examples of tefl assignments

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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• March 24, 2024

15 TEFL Practice Questions & Quizzes for Prospective Teachers

Imagine stepping into a classroom, armed with the confidence to tackle every question and quiz with ease. That’s exactly what we’re offering here: a treasure trove of 15 TEFL sample questions and quizzes designed to sharpen your English teaching skills. Whether you’re preparing for a TEFL course online or simply looking to refine your knowledge, refreshing with these sample questions is your secret weapon.

TEFL Sample Questions

Tefl sample question #1.

In the statement, “I put it down to experience,” the underlined part is an example of: 

• An adjective
• A phrasal verb

Explanation : A phrasal verb is essentially divided into two parts: the verb itself (“put” in the sentence in question) and an “adverb particle” (“down” in this sentence).

Phrasal verbs — which are commonly used in everyday speech but are often confused as simple verbs/adverbs – may take the form of “call in,” “bring up,” “give away,” etc.

TEFL Sample Question #2

Being a needs analyst is primarily identifying the social needs of your learners.

True/ False

Explanation : Rather than identifying the social needs, the purpose of a needs analysis in the context of TEFL means figuring out what sort of academic instruction your students need to develop in their language skills. Although the social welfare of your students is always a concern that you should keep in mind, this technique is intended for optimizing opportunities for academic growth, not social.

TEFL Sample Question #3

A motivated learner gets frustrated by situations involving a temporary lack of understanding or confusion.

Explanation : The term “intrinsic motivation” refers to an “urge to engage in a learning activity for its own sake.” For the motivated learner, the process of learning is rewarding in its own right – and temporary confusion is a natural part of learning. Being temporarily lost is unavoidable for any human that is engaging in the learning process – issues only arise if that temporary confusion is not resolved through further explanation.

TEFL Sample Question #4

In which of the following lesson plan models does the teacher evaluate the learners’ skills, understanding and knowledge before teaching the language/structure?

• 5 Step Lesson Plan

Explanation : “TTT” is an acronym that stands for “test, teach, test.” The central idea is that you don’t know exactly how best to approach an upcoming lesson without first gauging your students’ current proficiency. If you teach them things they already know, or, conversely, if you teach them things too far beyond their current grasp of understanding, you likely won’t achieve your teaching objectives.  

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TEFL Sample Question #5

The 5 major word classes are:

• Nouns, Verbs, Conjunctions, Prepositions, and Pronouns
• Nouns, Adjectives, Verbs, Prepositions, and Adverbs
• Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, and Interjections
• Conjunctions, Determiners, Prepositions, Nouns, and Adverbs

Explanation : Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are commonly considered the four basic parts of speech. Some TEFL course curricula will also include interjections (“ No , I don’t want any ham” or “ Hey , let’s go to the cinema”) as another major class of words.

TEFL Sample Question #6

Phonological awareness should start with lots of listening games that focus your learners’ attention on words.

True /False

Explanation : Learning proper pronunciation is extremely difficult for some foreign learners. As a general rule of thumb, the more dissimilar a learner’s mother tongue is from English, the harder time he or she will have getting the basic but relatively unique sounds in English down such as “th,” “ch,” “r,” etc. Listening for and enunciating these sounds comes as second nature to a native speaker, but they are totally foreign to a foreign student. Practice breeds familiarity.

TEFL Sample Question #7

Which of the following is unlikely to be a barrier to listening for a language learner?

• Inability to adequately distinguish particular sounds
• Lack of familiarity with commonly-used vocabulary
• Speaker speaks too slowly
• Inability to distinguish the key elements from the unimportant parts of the message

Explanation : You can never speak too slowly or pronounce each portion of a word too clearly. It’s natural for us to speak at a normal pace, but when teaching, it’s best to focus on slow, steady speech. Often, like many teachers (especially in their first time in the classroom), you might become overly eager and speak too quickly for your students to keep up.

TEFL Sample Question #8

Which of the following is a poor practical lesson planning tip?

