Course planning

Being able to plan well is one of the key skills that a teacher needs to have. It involves being able
to imagine what is going to happen in the classroom, and to make choices based on this imagined
experience. Planning also involves the ability to zoom out, to see the bigger picture and know how
a 2 hour lesson fits into a 100 hour course, but it also involves the ability to zoom in, and work out
the mechanics of how a 15 minute activity will work best.
Pre-service teacher training courses typically focus on the detailed planning of a 40 minute or 60 minute lesson
and dont focus attention on how to go about planning a much longer scheme of work. This is also an important
area to consider though, because most teachers are involved in teaching courses, which may typically last
anywhere between 30 and 120 hours.
The aim of this article is to share some of the conclusions of a recent project I was part of, with the hope that it
might enable other teachers to plan a little faster too!
Why do we plan our lessons?
I think that most teachers plan lessons in order to feel more confident in the class itself. If we know what were
trying to achieve in the lesson, we are freed up to spend more time with the learners rather than worrying about
our next step.
The aim of planning is also to map out learning activities in a coherent, logical way, in order to help students
understand, learn and practice concepts and skills which will develop their abilities in English.
When it comes to planning a whole scheme of work, it is important to ensure there is a balance of different skills
work over the course. We might also want to map out the areas of grammar and vocabulary that we intend to
teach over the year, and plan a rough timetable for when we will introduce these concepts.
Why, What and How?
At the start of a course, we need to sit down and think about What we intend to cover in the course, and Why.
These two concepts go hand in hand; we will be able to decide what to teach, when we know why we want to
teach it, and this will depend on the group of learners that we have in front of us in the classroom.
Even if we are teaching from a coursebook (as many of us will be), decisions still need to be made about what is
really important to cover. Once this is mapped out over a series of lessons, the learning journey starts to acquire
the look of a road about it... or at least some kind of a reassuring track.
Some schools and institutions will provide their teachers with a syllabus from the start of an academic year, which
maps out exactly what they expect their teachers to cover. In those cases, this process of working out the what
and the why, has largely been done for the teacher (for good or for ill!).
However there are many schools and institutions that will provide their teachers with a course text, and expect the
teacher to make these kinds of decisions. In these situations, forward planning by the teacher at the start of the
year, or start of each term, will be extremely helpful in ensuring that there is coherence and balance in the course,
as well as direction (and good signposting).
What about the How?
Callum Robertson, in his articles Planning 1 and Planning 2 for Teaching English, identifies 3 important
ingredients in lesson planning: Engage (the students); Study (the new content for the lesson); Activate (getting
students to do something with the content).
I think that the question of how we plan the activities in our lessons is closely related to the first ingredient that
he mentions: student engagement. Students need to be fully engaged in the lesson because without this
engagement, interest and concentration, it will be very hard for them to learn effectively in the class.
One important criteria to have in mind is that we want to provide variety for our students because, as soon as they
become bored, we have lost the crucial attention that students need to learn. However if we were to constantly
spring new ideas & activities on them, students might feel disorientated and confused. Therefore, we should also
aim to use familiar routines and activities that students already know, in order to provide a familiar structure to the
lesson.
Id like to talk then, about some ideas to help us with the how of lesson planning: first of all, how we can build
variety into our lessons, and secondly, how we can also use familiar routines and activities to ensure continuity.
Keeping it fresh

