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As a English as a foreign language teacher, you will find that planning your TEFL lessons is half of your job. Whether you are teaching a grammar lesson or a skills lessons, it is necessary to think carefully about the best way to present the language and content to your EFL students.

Traditionally, on TEFL courses you are taught to plan and execute your lessons according to the Presentation, Practice and Production – or PPP – methodology. There is nothing wrong with this way of carrying out an EFL lesson, but there are other ways to go about it.

The different ways of constructing a TEFL lesson plan are all similar in some respects, so it actually isn’t necessary to follow any one method, but instead you can create your own path through the lesson, as long as there are clear aims and these are achieved.

Read more: PPP In The EFL Classroom

Writing a lesson plan can seem simple, but it is very easy to become overwhelmed. There are an endless number of ways to carry out an EFL lesson and it can take discipline and careful thought to choose from all the different options.

But first, let’s talk about what makes a good TEFL lesson plan.

What makes a good TEFL lesson plan?

A TEFL lesson plan needs to include a number of different elements:

• Target language (including board plan)
• Interactions – inidividual, pairwork, groupwork, open class
• Materials and resources
• Anticipated problems

Read more: The Importance Of A Lesson Plan

How do you write an EFL lesson plan?

How you write your lesson plan down is totally up to you. After all, it’s your lesson!

Many teachers simply follow the tried-and-trusted PPP lesson plan structure, but there are a number of others you can try:

• ARC – Authentic use, Restricted use, Clarification and Focus
• TTT – Test, Teach, Test
• TBL – Task-Based Learning
• ESA – Engage, Study, Activate

All these methods of writing a TEFL lesson plan work, as long as the plan is logical, straightforward and clear.

But what if we told you there is an easy way to write a TEFL lesson, using just three simple steps.

An easy way to write a TEFL lesson plan

1) pre-task.

Whatever the focus of the lesson may be, there needs to be an opportunity to introduce the context. This allows your students to become involved in the topic while at the same time tuning their brains in to the fact that they are about to learn English. This does not necessarily have to relate to the language in focus, but rather on the topic relating to the language point.

Now’s the time to do the task. If you are doing a grammar lesson, focus on the relevant context and use the time to look at language form and function. If you are doing a skills lesson, bring in the relevant text needed and spend time on clarification and other questions.

3) Post-task

Once the language matters have been dealt with, it’s important for the students to be able to respond to the task in an authentic and genuine way. This brings us full-circle back to the beginning of the lesson where students started thinking about the context, and now the students must respond in a personal way to the topic.

So, to answer the question: How to create the perfect EFL lesson plan? Just follow this very simple three-step process.

Though you may not be focussing on one particular EFL methodology, you are still incorporating the ideas behind them.

At the same time you have given yourself a clear task so that you will be able to plan lessons like this quickly and easily.

You will find that this lesson plan template is flexible and can be used for many different lessons, so it will help cut down on your lesson planning.

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Lesson Planning | Free Lesson Plan Template and Sample

Written by: Mike Turner

July 13, 2021

Time to read 6 min

Why We Write Lesson Plans

Given that there are a variety of reasons for writing a lesson plan, it should be a non-contentious view that there should be different kinds of lesson plan for different contexts. It is very difficult to come up with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ for every situation. With this in mind, let’s start by looking at who lesson plans are for, and why we might want to write one in the first place.

Who is the Lesson Plan for?

Here are a few categories of people for whom you might want to write a lesson plan:

1. For Yourself

If you are a relatively new or inexperienced teacher, writing a lesson plan can help you think through your lesson with greater clarity. It can act as a kind of practical checklist of things to consider. In particular, it can help you to: 

• Organise your preparation (handouts, writing-up instructions, setting up equipment, arranging the space).
• Make explicit and foreground any desired learning outcomes.
• Incorporate a variety of activity types to vary the flow and pace, and to sustain interest.
• Structure and order the phases of your lesson in a logical way.
• Plan the flow and pacing of your lesson so that valuable learning time isn’t wasted.
• Think about practical considerations, such as how you transition between different activities.
• Identify potential problems and opportunities – and have contingency plans in place to deal with these.
• Plan extension work or scaffold learning for your students, depending on how easy or difficult they find a particular task.
• Walkthrough the lesson in your head.

People sometimes think about a lesson plan in terms of a comfort blanket or a set of training wheels , but I find these kinds of metaphors rather patronising. It suggests that the teacher is somehow deficient or lacking in capability. Instead, teachers who plan in this way should be congratulated on being thorough and professional in their approach.  

Of course, as teachers become more experienced, they will find it easier to work from brief notes or to carry a plan in their heads. Over time, all teachers hone their skills, learn to adapt to circumstances and events with confidence and improvise judiciously, sometimes going ‘off plan’ completely, when the occasion calls for it. However, even experienced teachers sometimes find it useful to put together a detailed written plan – particularly if they are finding a particular group of learners challenging or if they want to think through a lesson in more detail.

2. For Your Academic Manager

You may also be asked for a lesson plan by your Academic Manager. This could be because they want to ensure that your content and methods are appropriate – either to the age and level of the students, to the syllabus or the ethos, approach and methodology of the school. But there may be other reasons too. For example, they may encourage you to use it as a tool for self-reflection, or they may want to keep copies on file with the class’s record of work so that they can evidence if required, that a lesson is purposeful and has been well-planned and thought through. This may be partly as a Quality Assurance (QA) measure but may also be a good thing for you as a teacher – for example, in the unlikely event of a complaint from a student or parent.  

3. For Another Teacher

Sometimes you may want to write a lesson plan that can be used by another teacher. For example:

• You may need another teacher to stand in for you in the case of illness. Some institutions (and some teachers) like to have one or two lesson plans on file so that if a class needs to be covered by another teacher, the replacement can walk into the class at short notice and deliver a lesson that is well-planned and organised, and that will fit into the learning scheme for the students, rather than being a ‘one off’ class.
• If you are responsible for the development of in-house materials, or if you share lesson ideas with colleagues, you will want to supply a generic lesson plan and resources that can be picked up by any member of the teaching staff, adapted and delivered in a way that addresses the main learning outcomes.
• If you do peer observations, it can sometimes be interesting to do a ‘lesson swap’ with another teacher. This is where a colleague delivers a lesson you have prepared and vice-versa. This can be a great exercise, as it can highlight any strengths and weaknesses in the planning - and it can be really interesting to see how someone else approaches, delivers and adapts the various elements of the lesson.  

4. For An Observer

Finally, you will at some stage have your teaching observed. This may be done by your TEFL tutor, your Academic Manager, or by an external assessor (for example, a British Council or EAQUALS inspector).