• Don’t wing it.
• Don’t depend on your memory.
• Don’t add variety.
• Don’t worry – it usually turns out fine.

Explanation : In the ESL classroom, variety needs to be worked into your lesson plans to avoid boring your students and yourself. No one learns well when they are bored. That’s why, if you pause to reflect, maximum learning in your own academic career has likely occurred when you are entertained and, ironically, least aware that a learning process is occurring at all!

TEFL Sample Question #9

Which of the following is unlikely to be a successful body language tip?

• Stand behind your table.
• Project your voice in the classroom.
• Use the whole classroom.
• Stand next to misbehaving students.

Explanation : Desk-clingers will learn – either through diligent note-taking in a TEFL course or through the school of hard knocks in an actual classroom environment – that standing behind a podium and dictating an English lesson is doomed to fail.

The youngest students respond the most poorly to the “university lecture” model of ESL instruction, but even older students learn more effectively when the teacher uses the entire space available and moves around.

TEFL Sample Question #10

Cultural rules regarding proximity are not the same in different cultures.

Explanation : Americans tend to value and cherish personal space. “You’re in my bubble” is a classic American response to someone who is standing or sitting too close. This social norm is not shared by large portions of the rest of the world. Invariably, if you teach ESL in a foreign country, your students or coworkers will eventually “violate” your personal space – rarely with ill intent.  

TEFL Quizzes

Tefl sample quiz #1.

This “ General Grammar Terms Quiz ” tests your knowledge of basic grammatical concepts like sentence structure, singular vs plural, active vs passive voice, etc.

It covers the basic parts of a sentence – subjects, verbs, and objects as well.

While many of us have internalized the rules of English grammar and know how to correctly form our syntax, we might not be up to speed on the various terminologies and concepts at play that inform the language we create through speech.

TEFL Sample Quiz #2

This “ Parts of Speech Quiz ” assesses your understanding of, and ability to identify, the eight “parts of speech” in the English language.

Each word in English belongs to a category of speech: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, or interjection. Along with sentence formation, distinguishing the parts of speech is one of the fundamental aspects of English that new learners should become familiar with.

TEFL Sample Quiz #3

This “ Teaching Terms Quiz ” will show your level of comfort with common industry jargon – which, like any specialized discipline, ESL (English as a second language) has in spades.

Terms like “TEFL,” “ESL,” “PPP,” and similar industry acronyms become second nature after enough experience in the field, but they take time to learn for someone just breaking into the ESL sector.

TEFL Sample Quiz #4

This “ Classroom Terminology Quiz ,” similarly to the previous quiz featured here, tests your knowledge of the various terms that are unique to teaching in general and ESL in particular, such as the meaning of “pedagogy” and the difference between “guided” and “free” practice.

TEFL Sample Quiz #5

This “ Listening and Reading Terms Quiz ” shows how well you understand the terms and concepts related to listening and reading, two of the four essential English skills next to writing and speaking.

The literature on best practices for effectively teaching listening and reading is extensive, and the high-quality TEFL courses devote a portion of their curricula to understanding how English learners optimally process and retain information they take in through listening or reading.

Preparing For Your TEFL Course

You might ask yourself, “ How do I prepare for my TEFL course? ” or “ how hard is my TEFL exam going to be? “.

Successfully navigating the test at the end of your TEFL course or between modules is easier than it might sound. When you take an online course, for example, you will have access to your study materials during the test for easy reference.

TEFL courses have exceptionally low failure rates. If you invest the necessary time and effort into acing your end-of-course exam, you’re virtually guaranteed to succeed.

Where to Start

With our TEFL certification courses, you’ll gain access to a 100% online, on-demand TEFL certification course that is accredited and accepted by employers globally.

All of our courses require you to pass short quizzes after each lesson as well as a final assessment at the end of the course. To help ease the stress of test-day anxiety, we have opened the quizzes and final assessment to have an unlimited number of attempts to pass with a 70% or higher.

Kristine Thorndyke

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Recommended Reading

Teach English in Germany: How to Get a Job in 2024

How Long Does it Take to Get a TEFL Certification?

