How to Create an English Lesson Plan

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Are you teaching your first lesson today? Do you already have an English lesson plan?

For language tutors, the first day of lessons can be daunting. Where do you start? What language skills should you focus on? How will the lesson flow? More importantly: What will I do if I run short of activities before the clock runs out?

Having an English lesson plan is the answer to all these questions. Why?

  • To start with, because it can help tutors stay organized and on track. Having a structure to lean on helps tutors ensure that lessons go smoothly, content is covered thoroughly, and learners are on the right path to making good progress.

  • In addition to providing a roadmap for the first lesson, an English lesson plan allows you to consider the relevance of every activity you include in your lessons and how these activities can prepare your learners for real communicative situations.

If, after reading this short introduction, you’re still unsure why having an English lesson plan is so important for us language tutors, here are 4 important reasons:

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An English lesson plan provides stability and structure

Lesson plans as roadmaps

When discussing why lesson plans are important, we often focus on the benefits for tutors. But in fact, it’s learners who will reap the most rewards from having an effective lesson plan. While language tutors will usually not share the logistics of their lessons with their students, learners will often be able to tell whether a class has been carefully designed as the structure in place will give them a sense of stability and security that an improvised session could never provide them.

Structured learning

Furthermore, language lessons that follow a steady and logical progression help learners trust their tutors more as they understand why certain topics are being discussed in a certain order and learn what to expect during each session. Rather than jumping from one topic to the next, there will be a logical progression:

Structure of an English lesson plan

  1. First, learners will start every class with an interactive warm-up activity
  2. Then, they’ll move on to the introduction of a new language item by analyzing examples where the new item is at play. 
  3. Third, the teacher creates opportunities for practice (from controlled exercises to more communicative tasks) 
  4. The end of the lesson should be devoted to a review of the main topic.

     
    An English lesson plan.

This structure will not just help tutors keep the lesson on track –it will also help learners remain focused and engaged during their language journey.

Lesson plans help tutors focus on teaching

Who said only learners can get anxious about their language lessons? Whether they’re just beginners in the teaching profession or seasoned educators, language tutors can feel just as overwhelmed when delivering their lessons. Especially if every lesson involves last-minute scrambles for activities! 

Indeed, while improvising may seem like the easiest way to save time, it can end up being counter-productive.

This is why lesson plans are so important for tutors.

An English lesson plan saves valuable time

Having a clear plan of what you will do in the lesson helps you save time and energy that can be better invested in their teaching. By having a plan, tutors will know exactly what the lesson will be like, what language items must be covered, and in which order. 

Focus on your student 

This way, they will be able to focus on how they’re going to teach their lessons as opposed to what they are going to teach. Instead of wracking their brains for activities and resources, they can invest their energy on assessing their students, engaging with them in meaningful conversations, and adapting the lesson to their needs and learning style

Do you see why having an English lesson plan is so important for both tutors and language learners?

Lesson plans facilitate a long-term vision of teaching

Language lessons should be fun and engaging, but these qualities amount to very little if language tutors don’t have a having clear, long-term vision regarding the learning objectives for each of their learners.

It’s easy to come up with a good single lesson; anyone with basic knowledge of a foreign language and a good personality can do it. However, helping learners navigate their language learning journey successfully requires the ability to think ahead and plan long-term goals.

Good planning helps your learner develop their skills better

The result of this planning should be an English lesson plan that is tailored to the needs and interests of each learner, but also a logical and pedagogically appropriate progression of language and skills building.

For example, if a tutor is teaching basic conversational skills, they might start with simple present-tense topics (speaking about daily routines, expressing feelings) and gradually move on to more complex functions according to different criteria such as level of difficulty, frequency of use, and relevance to the learner’s goals. 

Lesson plans include instances of review and reinforcement

What’s more, any well-planed course should include instances of review and reinforcement of previously discussed language, as well as opportunities to apply the language in a communicative environment.

In conclusion, lesson plans are invaluable tools for language tutors as they help them create a successful, effective teaching journey for their learners.

Lesson plans help tutors focus on key language functions

In the not-so-distant past, an English lesson plan was designed around grammatical topics or vocabulary items. Instead of working with topics or language functions, teachers taught the present simple, the second conditional, or the correct use of prepositions “in” and “at” without context. 

But, how can we expect learners to remember a list of grammar rules if they never get to apply their language skills in a meaningful way?

Language functions in an English lesson plan

Language functions should be the centerpiece of an English lesson plan. They will provide a clear set of objectives for each class and ensure that learning is meaningful, authentic, and above all, purposeful. 

By focusing on what one can do with the language instead of just trying to remember the language itself, tutors can create meaningful lessons that allow their students to practice the target items in real-life situations. 

Examples of language functions in an English lesson plan

For example, if a tutor wants to teach students how to express wishes, they might ask them what they would like for Christmas or why they chose a certain profession. If they want to help students get by in a restaurant or ask for directions, they might create a role-play or put the students in such real-life situations.

On the other hand, if a learner is studying English to relocate to an English-speaking country, an English lesson plan should include units such as Job Interviews, Apartment Hunting, or Restaurant Ordering.

So, why are lesson plans so important for language tutors? By planning their lessons with structure, long-term goals, and relevant language functions in mind, language tutors can create a successful and effective teaching journey for their learners that is based on authentic and engaging language activities, but also on a logical and methodologically sound progression.

This, you will see, will help your learners become more engaged and enthusiastic about their language-learning journey and leads to greater success in the long run! 

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At LovLan, we are delighted to accompany our tutors in their language-teaching journey and help them create meaningful and successful language courses! If you’re looking for teaching ideas, tips, or just inspiration, make sure you explore our blog! So make sure you explore other entries in our blog.