous tense
in the story and make their own sentences using the Past
Continuous tense.
6. The students talk about ghost stories in general – do they
like them?
7. The students write their own ghost stories.
Suggested Answers
1. Engage
2. Study
3. Engage
4. Study
5. Study
6. Activate
7. Activate
27. Longer Term Planning
Planning individual lessons is important but it is also important to develop the ability to plan a series of lessons to cover a week,
a month or a term.
In order to do that e ectively, there are two main considerations:
Syllabus. What will I teach?

Timetable. How will the separate items be sequenced.
28. Syllabus
A syllabus is a longer term overview of what teachers are expected to teach over a course of study.
Syllabi for EFL courses are predominantly based on the CEFR Can-Do statements for learners at certain levels.
Syllabi can be predominantly grammar or skills-based though most syllabi for General English courses have a balance of
language systems and skills.
A language school may have developed their own syllabus which teachers are expected to refer to or they may use the course
book as a syllabus.
Specialist courses, for example Business English will have their own syllabi while, at times, syllabi for bespoke courses may be
negotiated between the teacher and students.
A syllabus can be a great help as it clearly sets out what you as a teacher are expected to cover during a course of study.
29. Timetable
The day-to-day and week-to-week decisions about how to interpret a syllabus into a series of lessons is usually the teacher’s
job.
The process involves looking at the syllabus and mapping out how you will cover the content in the time available to you.
This is called a timetable – a teacher’s translation of the syllabus into a balanced and interesting series of lessons.
Timetables are usually written in advance and enable everyone to understand what is being done in your class.
A timetable may be a ‘skeleton’ i.e. providing basic information about what is to be covered in class or it may be more detailed.
Timetables are useful for planning the overall shape of a week or course and can be adapted if needed.
An example is below:
30. Materials and Resources
Most language schools use a course book to structure a language course.
Course books often have approximately 12 units and are often used as a syllabus which teachers use to plan weekly timetables
and daily lessons.
Some language schools choose to have a stand alone syllabus and encourage teachers to use a variety of di erent resources to
plan lessons.
Whatever your future situation, it is worth considering advantages and disadvantages of di erent kinds of materials and
resources.
Reflective Task 4
What do you think are some advantages and disadvantages of
using course books in class?
Suggested Answers
Advantages Disadvantages
Can be boring
Clear syllabus and link to Limitations in all course
weekly lessons books
Students like having a course Does not fully cater for
book to follow learner needs
Easier to plan courses and Removes some creativity
lessons Students feel they are just
Easier for teacher to cover working through a book and
lessons sometimes think they can do
Less photocopying this at home
Less planning time needed Lack of personalisation
Controlled practice exercises Can hinder communication
A bank of reading and Can clash with certain
listening exercises cultures e.g. alcohol with
Arabic learners
Course books provide students with a clear reference of the syllabus and they often enjoy working through a book and
completing activities.
Course books can reduce planning time and reduce the need for photocopies.
It is also easier for colleagues to cover your lessons when you are unwell or on holiday.
Most modern course books have interesting, engaging topics designed to appeal to multi-national learners.
31. Adapting course book materials
However good the course book is, course books always have limitations.
Students get bored if they know they will only be using the course book in class.
Students may not be interested in some of the topics in the course book so may not be engaged in class.
Course books contain a lot of controlled practice activities but are limited when it comes to communicative activities.
It is, therefore, good to think of ways you can adapt course books to make activities more engaging for learners.
Some ideas of ways of adapting course books are given below:
Personal engagement.
Ask students engaging questions about the reading text they are going to read or topic you are discussing.
Using the students as a resource.

When teaching comparisons, instead of lling in a lot of gap- lls in the course book, put students in 3 / 4 groups and give them
di erent categories e.g. animals.
They have to prove they are the best by writing as many comparative/superlatives sentences as possible.
E.g. An elephant is the most beautiful animal etc.
Dictogloss.
Read a long complex sentence once and once only in a natural way.
Students listen without writing anything and then write key words and reconstruct the story.
Testing each other.

Students write gap- lls for another group using target language you have studied.
The other group must write the answers and these are marked by the rst group.
This tests the students grasp of concepts and is very competitive.
Word Associations.
Ask students to write vocab they have previously learned in shapes/pictures that are meaningful to them.
Students then explain why they have chosen these associations e.g. crime in a picture of a house.
Change Seats Game.

Students sit in a circle with one student in the middle.
One student asks questions e.g. Are you wearing trousers? All students change places and the student left without a seat
becomes ‘it’ and needs to ask the next question.
Works with vocab and also grammar e.g. Have you ever…?
Vocab Mingle.
Students are given slips of paper and write down 2 or 3 words that they found di cult in the unit.
They then mingle, describing the word and give the word to the student who guesses it.
Running Dictation.
Cut up sentences from a boring text, put students in groups.
One student is a scribe and must write down sentence. Other students need to read, memorise and repeat sentence.
After all sentences copied, students then rearrange the text.
Great for listening, grammar, reading etc.
Students write own questions.