How to Teach English in Mexico: Beginner’s Guide

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TEFL Resources - Elementary resources

Grammar files, am, is, are - the verb to be, coming soon, grammar notes, activity ideas, worksheet 1 - error correction, worksheet 2 - fill in the gaps, can and could, worksheet 2 - famous personalities, worksheet 3 - charades, worksheet 4 - make can questions, worksheet 5 - complete the sentences, comparatives, activity ideas, worksheet 1 error correction, worksheet 2 - opposites, worksheet 3 - ask your partner, worksheet 4 - complete the sentences, countable and uncountable nouns, worksheet 1a - error correction, worksheet 1b - easier error correction, worksheet 2 - shopping list, worksheet 3 - make sentences, worksheet 4 - fill in the gaps, frequency adverbs and adjectives, worksheet 2 - complete the sentences, worksheet 3 - how often questionnaire, worksheet 4 - do you really questionnaire, worksheet 4b - do you really blank template, worksheet 5 - frequency dice, worksheet 6 - make sentences, worksheet 7 - prompts for sentences, worksheet 8 - unscramble the sentences, have and have got, worksheet 2 - have you got, worksheet 3 - have you got survey, worksheet 4 - short forms, worksheet 5 - interview, worksheet 6 - rewrite using have got, worksheet 7 - fill in the gaps, must and mustn't, worksheet 2 - country quiz, worksheet 3 - where am i, worksheet 4 - rules and places, worksheet 6 - must v had to, passive forms, worksheet 2 - make passive sentences, worksheet 3 - make passive sentences using prompts, past simple, worksheet 2 - present to past verbs, worksheet 3 - complete the sentences, worksheet 4 - complete the postcard, worksheet 5 - make sentences using the prompts, worksheet 6 - write about your past, worksheet 7 - what did you do yesterday, worksheet 8 - unscramble the questions, worksheet 9a - past simple survey, worksheet 9b - blank survey, worksheet 10 - bingo template, present continuous (progressive), worksheet 3 - unscramble the questions, worksheet 4 - charades, worksheet 5 - what is happening, present perfect, worksheet 1 - which is wrong, worksheet 3 - have you ever survey, worksheet 4 - have you ever prompts, worksheet 5 - report to the class, worksheet 6 - read and write, worksheet 7 - questionnaire, worksheet 8 - think of a verb, worksheet 9 - how long, worksheet 10 - already just yet, worksheet 11 - for and since, worksheet 12 - what have you done this week, present simple, worksheet 2 - add the verb, worksheet 3 - adverbs of frequency, worksheet 4 - how often questionnaire, worksheet 5 - negative sentences, worksheet 6 - make a question, worksheet 7 - unscramble the questions, worksheet 8a - job role play cards, worksheet 8b - blank role play cards, worksheet 9a - do you really, worksheet 9b - blank template, worksheet 10 - use the prompts, worksheet 11 - unscramble the sentences, reported speech, worksheet 2 - unscramble the sentences, worksheet 3 - what did they say, worksheet 4 - movie and song quotes, worksheet 5 - chinese whispers, should and shouldn't, worksheet 3 - advice for your friend, worksheet 4 - rules, superlatives, worksheet 2 - opposites, worksheet 4 - compare three people, worksheet 5 - use the prompts, worksheet 6 - superlatives survey, tag questions, the future with be going to, worksheet 2 - what am i going to do, the future with the present continuous (progressive), worksheet 2 - student diaries, worksheet 3 - diary gap fill, worksheet 4 - blank diaries, worksheet 5 - unscramble the sentences, worksheet 6 - complete the sentences, the future with the present simple, worksheet 3a - timetables, worksheet 3b - blank timetables, the future with will, worksheet 2 - in the future i will…, worksheet 3 - where will you be, worksheet 4 - will or won't, worksheet 5 - past, present or future, worksheet 7a - palm reading, worksheet 7b - palm reading gap fill, wh- questions, worksheet 2 - family fortunes, worksheet 3 - unscramble the wh- questions, worksheet 4 - insert the wh- question words, worksheet 5 - jeopardy, yes-no questions, worksheet 2 - make yes- no-questions, worksheet 3 - unscramble the yes- no-questions, worksheet 4 - is this your form, worksheet 5 - famous people, worksheet 6 - is this the best invention, worksheet 7 - use the prompts, worksheet 8 - my friends, topics and vocabulary, describing people and things, worksheet 1 - crossword, worksheet 2 - word search, worksheet 3 - typhoon, family and other relationships, introductions and other useful phrases, town and countryside, topic three, get noticed, whether you are a tefl teacher or a tefl organisation, register with us today and be seen by thousands.