Varying the way that we teach is beneficial to both teachers and students. It adds interest to the class and allows
the teacher to reflect on how a different way of teaching might bring better results.
Variety can come into the lesson in many different ways. It might mean that the teacher decides to take a testteach-test approach to grammar, rather than a presentation-practice-production approach. It might mean that
students generate their own questions to the reading text, rather than using the true/false ones in the book.
Variety can also come into the lesson with the deceptively simple change of varying the way that the tables and
chairs are set up, if your classroom allows for this. The position that individual students sit in can also be changed
regularly, by mixing up pairs and groups, so that students arent working with the same people.
One way that the teacher can plan for variety, is to have a recipe book of these ideas to refer to. By recipe book,
I dont mean the kind of TEFL recipe book that can be pulled off the shelf in a bookshop, but rather a personalised
recipe book that the teacher builds up over time. The recipes are tried and tested lesson activities, that can be
noted down to refer back to in the future. Its easy to find that you incorporate new ideas that you have heard
from colleagues, or seen being done in a conference, only to find that a few months later, youve stopped using
that activity and in fact youve forgotten it. Keeping a note of these kinds of activities will help you to have them
to hand when you need them.
Another way to vary lessons is to incorporate content from a range of sources. The textbook might be used as the
main content for the course, but it can be supplemented by material from other sources. This could include
cultural content, designed to teach students about the culture of the language that they are learning. It could be
literature, including poems and short stories. Students can do CLIL lessons, where they learn about another
subject through the medium of English.
Another possibility is to plan a lesson with no materials at all: a dogme lesson.
Lesson planning with threads
Planning for variety means that we can keep ourselves and our learners interested and engaged in our classes. At
the same time, the opposite concept, routine, can also be an important element in the class to add harmony and
balance to the learning experience. One way that we can structure this experience is to use what Tessa Woodward,
in her excellent book Planning lessons and courses (CUP) would call threads.
Threads can be interpreted in different ways, but essentially they are activities & routines that students are familiar
with, and which they will have no trouble picking up again. For example, if students start most lessons with a
review of vocabulary using a word bag which the class regularly updates, they will know what to expect at the
start of the class, and this will help to provide a structure to the learning experience. In this way, threads are
horizontal links that are created across the individual lessons of a course, threading together the experience in
such a way that there is continuity.
How can threads help the teacher to plan lessons?
Threads can be enormously helpful to the teacher by providing a ready-made assortment of activities for each
lesson. Full-time teachers will probably be teaching anywhere between 20 30 hours of classes per week. It can
be very challenging to plan effectively for such a lot of time. If we use threads, however, we already have a good
idea of what will constitute about a third of the time in our classes. The remaining two thirds becomes far more
manageable to plan, and we can concentrate more clearly on the specifics, the how, of this remaining content.
The fabric of threads
The following ideas are just a number of different threads that I regularly incorporate in my classes.
Student presentations
I use student presentations with nearly all my groups who are B1 or above. Sometimes I structure the
presentations quite loosely, and dont require a minimum number of slides or minutes. At other times, I ask
students to try to use a Pecha Kucha 20 slides by 20 seconds format, which is more rigid (but often more
enjoyable). I start by doing a presentation myself, about something that relates to myself. I encourage the
students to choose a topic which has personal significance to them, so that the whole class can find out more about
each other through the presentations.
Student chosen songs
At the beginning of a course, I pass round a list and ask students to choose a song each. We then listen to these
songs, with a song worksheet, over the course of the term / year. Where possible I ask students to create the song
worksheets themselves.
Vocabulary review activities
I regularly note down new words from my lessons on word bag cards, and students write definitions and
example sentences for these word bag cards. Once the word bag is sufficiently large, there are a number of

