LESSON PLANNING

Contents

Lesson Planning Guidebook for Candidates ............................ 3

Overview of Lesson Frameworks ............................................. 9

Lesson Planning Flow Chart .................................................. 10

Lesson Shapes ...................................................................... 11

Teaching Practice – Lesson Planning Notes ......................... 14

 Lesson Planning Guidebook for Candidates

The Cover Sheet

Main Aim
Your main aim is the most important part of your lesson plan. This is what you want your students to
be able to do, or do better, at the end of the lesson that they couldn’t do at the beginning. Think of
your lesson in terms of you, the teacher, taking your students on a journey. Your main aim is your
destination. Once you’ve decided where you want your students to go, the journey is much easier to
plan. You should only have one main aim (or possibly two in a long lesson).

Express your main aims in terms of student outcomes (what will the students do in the lesson), not the
teacher’s actions.

Examples
1. By the end of the lesson students will be better able to use the past simple in the positive,
negative and interrogative forms in the context of a biography of a family member.
2. By the end of the lesson students will better understand and use ‘used to + infinitive’ in the
context of childhood memories.
3. By the end of the lesson students will have revised and extended their vocabulary related to
sport.
4. By the end of the lesson students will be better able to use functional exponents to ask for and
give travel advice.
5. By the end of the lesson students will have developed the sub-skills of reading for gist and
detail in the context of a newspaper article on relationships.
6. By the end of the lesson students will have had practice in listening for specific information in
the context of a weather report.
7. By the end of the lesson students will be better able to write an email (to a friend giving news)
using linking structures for addition and contrast.
8. By the end of the lesson students will be better able to write a letter of application using formal
language and appropriate layout.

If the main aim of your lesson is new language, then write down exactly what language you are
planning to deal with. For example, if you’re planning to teach a structure or tense, write down an
example of the structure/tense. If you’re planning to teach new lexical items or functional exponents,
then list all the items you intent to focus on.

Subsidiary Aim
As well as your main aim, you might also have some subsidiary aims. These are aims that are not the
main focus of the lesson but are aims that you hope will be achieved along the way on the journey to
your main aim. To illustrate, if your main aim is to practice reading for gist and detail... then your sub
aim might be any other skill or language work practiced along the way to the main aim such as
vocabulary (in the pre-teach stage) or fluency practice (in the lead in or follow up stage).

Examples
1. By the end of the lesson students would have revised yesterday’s job vocabulary.
2. By the end of the lesson students will have developed their sub-skills of reading for gist and
 specific information in a text on celebrations (if, for example, your main aim is a new language
point and you are presenting it through a text).
3. By the end of the lesson students will have had practice in writing incident for a police report
(if, for example, the writing is practice of a language point such as narrative tenses).
4. By the end of the lesson student will be better able to use intonation to show politeness (if, for
example, you’re dealing with functional language).
5. By the end of the lesson students will have been introduced to vocabulary items related to
travel (if, for example, you’re pre-teaching them for a reading/listening text).

NOTE: You don’t have to have any subsidiary aims; it depends on your lesson. Leave this section blank
if you haven’t got any.

Assumptions
These are the things relating to your lesson that you feel you can safely assume your students will
know or are familiar with before you start the lesson. Assumptions about students’ previous
knowledge/and or ability help you to pitch the lesson appropriately.

Examples
1. The students will be familiar with the past participles of the verbs used in the lesson.
2. The students will be familiar with the present simple active (if, for example, you are teaching
the passive).
3. The students will be familiar with the meaning, form and pronunciation of the present perfect
simple (if, for example, you are following on from another teacher who has presented the
language).
4. The students will have a basic knowledge of the political system in their own countries.
5. The students will know some of the vocabulary included in the lesson (if you’re doing a test-
teach-test type lesson).

Personal Development plan/Action Plan

These are aims that relate to you as a teacher, rather than the lesson itself and will help you focus on
your own personal development.