TEFL CERT ASSIGNMENT 1

LANGUAGE SYSTEMS-RELATED TASKS: 

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY, AWARENESS AND ANALYSIS

  EXAMPLE: Noun (Required)

TEFL Educator / TEFL Boot Camp

Training for Teaching English as a Foreign Language

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

You can download all our podcasts from our podcast page .

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).

TEFL SKILLS

• TEFL Lesson Planning
• Correcting Errors in EFL
• EFL Boardwork
• Student Motivation in EFL
• Student Discipline in the EFL Classroom
• Games for EFL Classes
• Edutainment in TEFL
• TEFL Demonstration Lessons

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Ashley Chin

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I completed the 120-hour portion of my TEFL course! My feedback for the lesson plan and written assignment was high praise indeed!

In summary both your lesson plan and written assignments were excellent. There is no doubt that you will find a great deal of success when you teach your students. We feel confident that they will value your professionalism and enthusiasm, in the classroom. You will find that the students you teach in the future will enjoy showing you their work and sharing their achievements with you. You can expect to have a very rewarding and enjoyable future career as a teacher.

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Section a: culture, question 1.

'It's vital to respect cultures and make an effort to understand how different and sometimes similar people live their lives: they will be the people who are sitting in front of you.' (Enjoy TEFL Course)

Imagine you have been offered a teaching post in a non-English speaking country. Choose any country that fits this profile. Research the key aspects of the culture in that country, including beliefs and attitudes related to education.

What are the key differences in culture, including education, compared to your own that you will need to grasp and understand before taking up your post? (250-500 words)

Chosen country: China

Word count: 372

There are many differences between the culture in England and China that need to be understood before working as an English teacher in China. In wider philosophy, the western world promotes individualism, encouraging the idea that a single person can and should stand out from the crowd. This is often a measure of success. In contrast, in China it is not the individual but the group that matters. Chinese people don't try to "show off" or draw attention to themselves.

Chinese society is very hierarchical, whereby respect for elders and seniority is paramount. Family is extremely important, and younger generations are taught to obey older generations.

It is also the custom in China for workers to follow orders from senior employees, without question. Asking questions is not acceptable. This behaviour begins in school, where the teacher is at the top of the hierarchy and their orders are to be followed. This is very different from an English classroom, where asking lots of questions is encouraged.

However, Chinese people aren't shy of asking personal questions that would be rude in English society. Personal questions about salary, finances and age are just a few examples of questions that would not be offensive in China.

There are also differences surrounding education specifically, which include Chinese attitude to school. Chinese children are taught that education is extremely important. They are under intense pressure from their parents and society to study hard and achieve good grades, otherwise they will bring shame to themselves and their families. In England, studying and success in exams is encouraged but far more laid-back.

More practically, it's important for foreign teachers to be aware of the technological restrictions in China. Many websites that could otherwise be used as teaching aids, such as YouTube, are inaccessible.

It's also vital for teachers of English to be aware that some sounds in English aren't present in Chinese. Consequently, some native Chinese speakers learning English as a second language struggle to pronounce certain words including the [ð], the [r], or some specific final consonants in words.

This is also true of various grammatical concepts, plural forms, tenses and intonation. Cultural sensitivity is required at all times to ensure that all students are treated fairly and respectfully!