With a TEFL tutor, you may need to evidence your preparation in detail, as it is likely to form part of what you will need to submit in order to pass your course. Also, the additional detail will help them understand and assess the choices that you make when teaching.

Lesson plans for external observers also tend to need more detail. This is simply because someone external is unlikely to know the institution or the class. Also, since it is the role of such observers to assess the quality of the teaching, they will benefit from having a full picture. If they are observing a large number of classes, observers may not be able to stay for a full lesson and may need to understand the portion of the lesson they observe in a wider context.

Observations by an academic manager will usually be for one of three reasons:

• As a Quality Assurance measure
• To provide you with feedback and support
• To provide the focus for CPD

We do all three kinds of observation and, for each, we expect different levels of planning. It is worth noting that the way each type of observation is conducted and the kind of feedback for each is quite different too.

So, What Should I Include?

In short, decisions about how to write a lesson plan and its contents need to be guided by its purpose. As a teacher these decisions are sometimes taken out of your hands – dictated by your tutor, by the institution where you work, by your Academic Manager or by the inspecting body.  

However, where you are in control, you need to think about what information is useful. I have attached a template you can use and that can be adapted to your own context. The template and example provided are relatively detailed. However, because it has been produced in the form of a Word table, it should be relatively easy to delete any rows or sections that are not relevant to you. For example, if you work at a small school and the lesson plan is for your Academic Manager, you will probably not need the contextual notes on the class.  

Any section can be expanded if required. In particular, you may want to extend the ‘phases of teaching’ boxes to include more detail. This is down to personal preference and may depend on how experienced you are as a teacher. 

A Final Word

Just before I sign off, there is one other thing I should say: remember that a lesson plan is just a document. Do not fetishise it – what is important is the learning that takes place in the classroom. Don’t let the document become more important than the lesson itself.

By way of warning, I have listed below some things to look out for and avoid when you are planning your lesson:

• Is your plan too detailed and does it contain irrelevant or duplicated information?
• Is it too ‘tight’ and inflexible (ordering, timings)? Remember, a good teacher needs to be able to respond to events in real time, address the needs of the learners and take advantage of learning opportunities as they arise. Never stick to plan ‘A’ if it is not working.
• If there is too much of a focus on you as a teacher (techniques, strategies, management), rather than on the learning? As you teach, watch and respond to your students’ reactions, listen to what they say and check their learning regularly.
• Has writing the plan taken too much time? Try not to use a template that makes your job too admin-heavy and stressful. If in doubt, discuss it with your TEFL tutor or Academic Manager.

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Having great resources and materials to hand is essential for any teacher, which is why we’ve developed a range of TEFL resource packs so you will never be stuck when it comes to lesson planning.

• Perfect for newly-qualified EFL teachers 
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Lesson plans suitable for online teaching

General english.

A PDF pack of 10 lesson plans suitable for individuals and small groups of online English language learners, from elementary to advanced level. Lesson plans include timings and required resources.

Young Learners

10 easy-to-follow lesson plans for beginner to intermediate level English language learners. Suitable for one-to-one and small groups of students under the age of 12.

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10 lesson plans ranging from greetings and market vocabulary, to describing graphs and writing professional emails. This pack is suitable for Business English learners with a beginner to post-intermediate level of English.

Online Lesson Plans Bundle

Our General English, Young Learner and Business English online lesson plan packs all in one great, money-saving bundle.

Lesson plans suitable for in-class teaching

Tefl games & warmers (pdf).

If you are looking to inject some fun into your lesson or introduce a new topic, this pack of TEFL games and warmers is for you! The PDF pack includes a total of 51 activities so there is a variety of TEFL games and warmers to suit all ages and levels of ability.

Lesson Plans Pack Volume 1 (PDF)

Perfect for new and inexperienced teachers going into their first TEFL job. These 10 tried-and-tested plans are suitable for elementary, pre-intermediate and intermediate level learners. Plans are designed so you can and slot in different themes and/or activities to adapt your needs.

Lesson Plans Pack Volume 2 (PDF)

What's included in the pack?

• A total of 30 TEFL lesson plans for elementary to advanced level learners
• Teachers' notes
• Student hand-outs

Lesson Plans Pack Volume 3 (PDF)

An ideal addition to your collection of lesson plans, this volume includes an incredible 40 brand new lesson plans.

What's inside the pack?

• 40 lesson plans
• Suitable for beginner to intermediate level learners

Business English PDF Lesson Plans Pack

An ideal resource if you are interested in getting into teaching Business English. This 81-page pack covers a range of lessons suitable for elementary to intermediate level learners.

• A total of 16 lesson plans
• Teachers' notes with detailed information about learning outcomes and timings
• Student handouts, including flashcards

Young Learners PDF Lesson Plans Pack

A must-have pack for kindergarten and elementary school EFL teachers!

• 15 lesson plans
• Teachers' notes with learning objectives, warmers and lead-ins for each lesson
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The TEFL Book (PDF) by Mark Durnford

A 200-page manual taking you through the best ways to manage your classroom, lesson structures, teaching grammar and phonology.

ESL Lesson Plans

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How to plan a tefl lesson.

What is a TEFL lesson plan and what should it include? A step by step guide to planning lessons for English language teaching.

Why plan lessons?

Every TEFL lesson needs a plan. The level of detail it contains, and whether it is mainly in your head or mainly on paper, will vary depending on your training and experience, the type of class (one-to-one classes often have a much more fluid plan, for example) and the time that you have available to plan.

The main reason to have a plan for a TEFL lesson is to know, firstly, the aim of your lesson and, secondly, what you’re going to do during the lesson in order to achieve that aim. If you don’t know what you want your students to be able to do by the end of the lesson, you risk them going away feeling that they haven’t achieved anything.

What should a TEFL lesson plan include?

Everything that you might want to include in your plan derives from the main aim and how you’re going to achieve it. What materials do you need for the activities that you’ve planned in order to achieve your aim? How long will each of these activities take? What problems might your students have in dealing with a particular activity or language point? And so on.

As we said, for most teachers it is impractical to plan every lesson with this amount of detail. But these kinds of detail should at the very least be in your head, even if the paper version is just a few scribbled lines – and writing a few plans in this way is the best way to get yourself into the habit of thinking about these kinds of detail when you’re planning, even if you don’t have the time to actually write them.

Although there are other possibilities, here’s a list of the main things to include in a detailed lesson plan:

Main aim Subsidiary aims Personal aims Materials Anticipated problems and solutions

And for each stage of the lesson itself:

Timing Stage aims Activities Focus

We’ll have a look at each one more closely. At the end is an example plan for this Used to lesson .