Examples
1. To make sure I include all the students.
2. To reduce my teacher talking time.
3. To give clearer instructions.
4. To monitor more actively.
5. To maintain a good pace.
6. To correct more during drilling.
7. To check meaning more effectively.

Materials
These are the things you need to do the lesson; e.g. flashcards, recording, map of the world, handouts,
dictionaries, etc. Listing them on the front page of our plan will help you make sure you’ve got
everything ready and will be useful when you look back at the lesson(s) after the course. In addition,
include the source(s) for materials used or where the original idea came from for the lesson. For
example, Speak Out Intermediate SB, Clare & Wilson, Pearson, 2011, p. 96. You should also copyright
each handout you give the students which you did not produce yourself with the name of the book,
author(s), publisher, publishing date and page number.

Language Analysis (LA)

In order to be well prepared for an EFL lesson it is important to know the nature of the target language
you will be dealing with. The LA sheet on the lesson plan is there to help you think in depth about
aspects of meaning, form and pronunciation (or appropriacy issues) of the target language (or in a skills
lesson the pre-taught lexis). The analysis should be practical for classroom use. Think about how you
will clarify the target language for your students.

Anticipated Problems and Solutions (AP & S)

This is the section that you probably need to spend the most time thinking about. You need to consider
what mishaps might befall you and your students on your journey and how you will deal with these if
they occur. If you haven’t got a bag full of solutions with you, you might not reach your destination.

Language
Anticipated problems when focusing on language can be problems with meaning, form, pronunciation
and possibly appropriacy (but remember that not every language item necessarily causes all these
problems for your students). This section needs to be done in some detail. For example, “They’ll have
problems with form” isn’t enough! You need to say what problems they’ll have with form – is it the
question form, infinitive with or without to, word order, spelling, third person –s, etc.

Once you have anticipated the problems your students will have, you’re halfway there – now you only
need to think of the solutions! These need to relate directly to your anticipated problems and are the
key to successfully arriving at your destination with your students still on the same bus as you. If you
have anticipated their problems accurately and devised solutions to these problems, then you and
your students will arrive at your planned destination. Again your solutions need to be considered in
some detail and written on your plan. Solutions should be techniques learnt on the course to deal with
meaning, form and pronunciation.
Skills
Anticipating problems during skills work obviously depends on the skill which you are working on. For
receptive skills (listening and reading) you need to consider vocabulary problems, content of the text,
difficulty of the text, students’ different abilities, the length of the text, any cultural problems the text
or topic might produce, etc. For productive skills (speaking and writing) you will need to consider
whether the students have the appropriate language to do the task, whether they will be interested in
the topic, problems with grouping your students, whether the students need planning time, etc. Again,
once you have thought of your problems, work out the solutions.

The Lesson Plan

Now you’ve decided where you and your students are going on your journey, all the problems that
might lie ahead and all the solutions have been anticipated, the next thing is to think about how to get
there. Therefore, think of your lesson plan as your route map; it tells you how you are going to reach
your destination. Make sure you adapt your lesson to deal with the anticipated problems and their
solutions.
Stages
Each lesson needs to be broken down into stages. You can have as many stages as you like, depending
on the lesson.
Examples
 Lead-in
 Pre-teach vocabulary
 Language clarification
 Practice
 Production
 Gist reading
 Detailed listening
 Feedback
 Correction slot
 Test

Stage Headings
Stage headings give a quick overview of the structure of your lesson. It should be clear from the
headings what lesson framework you are using to structure the lesson, e.g. TEST – TEACH – TEST or
CONTEXT – CLARIFICATION – PRACTICE (controlled and then freer practice).

Stage Aims
Each stage must have an aim; a reason why you’re doing it. What’s more, this aim must in some way
help the students achieve the main aim of the lesson stated on the cover page; it must help them move
forward on their journey to their final destination. If it doesn’t, you might need to reconsider -
perhaps you’re getting sidetracked.