different activities that can be done with them. Students can choose 8 10 words, and make up a story. They can
also make questions out of the words, and ask each other the questions. We can also use the words to play board
games such as pictionary, noughts and crosses, and blockbusters.
Journal writing activities
Students can have a writing journal, where they write down their thoughts about a range of different topics.
Writing in the journal can provide a regular slot in each lesson, and can help to get students more used to writing
fluently in English.
Pronunciation games
Pronunciation activities are a great way to change the focus of a class. The pronunciation of individual sounds,
word stress, or sentence stress requires different skills from the learners than reflecting on grammar or the
meaning of words. There are lots of fun ways to practise pronunciation in a gamelike way, and in my experience
students have always enjoyed this. The pronunciation thread can be a regular routine, but within this routine,
there can be (and needs to be) a good deal of variety about what features of pronunciation are practised.
Plan, Do, Review
The plan, do, review cycle is another very useful concept to bear in mind when planning both lessons and
courses. It can refer to what the teacher does, or what the student does. Learning a language is a skill, and
requires the practice stage where learners do what they can with the language that they have. The review stage is
extremely important too, as this is when we often assimilate what we have learnt. Without the review stage, its
too easy for us to forget new information and knowledge, and most courses will build in some kind of review
stage at some point (and possibly at regular intervals throughout the course). This leads on to assessment, of
course, which is also likely to form part of many courses.
Essentially, planning is an art, not a science, but applying systems and strategies to the process can be very
helpful. This allows us to map out in our heads (and on paper) a learning path for ourselves and the students on
our courses that will make the journey both purposeful and entertaining.
Hopefully, we will also be able to achieve the results that we want in far less time!
By Joanna Dossetor

Planning 1
Planning is one of those essential skills of the competent teacher.

This article looks at some general lesson planning questions:

What should go into an English language lesson?
What is a lesson plan?
Why is planning important?
Do you need to plan if you have a course book?
What are the principles of planning?
What should go into an English language lesson?
Every lesson and class is different. The content depends on what the teacher wants to achieve in the lesson.
However it is possible to make some generalisations. Students who are interested in, involved in and enjoy what
they are studying tend to make better progress and learn faster.
When thinking about an English lesson it is useful therefore to keep the following three elements in mind
- Engage - Study - Activate
Engage
This means getting the students interested in the class. Engaging students is important for the learning process.
Study
Every lesson usually needs to have some kind of language focus. The study element of a lesson could be a focus
on any aspect of the language, such as grammar or vocabulary and pronunciation. A study stage could also cover
revision and extension of previously taught material.

Activate
Telling students about the language is not really enough to help them learn it. For students to develop their use of
English they need to have a chance to produce it. In an activate stage the students are given tasks which require
them to use not only the language they are studying that day, but also other language that they have learnt.
What is a lesson plan?
A lesson plan is a framework for a lesson. If you imagine a lesson is like a journey, then the lesson plan is the
map. It shows you where you start, where you finish and the route to take to get there.
Essentially the lesson plan sets out what the teacher hopes to achieve over the course of the lesson and how he or
she hopes to achieve it. Usually they are in written form but they don't have to be. New or inexperienced teachers
may want to or be required to produce very detailed plans - showing clearly what is happening at any particular
time in the lesson. However in a realistic teaching environment it is perhaps impractical to consider this detail in
planning on a daily basis. As teachers gain experience and confidence planning is just as important but teachers
develop the ability to plan more quickly and very experienced teachers may be able to go into class with just a
short list of notes or even with the plan in their heads.
Whatever the level of experience, it is important that all teachers take time to think through their lessons before
they enter the classroom.
Why is planning important?
One of the most important reasons to plan is that the teacher needs to identify his or her aims for the lesson.
Teachers need to know what it is they want their students to be able to do at the end of the lesson that they couldn't
do before. Here are some more reasons planning is important:

gives the teacher the opportunity to predict possible problems and therefore consider solutions
makes sure that lesson is balanced and appropriate for class
gives teacher confidence
planning is generally good practice and a sign of professionalism
Do you need to plan if you have a course book?
Many teachers will find themselves having to use a course book. There are advantages and disadvantages to
having a course book - but although they do provide a ready-made structure for teaching material, it is very
unlikely the material was written for the teachers' particular students. Each class is different and teachers need to
be able to adapt material from whatever source so that it is suitable for their students. A course book can certainly
help planning, but it cannot replace the teacher's own ideas for what he or she wants to achieve in a class.
What are the principles of planning?