What should the main aim be? Ideally it should come from a course plan which outlines a logical progression of aims for every lesson in a course. How does this lesson that you’re teaching today fit into the bigger picture of what your students want or need to achieve on the course? The aim might be based on a language point (grammatical, lexical or phonological), or it might be based on a skill (reading, writing, listening or speaking).

The key is to think not in terms of what you want to teach, but in terms of what you want your students to be able to do . By thinking from your students’ perspective you are more likely to choose activities which will help them achieve this aim, rather than activities which are easy for you to teach. If your aim is grammar or vocabulary based, you also avoid the risk of “teaching” the form and then thinking “okay, they’ve got it, job done”.

So, instead of “to teach will and going to” or “to practice listing for gist” try “to enable students to discuss future plans using will and going to” or “to develop students’ ability to identify the main ideas in a reading text”. Think along the lines of “ to help / to enable / to develop/ to improve… ” rather than “to teach / to practice”.

It’s also a good idea to make a note of how you will recognise when your students have achieved the main aim. This can help you afterwards to critically analyse your lesson, think about ways to improve it if they didn’t achieve the aim, and decide what further work is needed on a particular language point or skill.

Subsidiary aims

You may also have some secondary aims that you would like to work on. In the “Used to” lesson below the main aim is based on a language point, but we do some listening work to provide the context for presenting this language, so we take the opportunity to develop the students’ listening skills. We also introduce some vocabulary, not just because we need it to understand the text, but because we would like our students to be able to use this vocabulary outside the lesson.

Personal aims

You might also have something that you want to achieve on a more personal level. Maybe in your last lesson you weren’t happy with your board work and you want to improve on this. If there are several aspects of your teaching that you want to improve or develop, try focusing on one at a time here – work on it for a few lessons until you’re happy with it, then move on to the next one.

What materials will you need for each of your activities? Make sure you won’t need to run back to the photocopier during the class by going through all the stages of your lesson one by one – have you forgotten anything?

Anticipated problems and solutions

Take a little time to go through the stages of your lesson and anticipate the problems your students may have and what you will do if these problems crop up. Anticipating the unexpected allows you to, as far as is possible, avoid the danger of being left stranded without an answer. This can help you feel more confident and deliver a more effective lesson.

Think in terms of vocabulary in a text that you may have to pre-teach in some way, potential issues with pronunciation and how you’re going to deal with them, possible lack of student imagination in creative tasks, possible confusion of tenses and how you’re going to resolve this, and so on. It’s important to be precise here. If you say “students may be unfamiliar with some words in the text” it doesn’t really help you to prepare a solution. If you say “students may be unfamiliar with the words “to give up, to quit…”, you can think about the best way to present or elicit the meaning of each.

Stages of the lesson

Now we come to the lesson itself. There are four things to consider here:

Your lesson has a fixed length and so you’ll need to think about the timing of each activity. This helps you to know that you have planned a long enough lesson, and during the lesson itself will serve as a self-check to make sure you achieve what you want to achieve. If you find that you haven’t planned enough material, make sure any new activities you add contribute to your lesson aim – avoid the temptation to crow-bar in activities that don’t really fit. You could also go back and think about the activities you already have – could you expand on them or change them in any way?

These are the aims of the individual stages of your lesson, as opposed to the main aim of the lesson as a whole. There should be a logical progression here towards achieving the main aim. Stage aims should answer the question “Why am I doing this?” rather than “What am I doing?” – the answer to this second question comes in the next column.

The stages that you include in your lesson will depend, of course, on the type of lesson. The “Used to” lesson follows a traditional PPP (presentation, practice, production) model. We therefore expect to see a stage where the language is presented in some way. This could be a situational presentation, a presentation from a text, or one of a number of different techniques to present new language. We also expect to see some practice stages, probably some restricted followed by some freer practice. These stages could be either oral or written. Finally, we expect to see a production stage or, as we have called it in this lesson, authentic practice.

This is what you actually do at each stage of the lesson. Be specific here. Instead of “Look at and discuss pictures”, break it down and say exactly how you’re going to do this: “Students look at photos of children doing things; Students discuss in pairs whether or not they did these things in the past and whether or not they do them now”. Being this specific will help keep you on track and ensure that you don’t forget a crucial part of an activity.

This tells you whether the activity is pair-work (S-S), group work (S-S-S), a teacher-led activity (during the presentation stage, for example – T-Ss) and so on. This can show you whether or not you have a range of different activity types – is your lesson too teacher-centred? Is every activity pairwork? Have you mixed up the groups for different activities? Here’s the used to lesson plan:

This lesson follows a typical PPP (Presentation, Practice, Production) model. With this model we first present or elicit the language in some way. The students then practise it in more or less controlled situations and finally produce it in a more authentic situation. Have a look below for more about these practice and production stages.

PPP is just one of several possible lesson models – as such we have not covered all of the possible lesson stage types and have only touched on some of the terminology that you might include in these stages. But we’ll expand on some of the terminology and stages that we have mentioned in more detail here:

A lead in activity is designed to “warm the students up” – to generate interest and get them thinking about the topic. When you introduce a topic, for example with pictures, a video or some questions, you activate in your students’ minds a mental image or expectation based on their existing knowledge of the topic. This mental image is often called a schema , and so we can say that the aim of a lead-in stage is to “activate your students’ schemata”. Your students’ existing knowledge and experience can then be used to personalise the lesson.

Target language

The aim of the presentation stage is to present or elicit the target language – the language that we want the students to be able to use correctly in order to achieve the aim of our lesson. There are different ways to do this – in this case the teacher elicits the meaning of the target language with a series of concept questions before giving the target sentence itself.

Manipulating form

By this we mean that the teacher presents (or elicits) the question and negative forms of the target language, as well as, perhaps, other examples in the first, second or third person.

Restricted/controlled practice

The first practice stage, where the teacher drills the pronunciation of the target language, is very restricted, in the sense that students focus entirely on the sentence containing the target language. There is no opportunity at this stage to incorporate other language. The practice stage of PPP lessons tends to start with restricted practice in this way, and then gradually move on to less restricted and eventually much more authentic practice.

In the less restricted practice stage of this lesson, students are given the chance to circulate and ask each other questions (using the material that was gathered during the lead in). The focus is still very much on the target language, but much less restricted or controlled than the previous exercise.

Authentic/Free/Fluency practice

Finally, the students are given the opportunity to produce the target language in a much freer context. The activity in this lesson encourages them to talk about the past, and they may naturally use the target language during their conversations, but they are also free to use other language. There shouldn’t be any pressure on the students at this stage to use the target language, and you may find that they don’t use it very much at all. This is why we can call this stage authentic practice – in an authentic situation we wouldn’t use “used to” in every sentence when communicating with someone – we would maybe use it once or twice in addition to other forms.

