Your lessons dont need to be boring nor monothematic. You probably were one of the many students taught at school by the most popular method in the past, which is grammar – translation method. There were coursebooks, blackboard and memorising by heart. Now, this time is gone. There are methods that use visuals, team work, games, cultural references and many, many more.

Planning ahead

Proper ESL lesson plans need a focus. Organise your English lessons dividing your topic into parts. First, think of planning activities you will use. What type should they be? Do you wish to engage your students into pair-work or team-work? Should there be a lot speaking involved? Then, carefully try to predict how much time students will need to complete each task, check answers and receive feedback. Focus on your class level, key vocabulary and grammar which is to be reviewed or introduced. Very important is to follow curriculum and its goals.

Make it a journey

Cross some boundaries and break the ice showing your students that you are ready to go far beyond traditional teaching methods. Prepare your perfect lesson with ESL lesson plans where you can find ideas, ready-to-print worksheets and tasks that provoke thinking. Keep your class occupied and motivated. Use a song or movie clips as a lead – in. Adjust grammar to learners level and make sure A1 learn basics like the verb to be while B2 are introduced with irregulars and open discussion. Too complicated tasks will be demotivating and discouraging while too simple ones may make your students simply bored.

ESL lessons plans in practice

Outline lesson and remember that not everything can be fully planned. Be open – minded and creative even if your lesson doesnt go as you wished. It can still be a good lesson even if you forgot your materials at home, school printer is broken again and computer where you had your presentation is broken. You have all you need: your knowledge, your brain and open mind.

Explain and prepare your lessons

When you decide to show movie clips, explain it to your students and translate words they may not know yet. Introduce language they will need to understand. Use aids as a listening exercise too and combine ESL skills. Write words down and translate them or explain the meaning shortly so that every student can take an active part. At the end of the lesson, make sure you gave correct answers to the worksheets. If you ask students to do homework, check their answers and give feedback for next lessons.