Unit 21 · Planning an individual lesson or a sequence of lessons

Planning a lesson means deciding on its aims, the procedures and techniques that will achieve them and the overall ‘shape’ of the lesson; planning a sequence of lessons means linking related lessons over time so that they develop language knowledge and/or skills coherently.

◆How do we plan an individual lesson or a sequence of lessons?

When we plan an individual lesson, we think about its aimsAims are not the same as procedures. click to keep open · see glossary, how to achieveSomething you succeed in doing usually by making an effort; something done successfully, e.g. Sarah worked hard and passed her exam. This was an achievement. Something which is achievable for learners is something they can succeed in. click to keep open · see glossary them, the ‘shape’ of the lesson and the kind of techniquesThe particular ways a teacher does things in class, e.g. presentation techniques or correction techniques. click to keep open · see glossary that are most appropriateLanguage which is suitable in a particular situation; e.g. it might be appropriate to say Hi in one situation but Good morning in another. See inappropriate, formal language, informal language, register. click to keep open · see glossary for a particular group of learners. For example, if we are introducing a new grammatical structureA pattern or arrangement of words that forms a grammatical unit, e.g. the present perfect or a conditional sentence. click to keep open · see glossary, we might choose a Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP) approach or a Task-based Learning (TBL)An approach to teaching in which the teacher asks learners to do a task which has an achievable result. The task the teacher gives is the type of task people might do in real life and which involves communicating with other learners. For example, learners migh… click to keep open · see glossary approach. SkillsThe four language skills are listening, speaking, reading and writing. See develop skills, subskills, receptive skills, productive skills. click to keep open · see glossary lessons, too, have regular shapes that we can use to organise lesson plans: for example, for receptive skillsIn language teaching we talk about the four skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing. Reading and listening are receptive skills because learners receive language; they do not have to produce language. See productive skills. Page 37 of 57 Recycle verb … click to keep open · see glossary, we usually plan tasks or activities for learners to do before, while and after reading or listening; for productive skillsIn language teaching we talk about the four skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing. Speaking and writing are productive skills because learners produce language. Reading and listening and not productive skills. See receptive skills. click to keep open · see glossary, there is usually an introductory stageA section of a lesson. Lessons have different stages or steps such as lead-in, presentation, controlled practice, etc. click to keep open · see glossary to set the sceneTo explain or discuss the topic or situation of something learners will read, hear, talk or write about, so that learners understand the topic or situation before they begin their task. For example, before playing a recording of a conversation between two peop… click to keep open · see glossary (i.e. to explain the context1. The situation in which language is used or presented; e.g. a story about a holiday experience could be used as the context to present and practise past tenses. Photographs can help to provide a context for a magazine article. 2. The words or phrases before … click to keep open · see glossary), and maybe inputTo provide new information about something. Teachers input new language by providing examples and giving learners information about it; e.g. teachers can input new vocabulary through a text or by using the board. click to keep open · see glossary new language, and a feedback1. To tell someone how well they are doing. After a test, or at a certain point in the course, teachers might give learners feedback on how well they are doing. 2. Teachers also give feedback after an exercise that learners have just completed; e.g. after lear… click to keep open · see glossary stage after the speaking or writing activity.

We also think about the connections between the aims of the lesson and the proceduresWhat are the tasks and activities for each stage? click to keep open · see glossary we use to achieve those aims, as well as answers to the other background componentsThe different parts of a lesson plan, e.g. aims, procedure, timing, aids, interaction patterns, anticipated problems, assumptions, timetable fit, personal aims. click to keep open · see glossary mentioned in Unit 20. The available materials, the length of the lesson and the information we have about our learners all help us to identifyTo recognise somebody or something and be able to say who it is or what it is. For example, a teacher can find out what fruit vocabulary learners know by giving them pictures of different fruit and asking them to identify the fruit by matching words to the pic… click to keep open · see glossary possible procedures. But the most important thing is to make sure that the materials, tasks and activities we select are the ones that will help a particular group of learners to achieve the aim we have identified.

A sequenceA sequence is a series of things which follow each other in a logical order. Learners can sequence pictures in a story, i.e. put them in order. click to keep open · see glossary of lessons is a number of related lessons that develop language knowledge and/or language skills over a period of time. Sequences may develop a single topic or language area, or may involve topics or language areas that are very closely connected. Here are three examples:

◆Key concepts — planning an individual lesson

Planning an individual lesson

When we plan an individual lesson, we ask ourselves a number of questions:

• What is my overall aim?
• Will the topic be interesting and motivating for my learners?
• What are the learning outcomesE.g. ‘By the end of the lesson, learners will be able to use polite requests to ask for information’ click to keep open · see glossary? (i.e. What do I want the students to have learned by the end of the lesson?)
• Are the activities and teaching materials at the right level for all the learners?
• Have I planned enough for the time available? Do I need any extra material?
• Have I planned too little or too much for the time available?
• Does each stepA section of a lesson. Lessons have different stages or steps such as lead-in, presentation, controlled practice, etc. click to keep open · see glossary (or stage) in the lesson help to achieve the aim? Are there any stages I can cut if necessary?
• Do the steps/stages develop logically out of one another / make learning easier?
• Have I thought about exactly how to start and end the lesson?
• Are there any aspects of the lesson which I should state as personal aimsSee aim. click to keep open · see glossary?