Keith Taylor

Keith is the co-founder of Eslbase and School of TEFL . He's been a teacher and teacher trainer for over 20 years, in Indonesia, Australia, Morocco, Spain, Italy, Poland, France and now in the UK.

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43 comments.

Gordon Ross

Thank you for this. I am currently studying to be a TEFL teacher, and I’m glad I have found your website. The information you are sharing is very clear and well explained.

Yasmine Almokhtar

It’s well organized and so helpful, thank you so much for this clarification

Maisaa Dahdal

Very useful. Many thanks.

That was clear and well explained. Thank you

Patrick Serge MONGBO

So happy to have these cues on lesson planning. Very simple understandable and useful for teachers especially beginners. Pat Serge tefl Inspector

Spastic-Tactician

I love the emphasis on thematic connection between lesson stages. I train public school teachers in Japan and the most important thing I do for them is to help them begin to plan the connections in their lessons, their units, and their terms. Student motivation is a fragile thing. Creating and maintaining engaging thematic connections that carry through every stage, every activity, each one informing the next and building on the previous is absolutely crucial to supporting that motivation. Textbooks don’t provide this kind of goal-focused thematic connection. It can only come from the dedicated preparation of the teacher. Your section about the importance of putting the work in before lessons is, as such, a super important part of this article. One suggestion: I am not a fan of calling the final stage “production”. Production is a word that carries a machine-like, robotic connotation and… alarmingly, that is exactly what I often see in the final stages of lessons I observe. Students robotically spitting out what they think they should say. I prefer calling the final stage “Use” (My preferred acronym is SPU, Show, Practice, Use). When we think in terms of having students actually USE language or communicative strategies, rather than simply producing them, we sharpen our aim when choosing or designing activities. This subtle change in thinking can help us think about language as a communicative device rather than as a barrier to overcome for students, and THAT is key.

How can we check the effectiveness of the presentation stage, how can we take student feedback?

Checking understanding of the language as you present it is very important. In this lesson it is done with concept checking questions, in this part of the plan:

“Did he smoke in the past? Yes- Once or many times? Many times- Does he smoke now? No “He used to smoke T repeats with other examples”

You can see some more detail about this in this post about the lesson: https://www.eslbase.com/teaching/used-to-lesson-plan

…and in this post about concept checking questions: https://www.eslbase.com/tefl-a-z/concept-questions

Hope that helps.

James Tringle

I am just got through teaching in several public schools in Vietnam over the past year. I basically used the lesson plans from “Family and friends” to teach the classes. Oh by the way I had an average of 55+ kids in each class.

Hi Eslbase, good morning. I am doing my TEFL Training Course and I have come across your website and I find it very useful for my assignments. Thanks a bunch for this.

I am also a tefl student and and doing a lesson plan on comprehension Finding it a bit difficult. Please help. Thanks

Hi Eve, thanks for your comment, and we’re glad you find the site useful!

Good Day I am struggling with the TEFL lesson plan that i must draw up. It should have the following stages. 1. Warmer, Pre teach vocab,and reading.

Hi Cherell – can you give us some more info about the plan?

i plan to do celta and found this lesson plan extremely well planned and organised.just great….

I am a TESOL student and getting ready for my practicum lessons. I was very nervous and felt like i have all the information jumbled up in my head. But this detailed lesson plan, step by step scaffolding and checklist is perfect! Thank you!

An excellent grammar lesson plan! I’m a TEFL student, and in fact, my field is not teaching, am a translator, so please I need your help for a detailed plan: Main aim: lexis, sub aim: speaking. Thank u in advanced!

The situation: Mature student who has studied very informally over 15 years. She understands simple one to one conversations. But I doubt knows anything detailed about grammar elements/structure. And certainly makes many simple errors – i.e. she has accumulated a lot but perfected little I would say sums it up.

However now she is looking to progress further.

I have put together a one hour lesson plan which I hope will allow me to do an initial assessment of her read/write/listen/conversation abilities while at the same time her getting a learning and/or revision benefit.

The learning part of the hour (after intros/facilities/plan/her expectations/relax) consists of:

Revise (hopefully) the verb ‘to be’. Look at grammar in terms of ‘When and Action’ structure/rules relating to Present simple, Present progressive, Past simple, Past progressive, Future simple, Future progressive. Various quiz/activity progressing through read/write/listen/conversation (I have three levels of each quiz/activity so I can adjust in-flight as it were to meet the level I find.

Ends with lesson review and what the student would like to do next.

Any thoughts on that approach and/or how others handle the assessment stage would be very much appreciated. My 120 hour TEFL doesn’t offer much on assessment sadly. Quite a bit on punch ups in the classroom but not sure that will prove useful in this case!

This might be too late for this particular student, but may help for the future…

Here’s how I normally approach a first session with a one-to-one student at pre-intermediate level or above. This is assuming I have no or little prior information about her needs and expectations.

The first hour should achieve three things:

1. Establish a good rapport and put the student at ease 2. Needs analysis 3. Obtain samples of language based on her needs

Establishing a rapport Establishing a rapport is not something that is easily taught, but can be helped by showing that you are listening to and understanding her needs, issues and expectations, boosting her confidence by not bombarding her with a whole load of grammar or activities that are way beyond her level, talking to her as an equal, and so on.

Needs analysis Needs analysis is all about finding out why she is learning English, what she needs it for and what she expects from the lessons. You can normally achieve this by just having a chat. Start with a natural conversation about herself, her job, her family, etc, (and share some information about yourself too if she seems interested).

This conversation can then naturally lead on to questions about why, when and how she uses English. At this point you can start to get quite specific with your questions, depending on what she says. If she uses it for work, how exactly? Does she need to write in English or just speak? What does she write and in which contexts does she have to speak? Are her conversations usually with one other person or with a group? Formal chats or coffee machine conversations?

What you’re doing is building up a picture of the specific situations in which she uses English and, importantly, the problems that these situations present her. Perhaps she needs to write emails but these are easy for her, and the real problem is answering the telephone call to American clients. The more information you can get here, the easier it will be for you to plan her course.

What sometimes happens is that the student will just say “I just want to improve generally”. But you can still get her to be a little more specific here – what does she want to be able to do with the language? Watch TV shows? Travel?

All the time that you’re having this conversation about her needs, it’s also a chance for you to get an idea of her strengths and weaknesses, any particular language or skills areas you can identify that need some work.