Examples
1. To generate interest in the topic of television.
2. To give students a written record of the language.
3. To present the meaning, form and pronunciation of the language.
4. To practice listening for gist.
5. To give controlled practice of the target language.

Focus
There are 5 different interaction patterns that show the focus in a particular lesson stage:

T- S Teacher – student (for feedback stages of lessons or clarification stages)

S Individual work (that is useful so that students have time to think about the language
before they use it; controlled practice stages are also often done individually)
S–S Pairwork (for communicative tasks and to check work done with a partner in the pair
check stage)
S–S–S Group work (for speaking activities - think about the critical number of students that
will allow all students to have lots of opportunities to speak)
SS Mingling (this is good because students have an opportunity to practise a structure
repeatedly with many different partners and it gets students out of their chairs and
moving around).
Please note that pair work stages are critical after each individual activity as this allows students to
check their answers. It provides them with communicative practice and also builds students’
confidence.

Timing
This is critical in planning. Unrealistic timing can make it extremely difficult to achieve your main aim in
the classroom. Make sure you timing takes into consideration how long it will take you to set up the
task and how long the task will take.

Procedure
A good procedure should provide enough information for someone to teach your lesson without asking
you for clarification on how to carry the lesson out. It should be clear what you, the teacher, will be
doing and what the students will be doing at each stage. In addition, any tasks need to be clearly
described. Merely writing ‘Students will do Exercise 8 on page 54’ is not enough. Finally, the procedure
should show how you are planning to support students and their learning.

Example:
Stage Aim Time Focus Procedure
Lead-in To set the 6 T-S Before the lesson starts the teacher writes question on
context and mins the board: What does home mean to you? Teacher also
generate writes a list of prompting words to generate focal points
interest in the for the discussion. Words include:
lesson. S-S  Smells
 Feelings about home
 Views
 Special objects
Teacher asks the students to ask her the question that’s
on the board. Teacher tells ss about her home as an
example. Ss then work in pairs asking and answering the
question.

Context for language work

Any language work, be it new grammar or vocabulary, must have a context. The context is one of the
tools you can use to clarify meaning and sometimes even form. A good context should have enough
depth for students to see how the target language is being used to convey meaning. The context is set
before any clarification is done because you need to use the context as you elicit and check meaning.

Board plan
Your board is a teaching/learning tool. A good board plan will cover meaning, form and pronunciation
of the target language. There will also be enough space for you to use the board to: set up tasks, write
up answers in feedback, and to record any incidental vocabulary that may come up in the lesson. Use
the coloured markers to support learning. For example, meaning can be dealt with in one colour and
form in another and pronunciation in yet another. Think about it as a visual record for students. Does it
have a professional appearance and does it support learning? And very important, have you planned to
build it with students as you move through the lesson?
Checking your plan
Once your plan is finished it might need editing. Use the following as a check list.

 Have you filled in all parts of the plan? There should be no gaps.
 Have you got clear main and stage aims which show your understanding of the methodology?
 Is your procedure written in sufficient detail?
 Is there a good balance between student-focus and teacher-focus?
 Have you used an appropriate lesson framework and is the framework clear from your stage
headings, stage aims and procedure?
 Does the procedure match the stage headings and stage aims?
 Are students getting enough time for practice?
 Is the practice appropriate?
 Are the tasks well designed?
 Have you included pair check stages after each individual task?
 Have you planned your instructions?
 Have you thought about how to introduce/link each stage so that the lesson flows?
 Have you analysed any new language in enough depth for classroom use?
 Have you analysed meaning, form and pronunciation?
 Is your timing realistic?
 Have you written the copyright on all your handouts?
 Do you have a written record for students to take home?
 Have you shown enough awareness of students’ needs?
 Have you anticipated problems in enough depth to support students?
 Do you know your roles at each stage of the lesson?
 Have you edited the plan and handouts for spelling and language errors?
 Have you got a board plan?
 Have you identified stepping stones through the lesson so that you do not get lost in the
classroom?
 Overview of Lesson Frameworks
The frameworks below are not set in stone but many of the lessons you teach will follow one of these patterns. Some
stages may be essential and you may want to add others depending on your students' needs and your choice of materials.
Please refer to example lesson plans and notes from input sessions for more detail on lesson shapes.