The answers to these questions will help to ensure that our lesson plan is motivating, coherentWhen ideas in a spoken or written text fit together clearly and smoothly, and so are logical and make sense to the listener or reader. Teachers help learners to be coherent by getting them to plan what they will include in a text before they write it. click to keep open · see glossary and at the appropriate level. The questions will also help us to think about important components of the plan, such as materials, stages, timingThe likely time different activities or stages in a lesson plan should take. When teachers plan lessons, they think about how long each activity will take and they usually write this on their plan. click to keep open · see glossary, and how to start and finish the lesson.

Here are two sets of notes from the procedure sections of lesson plans, one for a lesson introducing and practising new language, and the other for a skills-based lesson. What differences can you see in the overall shape of the two types of lesson?

Although language lessons vary in the sequence of stages (perhaps, as in PPP lessons, focusing first on language, or, as in TBL lessons, starting with language in use), they always include some attention to formal features of language, with tasks that give learners more or less controlled practice of particular structures.

Skills-based lessons, however, aim at developing learners’ abilities in receptive and/or productive language skills, and rather than focusing on particular language items, they give learners the opportunity to work on specific subskills, though subsidiary aims and their related procedures may well focus on language.

◆Planning a sequence of lessons

A scheme of workA basic plan of what a teacher will teach for a number of lessons. Its aim is to try to ensure that lessons fit logically together, to give the teacher clear goals and to try to ensure a balance of language, skills, topics and activities over a number of weeks… click to keep open · see glossary helps us plan a sequence of lessons in the best way to cover the school syllabusThis describes the language and skills to be covered on a course, and the order in which they will be taught. The content of a syllabus will be based on the writer’s beliefs about language learning. See curriculum. click to keep open · see glossary or the units of a coursebookSee book. click to keep open · see glossary in the time available. It also helps us to think about what we want to achieve and what materials we might need. And it helps us to include enough varietyTo introduce different things such as different types of activities or tasks, language skills, interaction patterns, pacing or timing into a lesson. Teachers try to include variety in their lessons, so that learners stay interested. click to keep open · see glossary across our lessons. Teacher and learners need clear aims beyond the single lesson and need to see how lessons are linked to each other.

Here are some examples of schemes of work:

How detailed should schemes of work be?

Schemes of work are not as detailed as lesson plans. Like any individual lesson, a sequence of lessons should have a logicalConnecting ideas in a sensible way. A lesson is logical if the stages follow an order which makes sense and if one stage leads clearly and obviously to another. click to keep open · see glossary and learning-friendly progression (where one stage leads to another in a clear order) and a good balance of approaches and activities. Like a lesson plan, a scheme of work helps us to identify our aims and make sure we choose materials and procedures that match those aims.

A very detailed scheme of work (like example C above) gives us a clear sense of direction, but it is often difficult to predictUsing your experience or knowledge to say what you think will happen in the future. Prediction is a technique or learning strategy learners can use to help with listening or reading. Learners think about the topic before they read or listen. They try to imagin… click to keep open · see glossary how learners’ needsThe language, language skills or learning strategies a learner still has to learn in order to reach their goals, which are the things they want personally and professionally which are connected to their learning. For example, a learner might need to have good … click to keep open · see glossary develop, so we may need to change the scheme. A very broad scheme (like example A) without much detail, leaves the teacher much freer to respond to learners’ needs, but doesn’t give any reminders of aims or materials for individual lessons. The most useful approach is probably one that includes some detail and gives the teacher a sense of direction (like example B), but leaves him/her free to add to it week by week to make it into a series of lesson plans.

◆Key concepts and the language teaching classroom

VarietyTo introduce different things such as different types of activities or tasks, language skills, interaction patterns, pacing or timing into a lesson. Teachers try to include variety in their lessons, so that learners stay interested. click to keep open · see glossary is very important both in a single lesson and in a sequence of lessons. It helps keep learners interested and involved. It’s much better to avoid always doing the same kinds of things in the same order, e.g. always beginning the lesson with a personal story or always ending with a role-play. There are several different ways of introducing variety into lessons.

Here is a list of things we can vary not only to make our lessons interesting, but also to suit different learning stylesThe different ways in which learners prefer to learn, e.g. visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, group or individual styles. click to keep open · see glossary:

(adapted from A Course in Language Teaching by Penny Ur, Cambridge University Press 1996)

Read these tips and tick the ones which are most important for you:

• Learners may well require more frequent revision than the coursebook provides. A scheme of work is a good way to make sure that we recycleTo use language or activities again later in a course so that learners revise and remember them. click to keep open · see glossary language (i.e. use it again) and include regular revision activities during a sequence of lessons.
• Coursebook units are often arranged around a specific topic (such as sport or relationships), which may be a useful way of linking together a sequence of lessons. This kind of sequence gives us the chance to develop particular areas of vocabulary, but learners may feel that the lessons are repetitive, so we need variety of texts and tasks.
• When planning lessons we may need to think about the needs of individual learners or groups of learners, e.g. those that always finish first, those that can’t concentrate for long, etc. A coursebook can’t provide material and activities for needs that are specific to our groups of learners. This means we may need to plan parts of the lesson that adapt the coursebook or work with supplementary materialsThe books and other materials which teachers can use in addition to a coursebook, e.g. pronunciation practice materials. click to keep open · see glossary or activities.

✎Follow-up activity

💡Reflect

🔍Discovery activities

✎TKT practice tasks

These multiple-choice tasks are exactly as in the book, but interactive: pick your answers, check your score, and retry anytime. The scoring uses the official answer key from the back of the book.

📖Glossary terms in this unit

Key terms highlighted in this unit — study them on the flashcards page.