Obtain language samples You can then, depending on the needs and expectations you’ve just established, get some samples of her language. As I just said, you’ve already been getting a good speaking sample from your conversation, but it can sometimes be useful to get a recording of her speaking (if she’s comfortable with this) for more detailed analysis by you later. If she needs to write in English, get a sample of her writing – have her write something that is motivating for her and preferably related to her writing needs. if she doesn’t need to write in English and has no interest in doing so (which you will have established during your conversation), there’s no need to get a writing sample.

Finally… In doing all this, she’s been telling you what she needs and expects from the course. So it’s time for you now to summarise this for her and give her an idea of what you plan to do in the coming lessons. Reinforce what she’s been telling you. If she’s stressed several times that she gets all mixed up with tenses, or that she can’t understand during a telephone conversation, tell her that you’ll be focusing on these things in the coming lessons and, if you can, give her a very brief idea of how you’ll be doing this. This will ensure she leaves feeling reassured that she’s going to get what she needs and that you have listened to her and aren’t just going to press on with your own agenda!

That, for me, would often be it for the first hour and will be fine for the student. But if you sense as the hour goes on that they need something concrete to take away with them, by all means have a few generic listening / reading / grammar activities to work on.

I would also give them a “language record” – this is a piece of paper that you will hopefully have been creating as you go through the lesson (and should be done in every one-to-one lesson), where you’ve made a note of new vocabulary, examples of good use of language that you heard, and some errors. Examples of good language use are vital so that when you go through this with her in the last 5 or 10 minutes of the lesson, it’s not all about the errors. So, go through it with her – if there are major grammatical errors, you can say that you’ll be dealing with them in future lessons if that’s appropriate to her needs (and make sure you do!). Minor errors can be dealt with on the spot. Give her the piece of paper to take away (and keep a copy for yourself if you can).

Hi, am doing am assignment on a lesson and not lesson plan. The question is what are the four stages of a lesson and their activites. Please help.

Thank you so much well explained.

Many thanks for this clear presentation of the lesson plan. Just preparing for my first TP!

Holona Chetty

Well I like to say I paid money for a TEFL course which has everything that you mentioned (for free) .Thanks for sharing!

Well explained. What about demos and language analysis, when or on what stage must it be engaged?

Abdul Rahim Chaudhary

Awesome! But it is not here to select the final stages I.e. Controlled practice and production stage. Edit it please so we could copy and past for print. Thanks

This is very helpful – good to get it from a different perspective rather than just passing the course basis – thank you

I’d say an important stage was missing – final feedback! Students want to know what they did well/badly on in the final task as well as checking that they have the ‘right’ answers in more controlled practice. Other than that, a sound lesson plan for CELTA candidates. I did CELTA over 7 years ago and would have appreciated this then :)

Thanks for pointing this out zbd – we missed off the bullet point for “Feedback” for the last two activities. I’ve added these now.

Hi , I am writing my graduation paper on ESL lesson stages and lesson time management, and , I’d point out that you did a fine job and didn’t miss anything. The PPP lesson planning paradigm doesn’t require evaluation, which is by all means required by 5E Instructional Model: engage, explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate. So, probably, that is the reason you omitted feedback, which is optional in PPP.

I am a teacher trainer and I found this guide to be a very clear resource. THANK YOU!

Thanks Kimberly for your feedback.

Hi, this is a great example of lesson plan. Would it be ok if we used in our training sessions at our school?

Hi Eduardo – please feel free to use this for your training sessions.

Jose fermin

This is a very detailed PPP lesson plan. I’m a CELTA trainee and thought it was awesome!

Thanks Jose, we’re glad you found it helpful.

Hi, this Grammar Lesson Plan is excellent. Is it possible for me to obtain a copy by email? This is the best plan I have seen for a long time.

Hi Cara, thanks for your comment! Unfortunately we’re unable to send this by email – you’re welcome to copy and paste from this page though!

Hi! Thanks for letting us copy and paste it

I am a CELTA student and I have to say that this LP is excellent and inspirational! a great reference to come back for ideas! thank you so much!

Jeremias Rui Albino

Great. This is one of the clearest PPP Lesson Plans I’ve ever seen.

Thanks Gordon, and good luck with your studies. Keith

I’m glad you found it useful!

Hi Yasmine, I’m glad you found it helpful!

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Example Lesson Plan

How To Teach English , Lesson Plans & Activities

Making your way round town…

This is an Example TEFL Lesson Plan which illustrates some of the ideas presented in the article on TEFL Lesson Planning‏‎ .

It will give you a good idea of how to approach the subject and lay out your plan. Obviously what we show here will need to be tweaked and changed for a particular class, but it’s a good start and will give you a good idea of what a lesson plan is all about.

NB make sure you read the article on lesson planning first, this is an adjunct to that.

Lesson Plan for Class X

• Lesson Title: Around Town!
• Class: General English – evening – 17 students
• Level: Beginner
• Length of lesson: 90 minutes
• Lesson Target: Ask for and follow directions to various places around town.
• Materials & Resources:‘Places Around Town’ flashcards including: bakery, bank, bookstore, City Hall, dentist’s, hairdresser’s, hospital, library, post office, restaurant, shoe shop and supermarket.‘Directions’ and ‘Positions’ flashcards including: turn left, turn right, go along, go past, on the left, on the right, next to and on X street.

Worksheet made up of an empty street map of an imaginary town (streets only), place and direction words, and practice conversations.

• Preparation: Copies of the worksheets for each student. Flashcards mentioned above. Transparency for OHP
• Possible Problems: Students don’t know or can’t recognize the places (different from home country). Further explanation will be necessary. There are 17 students, so there will either be one group of three with someone doing the conversation twice, or someone will have to pair up with the teacher – might be useful when giving examples.

Introduction : Ask the students about places they know around town. Try to elicit names of places to get them thinking about the day’s topic.

Activities/Exercises

• Activity/Exercise 1 (20 – 25 mins)

Material Required: Place flashcards; Worksheet – Map Section

Hand out the worksheet. Show the students the flashcards of places around town. Ask the students to name the places if they know them. If not tell them the answers. Have them write the names of the places under the pictures on the worksheet. Where would these places be on the map? Using the OHP show transparency with an empty map similar to the one on the worksheet. As an example, mark and write the name of one place somewhere on the map (basically write the name in the squares provided). Randomly pass out the flashcards to the students. Ask each student with a card to come to the OHP and mark (and possibly) write the name of the place they have on the map where they think it would be. Other students copy (mark and write) the map from the projection onto their own worksheet, so eventually everyone has the same map.