Lesson types

Skills: Systems:
Receptive & Grammar, Vocabulary,
Productive Functional Language

Receptive Skills: Productive Skills: Test-Teach- Test

Reading & Listening Speaking & Writing * Set context
* Test what SS know
* Teach what SS don't know
Speaking * Test what they know now
Receptive Skills * Lead-in *Production
* Lead-in * (Model + gist task)
* (Prediction) * Language focus (useful
* (Pre-teach lexis) language)
Text-based
* Gist task * Preparation / Planning
* Lead-in
* (Pre-teach lexis) * (Rehearsal)
* (Further preparation for the text)
* Detailed task * Speaking task
* (Pre-teach lexis)
* Follow-up * Content feedback
speaking/writing task * Gist reading/listening
*Language feedback
* Language work (longer * Isolate examples from the text
lesson) * Language focus (MFP)
Writing * Practice
* Lead-in * Production
* Model text (read for gist
and/or detail)
* Focus on text type/text Situational (PPP)
organisation * Set context
* Focus on useful language * Elicit / introduce examples of the
* Brainstorm / Planning target language
* Writing task * Language focus (MFP)
* Editing / Error correction * Practice
* "Publishing" * Production

And don't forget the micro-stages of each stage:

(1) Demo (2) give and check instructions (3) SS do the activity while T monitors (4) pair check (5) feedback.
 Lesson Planning Flow Chart

LANGUAGE SKILLS
 Grammar  Reading (receptive)
 Lexis Is the MAIN focus of the  Listening (receptive)
 Functional language lesson language or skills?  Speaking (productive)
 Writing (productive)

SKILLS
LANGUAGE
Is the main focus of the
lesson listening/reading?
(yes or no)

CLARIFICATION or BOTH

Does the target language

arise out of a reading or YES
listening text?
(yes or no) NO See Lesson Shape C
See Lesson Shape D
(Receptive Skills)

NO

See Lesson Shape B

(Test-Teach-Test
or PPP)

YES

See Lesson Shape A

(Text-Based / Guided
Discovery)

.
 Lesson Shapes
Lesson shape (A) – Text-Based Presentation of Language
Here the idea is that the language is contextualized and introduced using a reading or listening text briefly first
(but this is not the main aim) and then language from the text is highlighted and clarified (checking meaning,
form and pronunciation) before doing further practice. The overall main lesson aim might be: By the end of the
lesson, learners will have a better understanding of past simple and will have had practice using that language
in the context of their childhood.

Lead in/ Building context To generate interest in the topic/theme/context of the text or listening

To practise reading/listening for gist/detail/specific information

Reading or Listening task
To contextualise and introduce the target language

Isolating target language To highlight the target language so that learners are focussed on it

Clarifying target language
Language practice
To :
 Clarify meaning so learners understand it
 Clarify the pronunciation so learners know how to say it
 Clarify form so that learners know how to construct it
To provide controlled oral/written practice focused on using the language
accurately OR
To provide freer oral/written practice and use the language productively

You may need to pre-teach some vocab before the reading task. If so, add a stage for this on your plan.

Lesson shape (C) – Test-Teach-Test Presentation of Language

Here the idea is that learners are tested on their knowledge of the language before moving on to clarification.
The teacher monitors the task carefully to see what problems the students have and then clarifies (checking
meaning, form and pronunciation) as necessary – i.e. any new language or items the students had problems
with. In other words, if there are 15 pieces of vocabulary in the test, the teacher would most likely not clarify
every item – only the problematic ones. This is followed by further practice (test). The main aim here will
usually reflect the clarification and practice aims reflected in the previous two lesson types.