Give students a text from the CB and ask them to write 7 questions for the other group.
Groups swap questions and answer each others’ comprehension questions.
Reading Without Reading.

Students read the rst and last sentences only and then scan the text quickly. They then summarise the text.
32. Supplementary resources
In addition to course books, most language schools will have a library of supplementary materials which can be used to
supplement your course book and provide variety.
Examples of supplementary materials include the following:
Grammar exercise books.

Vocabulary activities.
Listening and reading activities.
Writing and speaking activities.
Discussions books.
Photocopiable games and activities.
DVDs and worksheets.
Examples of supplementary materials are included in ideas for further reading.
33. Using authentic material
In addition to graded materials, it is often engaging for learners to use authentic materials i.e. materials from the real world
written for native speakers.
Learners are often exposed to these materials in the real world and there can be high intrinsic motivation to understand such
texts.
The disadvantage of using authentic materials is that the language used in such materials is sometimes too di cult for learners
of English to access.
Ideas for using authentic materials in class are as follows:
Using a menu from a local café or restaurant with lower level learners. Learners can then go and practice ordering from this
café in real life after class.
Using real application forms in class.
Finding a job advertisement in the newspaper and applying for the job.
Asking a friend or colleague to record a conversation about the topic you are going to discuss.
Using part of a documentary or news programme.
Using a soap opera or drama to discuss family relationship or guess what is happening.
Using lm trailers.
Funny youtube clips to present or practise language. For example, ‘What’s going to happen?’.
Using popular songs and analysing language.
Using short stories or newspaper texts.
34. Technology in the Classroom
Why use technology

Nowadays, we are surrounded by technology and people use technology on a daily basis in the following ways:
Watching lms or TV.

Listening to music or the radio.
Answering emails.
Reading web-sites.
Social networking sites.
Computer games.
Making phone calls, texts and messaging.
It is appropriate, then, that technology is also used in the classroom and that the use of technology re ects how it is used in the
real world.
35. Social Media in the Classroom
Social media is everywhere these days and it can be utilised successfully in the TEFL classroom in a large number of ways.
Using social media is a great way to interact with your students whether they are young learners, teens or adults.
There are an enormous number of ways to get creative in the TEFL classroom using social media. From videos to written posts, you can utilise all
your skills to engage with your learners in a fun and interactive way.
Have a look at some ideas below:
Facebook
Create a Facebook group for your class so that you can interact with your learners, share materials, set homework and give
them information out of school hours. Learners can use the group as a community for sharing ideas, getting tips and help
with their homework and sharing online resources together.
During holidays, breaks or simply out of school time, "go live" in your group and provide mini-lessons to your students.
Post pictures and videos related to your classes and topics you're working on with your learners to keep them engaged and
encourage them to explore other resources for themselves.
Instagram
Get your students to create a video/ picture blog of their day in school and out. Set learners a treasure hunt task in English
and get them to post images or videos of the items they nd and write a short message in English explaining what it is and
where they found it.
Start a class Instagram account and have your students take turns to take pictures in class, upload them and write posts
about the topics and language they covered that day.
Ask students to keep a video diary each day of the progress they are making in their English studies, and di culties they may
have and any goals they want to achieve.
BuzzFeed
Use resources such as BuzzFeed to engage your learners in current news topics, sports, celebrities and even to get them to
do fun quizzes and polls online.
Learners could explore topics that interest them, read articles, write blog posts about them on other social media platforms
or just use the articles for discussion or debate.
There are so many ways to use social media in the TEFL classroom and you are only limited by your own imagination!
Providing your students with variety will always be a successful approach in the classroom. If you can demonstrate how to
implement English in engaging, relateable ways then your students will enjoy the learning process and are far more likely to
retain the language.
Be creative and don't be afraid to embrace technology and social media in the classroom!
TikTok
Set your students a "TEFL Challenge" - Students should memorise a new vocabulary set and recall it in a Tik Tok video.
Set your class a topic to improve their speaking skills. Split the class into two groups and give them a debate topic such as "is
it necessary to go to university to get a good job?". Using Tik Tok videos, each group must take it in turns to set out their
argument, listen to the other group's opinion and make formal arguments in favour of your cause. This can be utilised for
debates, discussions, general conversation topics and even music!
English With Geet TikTok New Videos | …
Snapchat
Send your learners tips and information such as "word of the day" or "my favourite idioms". This will engage your students by
giving them short, fun pieces of language which they can go away and use immediately.
As you go about your day, record and send snaps of real-life examples of when you use English in your daily routine. For
example, if the class have been learning food vocabulary, send them videos of you shopping at the supermarket and
discussing the di erent food names as you shop. If they have been studying a speci c grammar point, nd a real example
and make a quick video:
E.g. The Present Perfect Continuous

When you nish your run, walk, sports game, take a picture or make a short video of your red face and write "I have been
running, I'm very tired" - This will give your students a real-world example of using the Present Perfect Continuous for actions
that have just nished but at relevant to the present!
Twitter
Ask your students to follow a speci c news outlet and set them the task of keeping up with current a airs. Using Twitter,
learners could write a summary of the most important news headlines that day or week and even use the opportunity to
practise speci c grammar points such as narrative tenses or passive voice.
Get your students to Tweet themselves! Posting short messages in English regularly will improve learners' writing skills and
get them into the habit of expressing their opinions and ideas accurately.
36. Blended learning
Blended learning refers to a language course that combines a face-to-face (F2F) classroom component with an appropriate use
of technology. (10) Appropriate technology can include:
Classroom Media (audio-visial materials included with your course books).