• Activity/Exercise 2 (10 – 15 mins)

Material Required: Position Flashcards; Worksheet – Where Is It? Section

Introduce and teach “on X street” and “next to”. Use examples sentences referring to the map.

The bank is on Main Street, next to the book store. The Post Office is on Main Street, next to the supermarket.

Explain that street names don’t need “the” but other places usually do. Students fill in their examples on the worksheet Where is it? section and read their examples to the class.

• Activity/Exercise 3 (10 – 15 mins)

Material required: Position flashcards; Direction flashcards; Worksheet – Direction & Location Section Use the flash cards and the map to introduce and teach the remaining direction and position vocabulary. Students fill in the vocabulary on the worksheet Directions & Location section.

• Activity/Exercise 4 (15 – 20 mins)

Material required: Worksheet – Conversation Section

Introduce Conversation (Conversation One) Break up the class into pairs and practice. Teacher might need to practice with a student if someone is left alone. Teacher monitors pronunciation and accuracy by moving around the class. Next, each pair stands up in front of the class and acts out the conversation.

• Activity/Exercise 5 (20 – 25 mins)

Fill in the blanks conversation (Conversation Two) Point out the starting point on the map (the star in the lower right hand corner). Explain that they will be having this conversation at this spot and that they will make original conversations based on conversation one to various places in the map. Using the map made in class, fill in the dialogue in pairs with original ideas. Again, practice and then say in front of class.

Ask the students directions to places on the map. Let them all answer together as a group or individuals. Set them the homework assignment.

_______________ (Picture of Restaurant)

_______________ (Picture of Dentist’s)

_______________ (Picture of Shoe Shop)

_______________ (Picture of Bakery)

_______________ (Picture of Supermarket)

_______________ (Picture of Post Office)

_______________ (Picture of Bank)

_______________ (Picture of Hairdresser’s)

_______________ (Picture of Bookstore)

_______________ (Picture of Library)

_______________ (Picture of Hospital)

_______________ (Picture of City Hall)

Where is it?

1. The … is on … Street, next to the … 2. The … is on … Street, next to the … 3. The … is on … Street, next to the …

• Directions Worksheet page 2

Fill in the direction words in the spaces provided.

Useful Links

TEFL Lesson Planning – a quick guide to lesson planning

Learn to Teach English – a course to teach you how to teach others English

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Quite interesting. This lesson plan is ideal as it adequately involves the students. They have abilities that teachers need to stimulate for them to be expressed. Teachers of English should adopt stategies that will help students love, use and excel in the language even if it is a second language to then

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Lesson Planning for EFL and ESL

1. Click on the video below for an overview of our EFL Lesson Planning page Please wait a few seconds for the video to load

2. We have created a podcast to complement this lesson.

TEFL Lesson Planning Podcast: eight minutes

Click on the link to play the podcast: Lesson Planning in EFL Podcast

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3 Basic Concepts of TEFL Lesson Planning

You can download our lesson plan format HERE .

There are literally hundreds of types of EFL lesson plans but 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, however, some general agreement about what should be included in a good lesson plan.

4. Generally agreed components of a lesson plan include:

Lesson Name: What will you call the lesson?

Class/Level: Age, topic, skill level, class name

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: From what book are you working or drawing the lesson?

Unit—title—page number: Specifically where in that book?

Goal/Aim: What are we working toward today? Describe the final result of the lesson in this format:

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: Show the structures. Use a structure chart if needed.

Questions and Answers relevant to your lesson: Ask these questions during the warm-up to elicit from students what they may or may not know about the topic to be covered.

NOTE: The Lesson 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.

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 and how you might elicit from the students the language you are planning to teach. 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. Allow/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 in their use of the target language.

Conclusion: Discuss/recap what you have studied and learned during the lesson. In some countries and for some ages, this will be followed by a game that uses the target language.

Many experienced teachers, once they have methodology set in their mind, write only minimally structured lesson plans as they will have developed a set routine for how they approach each lesson. New teachers should develop the habit of rigidly following a detailed lesson plan they have written for at least the first six months to a year. This will require some real discipline, but it will pay off in terms of your skill development over time.

Sit down after each class and take a few notes about what went great, what went wrong and how you might have done a better job. This will help you in refining your skills. Even very experienced teachers put some serious thought into problems that occurred during class and how they might best be corrected.

Save every lesson plan you write. If you teach a certain book or certain topics repeatedly to students of similar levels (and you will), you’ll find you need only a little polish on the lesson drawing from your notes that you wrote.

6. Expanded Concepts

You can find literally thousands of EFL/ESL lesson plans on the Internet. Take a look at few and you will rarely see the same format used. But they will generally have, in one form or another, most of the information indicated above.

Try the website below and see what they have and note the similarities and differences between the lesson formats. Don't get stuck in a rigid idea of what a lesson plan should look like. You'll notice many lessons that are called "lesson plans" really aren't !

The Internet TESL Journal: EFL and ESL Lessons and Lesson Plans

Following is a "Lesson Plan Format" based on the lesson plan in the Basic Concepts section above. It will open in a new window in Word.

Lesson Plan Format

A recommended resource is over at www.Teach-nology.com. They have a Lesson Plan Tool that will help you better grasp the idea. Read their section on What to Consider when Writing a Lesson Plan . Teach-nology is not an EFL/ESL website but their ideas dovetail nicely into helping you get the big idea about what a lesson plan is and should be and why. The lesson plan tool can help you play around a bit with the basic ideas.

When you get a handle on TEFL lesson planning, you can be a REAL teacher!

Note: If you are taking any of our certification courses, please review this Ten Point Lesson Plan Checklist to make sure you have covered everything that is important BEFORE you submit your lesson plan project(s).

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Outstanding Lesson Plans

50 plans to help you teach, lesson plans, choose lesson plans that get you prepared to teach.

Welcome to our range of 50 lesson plans: 25 Beginner Lesson Plans and 25 Intermediate Lesson Plans.

You asked for these due to the shortage of good, quality lesson plans elsewhere, particularly at the Beginner level. Most of what are called ‘lesson plans’ elsewhere in the marketplace are simply worksheets and not a full lesson plan from start to finish.

Our lesson plans are true lesson plans, covering what you should do from start to finish in your lesson.

BEGINNER PLANS

25 beginner level lesson plans.

These Professional Beginner Level Lesson plans are suitable for any lesson of 45 minutes to 60 minutes. You can adapt the content according to the time available and the competency of your learners.

INTERMEDIATE Plans

25 intermediate level lesson plans.

These Professional Intermediate Level Lesson plans are suitable for any lesson of 45 minutes to 60 minutes. You can adapt the content according to the time available and the competency of your learners.