Lead in To generate interest in the topic/theme of the lesson

To test learners’ current knowledge of and ability to use the language and
First Test (diagnostic)
identify what the issues are

To clarify issues learners had with meaning so learners understand it better

To clarify issues learners had with pronunciation so they know how to say it
Teach (clarifying)
better
To clarify issues with form so that learners know how to construct it better
To provide controlled oral/written practice focused on using the language
accurately
Second Test
To test what learners have learnt from the teach stage
(Controlled practice)
OR
(Freer practice)
To provide freer oral/written practice and use the language productively
To test what learners have learnt from the teach stage
There might not be time to do the second test stage in a 40 min lesson. In this case, the next teacher might be
doing this as their lesson (i.e. language practice as per lesson shape B).

Lesson shape (E) Receptive Skills – listening or reading

Here the focus is not on language but on practising receptive skills and helping learners process written and
audio text. The overall lesson aims might be: By the end of the lesson, learners will have practised listening
for gist and detailed comprehension. You should also include the context as part of the aim, e.g. …in the
context of a radio programme on fashion.
The lesson can be divided into pre, while and post reading/listening stages. Not all these stages are necessary for
all receptive skills lessons, nor will you necessarily focus on all the sub-skills mentioned below in one single
lesson. Also, not all texts will lend themselves to all sub-skills. If in doubt as to what type of tasks to use with
your text, check with your tutor.

Pre-reading / listening tasks

To activate Ss’ existing knowledge of the topic

Lead in
To generate interest in the theme/topic of the lesson

Prediction task To encourage Ss to predict/ think about content of the text and give them a
(not always necessary) reason to read the text

To pre-teach/unblock key lexis needed to help students understand the text

Pre-teach vocabulary To pre-teach/unblock key lexis needed to help students complete the next
task
While reading / listening tasks

To encourage Ss to listen/read for gist /general understanding

Reading/listening for gist
For learners to get an overview of the text

Reading/listening for specific To practise listening/reading for specific information (scanning)

info To (further) familiarise learners with the text

To practise reading/listening for detailed comprehension

Reading/listening for detail
For learners to understand the text in depth

To practise reading/listening for inferred meanings (either at word or text

Reading/listening for inference
Post-reading / listening tasks
Speaking task / Writing task
level)
For learners to understand the text in more depth
To allow Ss an opportunity to react to the text
To develop oral/written fluency on the topic
To provide an opportunity for Ss to personalise the topic
Lesson shape (F) Productive Skills – speaking or writing
Here the focus is on helping learners practise their speaking or writing skills. The overall main lesson aim here
will usually be something like:
By the end of the lesson, learners will be better able to give their opinions on the topic of holiday
destinations.
By the end of the lesson, the learners will be better able to write personal emails on everyday topics.
The lesson can usually be divided into preparation for speaking/ writing and speaking/writing task stages.
Possible stages here are (choose as necessary):

To activate Ss’ existing knowledge of the topic

Lead in
To generate interest in the topic/theme of the lesson

Preparing to write/speak
Useful language
(These stage aims will depend on what preparation tasks you give Ss)
To generate/provide ideas to speak/write about
To provide an opportunity to prepare for the task
To provide an opportunity to organize their ideas logically and take notes
To provide learners with a model of the task
To provide and clarify language which learners may find useful for completing
the writing/speaking task
NB: This is NOT target language. It’s there to HELP them perform the
speaking/writing task, i.e. Ss don’t HAVE TO use it. The more you focus on
MPF here, the less of a productive skills lesson it becomes.

(These stage aims will depend on what the actual task requires Ss to do)
Speaking/writing task
e.g. For learners to practise their oral/written fluency in relation to…

To allow learners to compare results of the task

Feedback/error correction on
To provide content feedback on results of the task
oral/ written task
To provide language feedback based on the task
 Teaching Practice – Lesson Planning Notes

TEACHING PRACTICE
LESSON PLANNING NOTES

Language Focus – Text Based

What is the main aim of this lesson? By the end of the lesson, learners will have practised…
To help learners achieve this, they will also…
What is the secondary aim(s) of the
lesson?