Online Campuses (VLEs such as Macmillan English Campus).
Use of the Internet (using websites of webquests).
Making use of Smartphones (using recording devices etc.).
Wireless devices such as iPads.
Blended Learning a ects:
Learner autonomy.
Potential for new ways to learn.
Learner motivation.
Teacher exibility.
Availability of and familiarity with ICT.
Simple tasks can be created by using the Internet. For example, by googling images of policemen eating, you can create a useful
compare and contrast activity (below).
Students can also use the Internet to research a certain topic and can even be encouraged to create a blog or forum to discuss
their course.
37. References
'Ibid' means a reference has quoted work from the previously used reference.
1. Scrivener, J (2011) Learning Teaching (3rd Edition), Macmillan, Oxford

2. Ibid
3. Ibid
4. Ibid
5. Ibid
6. Harmer, J (1998) How to Teach English, Longman
7. Ibid
8. Ibid
9. Cunningham, S & Moor, P (2007) Cutting Edge Intermediate, Longman
10. Barratt and Sharma (2007) Blended Learning, Macmillan
38. Further Reading
Barratt and Sharma (2007) Blended Learning, Macmillan
Cunningham, S & Moor, P (2007) Cutting Edge Intermediate, Longman
Flower, J (1993) Phrasal Verb Organiser, Heinle
Had led, J (1984) Elementary Communication Games, Longman
Had led, J (1984) Intermediate Communication Games, Longman
Harmer, J (1998) How to Teach English, Longman
Kay, Susan (1998) Reward Supplementary Resources Starter-Upper-Intermediate, Macmillan
Murphy, R, (1994) English Grammar in Use, Cambridge Univeristy Press
Nunan, D (1998) Syllabus Design, Oxford University Press
Rinvolucri, M (2002) Humanising your course book, DELTA Publishing
Scrivener, J (2011) Learning Teaching (3rd Edition), Macmillan, Oxford
Swan, M (1995) Practical English Usage (2nd edition) Oxfgord University Press
Swan, M & Smith, B (2001) Learner English (3rd Edition) Cambridge University Press
Swan, M & Walter, C (2001) The Good Grammar Book, Oxford University Press
West, C (2009) Recycling Advanced English, Cambridge University Press
Wright, J (2002) Idioms Organiser, Heinle
39. Useful Websites

Online EFL book store
Lesson plans and resources for all levels, language and class types
Audio-visual clips and lesson plans – Multiple level

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Organising and Managing Learning

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1. Time to Start Planning Your Job

3. Considerations when planning

4. Formal and Informal Planning

8. Planning – Background Information

10. Assumptions and Timetable Fit

11. Target Language or Key Vocabulary

12. Language skills

13. Materials and equipment

14. Anticipated problems and solutions

15. Class pro le

17. Planning: Outline of procedures

18. Staging and stage aims

21. Interaction patterns

22. Warmers, Fillers and Coolers

23. Lesson Plan Models

24. Presentation, Practice, Production (PPP)

25. Test-Teach-Test or Task-Based Learning

26. Engage Study Activate (ESA)

27. Longer Term Planning

30. Materials and Resources

31. Adapting course book materials

32. Supplementary resources

33. Using authentic material

34. Technology in the Classroom

35. Social Media in the Classroom

36. Blended learning

38. Further Reading

39. Useful Websites

What is Lesson Planning?

Lack of planning reveals the opposite.

1. Lesson planning is essentially a thinking skill, not an act of writing.

1. Time to Start Planning Your Job

Time to start planning your job 💰✈🌏

can cater for their students' needs and learning styles.

3. Considerations when planning

Some general areas to consider when planning are: (2)

To which of the 6 general areas above would you assign the

1. How many separate activities will there be?

4. Formal and Informal Planning

There are three di erent approaches to lesson planning:

A detailed formal plan

A formal plan contains two parts:

Below is a full lesson plan including both background

1. Reducing my Teacher Talking Time (TTT).

Lesson plan – Background Information

Assumptions and Timetable Fit

Materials and Equipment

Anticipated Problems and Solutions

An example of an informal plan is as follows: (4)

An example of a basic ‘running order’ is as follows:

Chat – last night – what did they do?

8. Planning – Background Information

Main aims – the main focus of the lesson.

Likewise, a skills-based lesson should have a language systems sub-aim.

Which function of the present perfect tense am I going to teach?

By considering the above questions, aims could be rewritten as follows:

Good phrases to use when describing aims are:

To raise awareness of...

1. To practise expressing regrets using 3rd conditional

1) Main aim: by the end of the lesson students will be able to