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Aims - considering realistic goals for the lesson, not too easy but not too difficult. You may find the
following checklist useful:
What do the students know already?
What do the students need to know?
What did you do with the students in the previous class?
How well do the class work together?
How motivated are the students?
Variety - an important way of getting and keeping the students engaged and interested.
Flexibility - expect the unexpected! Things don't always go to plan in most lessons. Experienced teachers
have the ability to cope when things go wrong. It's useful when planning to build in some extra and alternative
tasks and exercises. Also teachers need to be aware of what is happening in the classroom. Students may raise an
interesting point and discussions could provide unexpected opportunities for language work and practice. In these
cases it can be appropriate to branch away from the plan.
Effective lesson planning is the basis of effective teaching. A plan is a guide for the teacher as to where to go and
how to get there. However - don't let the plan dominate - be flexible in your planning so that when the
opportunities arise you can go with the flow.

Planning 2
Planning 1 outlined the rationale behind lesson planning. This article looks at some of the elements
to consider when planning an actual lesson: aims, concepts, contexts and marker sentences.

Aims and concepts

Contexts and marker sentences
Aims and concepts
It is important to have clear and realistic aims for your lessons. One way to check this is actually to write out what
your objectives are. To demonstrate let's take the topic of the use of the prepositions 'for' and 'since' with the
present perfect. We can assume that the students have recently been introduced to the structure and use of the
present perfect. You could write out your aim like this:Aim
To present and provide practice of the use of 'for' and 'since' with the present perfect.
This is a clear but basic statement of aims. It indicates what you intend to do, but note, not how you intend to do
it.
It is helpful also to define the overall concept or meaning of the target language when it is used naturally. For our
teaching point we need to consider when native speakers use 'for' and 'since' with the present perfect. We can now
adjust our aim statement accordingly:
Aim
To present and provide practice of the use of 'for' and 'since' with the present perfect when talking about the
duration of a continuing state or action.
Phew! It hardly trips off the tongue but it is important to do. It clarifies for the teacher exactly what the teaching
point is. Many language items are used in different ways, with different concepts. Take the present continuous
aspect as an example. Compare these two sentences:"I'm writing this at my desk."
"I'm visiting my best friend next weekend"
Both of these sentences use the same form, but the concept is different. It is important when planning your lesson
to be accurate in your analysis of the concept. It can be confusing for students if different concepts are not clearly
identified or are mixed up during a presentation.
By expressing the concept in the aims, it provides a focus for the planning and that can help to prevent possible
confusion. It may be not appropriate for all situations, but it's a good habit to get into. Every planned activity and
example sentence can then be referred back to the aim to check that it fits the concept you are trying to teach. It is
essential to make sure that the exercises and activities you decide to do actually fit your aims.
Contexts and marker sentences
Having established the concept, the next step is to think about natural contexts or situations where the language
item to be taught is used.
For our lesson we need to think of a situation when a native speaker would use the present perfect with 'for' and
'since'. It can be used when people talk about how long they've had their jobs and possessions. We do this, for
example, when talking about our lives - so we could take a party as our context. At a party, you might meet new
people and talk about yourself.
A common method of introducing a structure to the students is to use marker, or model sentences. These are
contextualised examples which illustrate how to 'make' the target language. If the context is clear they also show
how and when it is used. A marker sentence can be taken from almost any source. It could be from a listening or
reading text, it could come from the students themselves or the teacher can provide it. The important thing is that
the sentence is a natural and accurate example of the target language.
Marker sentences are used in the 'study' phase of the lesson (remember Engage - Study - Activate from Planning
1). There are different ways of exploiting them. If you have a number of examples, you could ask the students to
look at the sentences and infer the rules for using 'for' and 'since'. This is what's known as an inductive approach.
Alternatively you can use the sentences to highlight and explain the rules yourself. This is a deductive approach.
Summary
Aims, concepts, contexts and marker sentences are some of the elements that should be considered carefully by

the teacher when planning a lesson. When these are clearly established it is much easier to ensure that the lesson
being presented to the students is clear and appropriate.
Callum Robertson, BBC English