1. Basic Concepts of TEFL Lesson Planning
You can download our lesson plan format HERE.
Click on the video below for a five-minute walk-through of putting PPP into your lesson plan
A lesson plan is a step-by-step guide to what an EFL teacher plans to do in the classroom on a given day. The more detailed the steps are, the better. Ideally, if you did not go to work on a given day, another teacher could read your lesson plan and know exactly how to teach your class on that day. A good lesson plan might even include specific gestures and cues used for various parts of the lesson. That's how detailed your plan should be.
There are literally hundreds of types of EFL lesson plans, and there is not one format accepted by all schools. Many schools have their own set format; others will let you use whatever format you like. There is some general agreement about what should be included in a good lesson plan.
2. Generally agreed components of a lesson plan include:
Day/Date
Lesson Name
Class/Level
Materials: List everything you need to teach this lesson. List every possible thing you will need to take to the classroom, and/or obtain from the school to complete the lesson. This list can help you make sure you don't forget any handouts or special materials that you need to take to the class.
Textbook/Course book name
Unit—title—page number
Goal/Aim
The students will be able to ___(do what?)________.
Example: The students will be able to ask and answer questions about their hobbies and interests
Grammar Structures Employed
Questions and Answers relevant to your lesson
NOTE: The lesson for your students begins here
Warm-up: This includes a review (revision) of the previous lesson linked to this new lesson. It should also include the questions and answers you have written above as well as questions used to elicit conversation using the new structures and functions you intend to teach. This section can also show examples of what your students will learn in this lesson. In some countries and with some age groups, this may come in the form of a specifically designed game.
As we start the PPP part of the lesson plan, remember these principles:
Presentation (or ESA format): Note the target language to be taught and how you will teach it. Include how you will stimulate the students' interest in the language. Include details as specific as when you might model structures and dialog and when you will require a repeated response (choral response) from the students. Include a structure chart for the grammar or the dialog you intend to teach.
Practice: Include the specific activities you have planned and attach any handouts related to them to the lesson plan. Include up to three practice activities, sequencing them from most to least structured, slowly giving the students more freedom.
Production: This is where students really learn and generalize a new language skill. Encourage the students to talk about themselves, their lives or specific situations using their own information but focusing on the target language that was taught in the presentation and practiced in the previous activities. Include exactly what you will ask the students to do and that you intend to monitor students and encourage and correct them as needed.
Conclusion: Discuss what you have studied and learned during the lesson. Time permitting, this will be followed by a game that uses the target language.