FULL LESSON PLANS

50 beginner and intermediate level lesson plans.

These Professional Beginner and Intermediate Level Lesson plans are suitable for any lesson of 45 minutes to 60 minutes. You can adapt the content according to the time available and the competency of your learners.

Welcome to Enjoy TEFL Lesson Plans

There are 50 lesson plans: 25 Beginner lesson plans and 25 Intermediate lesson plans, structured as follows:

Beginner Level

Section 1: Lesson Plan Construction Guides for Beginners

These are the 5 Lesson Plan Construction Guides for Beginners as described above.

1. Lesson Plan Construction Guide for Beginners: Teaching Grammar to Beginners

2. Lesson Plan Construction Guide for Beginners: Teaching Vocabulary to Beginners

3. Lesson Plan Construction Guide for Beginners: Teaching Reading to Beginners

4. Lesson Plan Construction Guide for Beginners: Teaching Writing to Beginners

5. Lesson Plan Construction Guide for Beginners: Teaching Phonological and Phonemic Awareness to Beginners

Section 2: A Variety of Lesson Plans for Beginners

6. Beginner Lesson Plan: Order of Adjectives

7. Beginner Lesson Plan: Warnings

8. Beginner Lesson Plan: Adjectives: The Comparative

9. Beginner Lesson Plan: Directions

10. Beginner Lesson Plan: Capital Letters 1

11. Beginner Lesson Plan: Capital Letters 2

12. Beginner Lesson Plan: Being Polite

13. Beginner Lesson Plan: Likes and Dislikes

14. Beginner Lesson Plan: Zero Conditional

15. Beginner Lesson Plan: First Conditional

Section 3: Project Lesson Plans for Beginners

Here we have chosen two meaningful projects which can provide a base for teaching Beginners over a longer period; for example, a whole term.

Not only will you be able to cover a set language syllabus within these projects, but you will also be able to introduce your learners to important life skills and the world around them.

Learners love projects so you should aim to involve your learners in these.

Project 1: From Butterfly to Caterpillar

16. Project Area 1: Language Enhancement

17. Project Area 2: Learning the Life Cycle of a Butterfly

18. Project Area 3: Food

19. Project Area 4: Arts and Crafts

20. Project Area 5: Music and Drama + Finishing Off the Project

Project 2: Food

21. Project Area 1: Language Enhancement

22. Project Area 1: Food from Around the World

23. Project Area 1: Cooking

24. Project Area 1: Superfoods

25. Project Area 1: Very Different Food that Some People Eat + Finishing Off the Project

Intermediate Level

A Wide Range of Lesson Plans for Intermediate Level

1. Intermediate Lesson Plan 1: Order of adjectives

2. Intermediate Lesson Plan 2: Introduction to Debates

3. Intermediate Lesson Plan 3: Happy/Joyful Feelings

4. Intermediate Lesson Plan 4: Not So Happy/Joyful Feelings

5. Intermediate Lesson Plan 5: Debate: Should Mobile/Cell Phones Be Allowed in Class?

6. Intermediate Lesson Plan 6: Debate: Should junk food be banned in school?

7. Intermediate Lesson Plan 7: Debate: Should school uniform be compulsory?

8. Intermediate Lesson Plan 8: Colour idioms

9. Intermediate Lesson Plan 9: Body Part Idioms

10. Intermediate Lesson Plan 10: Apostrophes

11. Intermediate Lesson Plan 11: Apostrophes: Very Common Problems

12. Intermediate Lesson Plan 12: Generating Ideas: Brainstorming

13. Intermediate Lesson Plan 13: Generating Ideas: Mind Maps

14. Intermediate Lesson Plan 14: Learners’ Class Presentations

15. Intermediate Lesson Plan 15: Phrasal Verbs: Making a Snack

16. Intermediate Lesson Plan 16: Phrasal Verbs: Making a Call

17. Intermediate Lesson Plan 17: Small Talk for Adults

18. Intermediate Lesson Plan 18: Small Talk for Younger and Teenage Learners

19. Intermediate Lesson Plan 19: Weather Collocations

20. Intermediate Lesson Plan 20: Giving Advice Via Modals

21. Intermediate Lesson Plan 21: Second Conditional

22. Intermediate Lesson Plan 22: Third Conditional

23. Intermediate Lesson Plan 23: Adjectives: Superlative Form

24. Intermediate Lesson Plan 24: Adverbs of Manner

25. Intermediate Lesson Plan 25: Countable and Uncountable Nouns

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Greetings from the windy city of Chicagoland and thank you for the very good and inspiring course to become a better English teacher. I am going through the course and so far it has been an excellent review of all the grammar I already knew but was in need of polishing. So all in all it is a five-star course for me. Thank you! Best George Gubbins Teacher of English.

It's a lot of information to take in. Be prepared to study hard.

10 Steps to Passing Your TEFL: Study and assignment tips

Just ordered a TEFL course, or thinking of doing so, but worried about passing? The dreams of travelling abroad get a cold shower when you think about the work required to get the all-important TEFL certificate.

There’s nothing to fear. TEFL qualifications aren’t too hard to get, as long as you do them the right way. And guess what? I’m about to tell you exactly how!

Each TEFL course provider has different module structures, assignments and tests, so this guide will help you in a general sense, rather than giving specific details on the course you’re doing. From my experience, courses are generally similar, so nothing should come as a big surprise.

If you’re looking for a great course provider, I recommend International TEFL and TESOL Training . Click the link for 15% off all courses (I receive compensation, so you’re supporting me, too). Not convinced? Read why I’d choose ITTT over other TEFL course providers .

So let’s get to it – the 10-step guide to passing your TEFL course with flying colours!

• Learn the requirements of your course
• Set a schedule and be consistent
• Take quality notes
• Get the grammar down
• Use your tutor (if you have one) and community support
• Save all the given resources
• Write assignments concisely and edit carefully
• Make sure Observed Teaching Practice is student-centred and effective

1. Learn the requirements of your course

Before you start the course (and ideally before you buy it), look at the course structure. How many modules are there? When will there be quizzes? How many written assignments are you expected to do, and is there a final exam?

This is vital information, because it sets your expectations and allows you to create a good study schedule.

Most courses have a series of modules, each with multiple-choice quizzes at the end. They often finish with a written assignment and, depending on the course, some real-life Observed Teaching Practice (OTP). Some have multiple assignments, and a few have one big exam at the end.

To find out about TEFL course assessment, read my article Is There an Exam for TEFL Courses? What you need to pass .

2. Set a schedule and be consistent

Now you know the structure of your course, you can plan a schedule to suit your life.