How will you establish the context and

engage the learners?

What is the reading/listening text? How

will you facilitate comprehension of it?

What are the marker sentences from the

text that will be used for analysis? How
will they be highlighted in a learner-
centred manner?
How will an understanding of the target
language be facilitated? How will the
meaning be concept-checked?

What pronunciation features need to be

highlighted and drilled? How will you
facilitate this?

What features of form require

highlighting? How will this be facilitated?

Will learners get some controlled-practice

of both meaning and form in this lesson?
If so, what will it be and how will it be
implemented?
Will learners get some less-controlled
communicative practice of the target
language? If so, what will it be and how
will it be implemented?
How will feedback/error-correction be
facilitated for the practice tasks?
 TEACHING PRACTICE
LESSON PLANNING NOTES

Language Focus – Test-Teach-Test

What is the main aim of this lesson? By the end of the lesson, learners will have practised…
To help learners achieve this, they will also…
What is the secondary aim(s) of the
lesson?

How will you establish the context and

engage the learners?

What kind of diagnostic test will be used

to discover learners’ prior
knowledge/ability with the target
language? Does the ‘test’ help you note
learners’ strengths and weaknesses with
all aspects of meaning, pronunciation, and
form? How?
How will an understanding of the target
language be facilitated? How will the
meaning be concept-checked?

What pronunciation features are likely to

require highlighting and drilling? How will
you facilitate this?

What features of form are likely to require

highlighting? How will this be facilitated?

How will learners to ‘tested’ on their

better understanding of the target
language? How will you facilitate this?

Will learners get some further controlled

practice of the target language? If so,
what will it be and how will it be
implemented?

Will learners get the chance for some less-

controlled communicative practice? If so,
how will this be facilitated?

How will feedback/error-correction be

facilitated for the practice tasks?
 TEACHING PRACTICE
LESSON PLANNING NOTES

Receptive Skills

What is the main aim of this lesson? By the end of the lesson, learners will have practised…
To help learners achieve this, they will also…
What is the secondary aim(s) of the
lesson?

How will you establish the context and

engage the learners?
Is there any lexis that may potentially
block understanding of the text? If so,
how will you facilitate their ‘unblocking’ in
a learner-centred manner?
How will you help learners ‘warm up’ to
the text (i.e. predict the content of the
text)?

Does the text require learners to get the

gist before they focus on it for further
comprehension? If so, how will you
facilitate this?
Does the text contain specific information
(e.g. names, numbers, dates, prices, etc.)
that learners would benefit from searching
for? If so, how will you facilitate this?
Does the text need to be exploited for a
deeper comprehension? If so, how will
you facilitate this?

Does the text contain information that is

not explicitly stated and requires learners
to infer the message? If so, how will you
facilitate this?
Does the text contain language that
learners may be able to work out the
meaning from contextual clues? If so, how
will you facilitate this?
How will learners formulate an
oral/written response to the text they’ve
been exposed to?
What kind of feedback is required for each
exercise? How will you implement it for
each stage?

TEACHING PRACTICE
 LESSON PLANNING NOTES

Productive Skills

What is the main aim of this lesson? By the end of the lesson, learners will have practised…
To help learners achieve this, they will also…
What is the secondary aim(s) of the
lesson?

How will you establish the context and

engage the learners?

Will you provide a model of the

speaking/writing task? If so, how will this
be exploited?

Do learners need some time to generate

ideas for the speaking/writing task? If so,
how will you facilitate this?

Do learners require some time to

prepare/plan what they will say/write? If
so, how will you facilitate this?

What language will learners find useful to

review/better understand in order to
better complete the speaking/writing
task? How will you facilitate this?
What is the main speaking/writing task?
How will this be organised?

What kind of feedback will be provided

after the speaking/writing task? How will
it be implemented?

How will you provide error correction

after the task has been completed?