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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.

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The ICAL TEFL site has thousands of pages of free TEFL resources for teachers and students. These include: The TEFL ICAL Grammar Guide. Country Guides for teaching around the world. How to find TEFL jobs. How to teach English. TEFL Lesson Plans....

Teaching is undeniably a challenging job, in fact many consider it one of the most difficult careers you could choose. Nevertheless, being a teacher is an enriching experience. Through quality education and effective teaching methodologies,...

Samantha is a previous student of ICAL TEFL on the 120-hour course. Based in USA at the moment, Samantha is looking forward to the future and where she could be using her certificate next ... Before completing your course, what were your...

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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• Authentic Materials: How To Find Them And How To Use Them

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• Teacher's Toolkit

What are authentic materials?

Menu’s. Newspapers. Instruction manuals. Timetables. Blogs. These are all examples of authentic materials. 

Why are authentic materials important in teaching?

Why should you use authentic materials? The question here should rather be, why are you not using authentic materials? Authentic materials are the perfect solution for your English as a Foreign Language lesson needs, for so many reasons. 

• Authentic materials expose your learners to real language as it is used in the real world . It is not the language of coursebooks, which has been graded to a certain level. There is a need to expose your students to language that is not graded specifically for their level.
• Authentic materials introduce our learners to real contexts and situations. They connect our learners to the English-speaking world. This makes them inherently interesting. If the lessons are interesting, our learners will be more invested in the lessons and consequently learn more.
• Authentic materials are confidence boosters . EFL learners expect to be able to handle an ELT coursebook so when they do there is no cause for celebration. When they read and understand a magazine article from an English magazine, there is a real satisfaction in their achievement. Understanding an authentic text is no easy task, so your students will need help from you in the form of scaffolding. With time and assistance it’s possible for even lower level learners to interact with authentic materials. 
• Authentic materials are usually free. It may take some time and effort to find appropriate authentic materials and you may need to adapt them slightly for your purposes, but authentic materials are, for the most part, free and readily available.

Teaching with authentic materials in the EFL classroom

The first step is to  identify your students’ needs . Finding out why they want to learn English and specifically what language they need to accomplish their goals will inform what authentic texts you will choose.

• Are they learning English to travel? Use real menus, tour guides or tourist information brochures.
• Do they need to do business? Watch video clips which involve business meetings or find examples of real business emails.
• Maybe they want to learn English to study in English. Find textbooks and websites which are more academically focused.

Once you’ve found your materials, consider  the level . Some authentic materials naturally have a higher level of English than others.

Don’t use an article from The Economist for your Elementary learners, just as you wouldn’t use a teen magazine for your Business students. You need to be realistic about your choice of materials, but that’s not to say that the text you pick has to be at the exact level of your students.

Instead, your text should be a bit challenging for your learners, no matter their level. If it’s too challenging, a simple way to lower the level without rewriting it is to shorten it. The difficulty of the task is more important than the difficulty of the text.

Finally, make extensive use of your materials . Authentic materials provide a wealth of learning opportunities and finding them can take time. Don’t make the mistake of using a text for a five-minute activity  and then throwing it away. Find ways to increase the usefulness of the text to make them work for you.

This is the reason it’s such a good idea to use authentic texts in the classroom. They are interesting and engaging because we can choose what topics they will cover. Plus, once our students realise they can understand and make sense of authentic language, their motivation and confidence levels will naturally increase.

Read more: Top Tips for Effective Lesson Planning

Examples of authentic materials in the classroom.