If you’re doing an in-person class, you’ll already have sessions arranged, but set aside an hour or so each day to consolidate your learning.

Online courses allow you ultimate flexibility. But that doesn’t mean you should do it all last minute. Instead, dedicate a fixed amount of time each day to work on the course.

I recommend the same hour every day, for example, starting at 9 a.m., because this develops an automatic routine, so your brain and body get in the zone.

Figure out how soon you want to finish the course and calculate the number of hours you need to study per day.

Let’s say you’re doing a 120-hour course with 20 modules (each approximately 6 hours). You want to finish in two months and only work weekdays. That gives you around 40 working days, so you need to finish a module every two days – approximately 3 hours of study a day.

You may not have this much time, so spread your time over 6 months and work 1 hour a day.

The key is to be consistent. Avoid long stretches of not studying because you’ll have to play catch up with some hard, tedious days down the line. Or you may never get it done.

3. Take quality notes

When you go through the course, there’ll be text to read and videos to watch. You should take notes on both.

But don’t just write down everything you read or hear. Pick out key, specific information. Not only does this streamline your notes, but it saves a lot of time. Don’t be afraid to write shorthand. As long as you understand what your notes mean, that’s enough. For example, you read this:

To accurately and holistically assess your students’ English, take into account all four key skills – reading, writing, listening and speaking – as well as grammar. Avoid focusing on just one aspect.

My notes for this would be: Best assessment = all 4 skills + grammar

I like to make my notes on Microsoft OneNote, while Evernote is another popular option.

4. Get the grammar down

One of the worst parts of taking a TEFL course is going through the grammar modules. You may think you’re good at grammar, and you probably are. But do you know how to use the past perfect? Can you say the difference between a modal and a semi-modal?

You won’t have to know this information for the majority of lessons in your TEFL career, especially with lower-level learners. But if you want to be a quality English teacher, it’s important to know your stuff.

Unfortunately, I feel most TEFL course providers pad their products with lots of grammar modules. And they’re often front-loaded. You have to wade through all the heavy grammar before you get to anything about teaching.

Stick with it. Use other resources to help you understand – YouTube has plenty of explanations, as does Perfect English Grammar .

5. Use your tutor (if you have one) and community support

A lot of TEFL courses give you access to an expert tutor. Use them. Ask them questions, bug them about problems you have, and squeeze as much help as you can out of them. You’re paying for it, after all.

And whether or not you have a tutor, you can find help from TEFL communities. This might be your classmates from the in-person course. Or, your online course provider may already have a forum in which you can interact with fellow students.

Beyond that, search for Facebook groups for the specific course you’re doing, or for TEFL trainees in general. People can point you in the right direction for help when you need it.

6. Save the given resources

TEFL courses give you access to lots of great teaching resources. Most of the time, however, you only get them for a limited time (6 months, or a year).

But you can have them forever. Just download them onto your computer and keep them in a file, then you don’t have to worry about finding them again.

7. Write assignments concisely and edit carefully

The written assignment is a feature of almost all TEFL courses. It can be daunting, especially compared to the multiple choice quizzes at the end of each module.

You actually have to produce something now. Does it have to be expert-level insight and research? No. Does it have to be written clearly and thoughtfully? Yes.

Writing concisely and getting your thoughts across efficiently is a skill. Learn it. You can find plenty of guidance online. Here’s one article I especially like at Your Dictionary .

Edit your writing several times. You should focus on three things in order:

• Focus on the flow and structure of the assignment. Does every paragraph have a clear and distinct point? Do you transition naturally from one idea to the next?
• Sentence level editing . Could you change the wording of a sentence so it’s easier to read? Are there stronger verbs you could use?
• Proofread for grammar and spelling mistakes. You’re going to be an English teacher, so it doesn’t look good if your writing is riddled with errors.

Programs like Grammarly and ProWritingAid are wonderful tools for sentence-level editing and proofreading.

8. Make sure Observed Teaching Practice is student-centred and effective

The best TEFL courses include Observed Teaching Practice (OTP) in which you teach real students under the watchful eye of an experienced teacher. It’s so valuable in improving your craft.

But it can be a bit scary. It may well be your first time teaching, and your mind will be full of things that could go wrong. That’s normal.

My advice is twofold. First, keep it simple. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel with complex lesson plans and flashy activities. Tried and tested is fine.

Second, make sure the student is the focus of the class. Not you. Ultimately, teaching is not about the teacher’s performance, but how well the students learn. Get your class involved, engaged and active. Don’t stand at the front and lecture them.

Follow a simple lesson plan, and let the students do the work while you act as a guide. This is quality teaching. It may seem like you’re not doing much, but a good teacher doesn’t have to be the centre of attention.

And play a game at the end. Everyone loves games.

Looking for some great games to play in your observed teaching practice? Check out my lists of 9 games for beginner , intermediate and advanced students!

TEFL course providers want you to pass. If they can guarantee you success, it makes them more competitive in an unregulated market. As a result, most companies allow you to retake the course for free, and set the passing grade relatively low.

As long as you put in the work, there’s no reason you shouldn’t pass. In fact, the vast majority of people who don’t succeed give up early and never complete the course.

So don’t stress. You’ll get it done, sooner or later.

If you’re worried TEFL might be too hard, read my article Is TEFL Teaching Hard? A guide to whether TEFL is right for you to get a broad perspective on the challenges of being a TEFL teacher. Spoiler: getting the certificate is easy!

10. Start now

This may seem like easyt, but for many people, it’s the hardest part of the process. It’s the big jump. Once you get rolling, things progress well, but just beginning can prove a barrier.

Have faith in yourself. Thousands and thousands of trainees just like you have passed the TEFL course without a problem. You can do the same.

And the sooner you start, the sooner you can travel around the world and enjoy all the benefits of being a TEFL teacher!

Still looking for a great course provider? I recommend International TEFL and TESOL Training . Click the link for 15% off all courses (I receive compensation, so you’re supporting me, too). Not convinced? Read why I’d choose ITTT over other TEFL course providers .

I’m Will, a teacher, blogger, and fantasy author. I grew up in England, but now I live in Spain where I teach private English classes to dozens of wonderful students.

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i-to-i TEFL - Assignment 1 - Lesson Plan - Vocabulary - (Documents & Text)

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**PASSED ON FIRST ATTEMPT WITH MERIT- INCLUDES GREAT FEEDBACK**

This document contains i-to-i TEFL Assignment 1 Lesson Plan for Vocabulary using the words (Documents & Text).

This topic is recent and contains all the information, activities, and breakdowns needed to assist you in passing the first time around!

Please do not copy the document in its entirety, rather use it as a reference or guideline!

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