• Food:  Roleplay a restaurant scene using menus from a variety of local restaurants. The menus can then be used for a discussion on local restaurants and recommendations
• Directions:  Use maps of the area and let the students direct each other to local places of interest. If you have an interactive whiteboard, use Google maps to show these places, or to demonstrate giving directions
• Crime: While using a newspaper to read an article discuss a crime is quite common, why not use a video clip instead? There are loads of different crimes series that you can utilise (CSI, Law and Order, for example). There’s no need to use an entire episode. Use a short clip which summarises the crime. The students debate who the perpetrator and the motive is, which can be confirmed with another clip
• Family:  Nothing beats bringing your own family photos to a lesson on family or relationships, but again you could turn to technology to provide a stimulus. There are a number of famous families who have TV shows (the Simpsons, the Kardashians) which you could show clips of in order to prompt a discussion on family. Or you could use a celebrity family that your students are familiar with to stimulate  vocabulary  or conversation
• Education:  Finding photographs of classrooms from around the world is a great way for students to consider the different educational contexts there are around the world, and there are a lot of extremes which can provide the basis for discussion. Another fun activity is to have a general knowledge quiz with questions relating to different school subjects

Authentic materials

Having said all this, we must admit that sometimes the thought of using authentic materials can be daunting for teachers. First you have to find materials that are interesting and relevant. Then you have to make sure they are appropriate for your learners. Finally you need to assess whether you need to adapt them in any way – either by shortening them or providing a glossary or some other form of scaffolding. 

So yes, while it’s worth it, it can be a lot. 

But fear not, weary teachers, we have your back!

Here are four of our favourite ways to find authentic materials which will save you time and energy. 

Use a public domain database

There are a few online databases which have authentic materials online. The Online Books Library , for example, has links to hundreds of different sources of free texts. If you choose to use a public domain database, it’s a good idea to search for a particular book, author or topic as otherwise you can find yourself going down a very long and winding road trying to find the perfect text.

Read online newspapers

Newspapers are another excellent source of authentic materials. Newspapers provide us with current, up-to-the-minute articles which, if chosen correctly, are interesting and relevant. You can choose to look up a local newspaper or an international one. Using an online newspaper saves you the trouble of finding and buying a newspaper on your way to school.

To find online newspapers you can find the online version of your local newspaper or you can access national or international newspapers through their websites. Most newspapers allow access to a certain amount of articles online for free. World Newspapers is a website which has links to loads of newspapers from all over the world.

Watch YouTube

If you’re looking for videos rather than written text, look no further than YouTube . You can find practically anything you need on YouTube, it’s just a matter of looking for it. To make sure you don’t fall down a rabbit hole, it’s best to have a good idea of what you want before you start looking.

Think carefully about what authentic situation would suit your lesson objectives, type in a keyword in the search bar, and soon you’ll have thousands of videos to choose from. Just be sure to watch them in full before you use them so as to avoid any awkward situations!

Listen to podcasts

Podcasts are great for listening practice. There are podcasts on every topic imaginable and you can download them to play in class. Find a podcast to suit your learners and, since podcasts are usually a series of episodes, you can use it as a regular feature in your lessons. The BBC is a great resource for podcasts so start your search here.

The internet is an obvious place to find authentic materials online, since the materials you can find can be very recent and up-to-date. However, although it is a magnificent resource of authentic materials if it is utilised correctly, it can also be a total waste of time. So make sure you know where to look when you are looking for online materials.

Once you have found appropriate authentic materials, consider the best way to utilise them in your lesson. Think about the level of your students and the aims of your lesson. Think about the ways you can scaffold the lesson to make the materials accessible for your students and the lesson achievable. When you have taken all of these into account you can sit back and relax in the knowledge that you have an interesting and effective English language lesson planned. Bravo!

Have you ever used authentic materials in your lessons? We’d love to know how it went so let us know in the comments!

I’d like to find out if “Teaching TEFL” or “Teaching EAP” has a cut off age, e.g. 60 / 65 / 70? I’m an experienced English Second Language teacher: 14 years in primary and secondary schools; 6 years and currently at the University of the Free State in Central South Africa in the Academic Literacy Program. Furthermore, I’ve been involved in Education since 1976. I’m 64 years old and I’d like to teach abroad.

Your response will be appreciated. Regards from Elsie Dannhauser

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TEFL assignment.

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Unread post by benji85 » Sat Feb 11, 2017 6:21 am

Re: TEFL assignment.

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