Planning lesson
Lesson goals are most usefully stated in terms of what students will have done or accomplished at the end of the lesson. Stating goals in this way allows both teacher and learners to know when the goals have been reached.
To set lesson goals:
1. Identify a topic for the lesson. The topic is not a goal, but it will help you develop your goals. The topic may be determined largely by your curriculum and textbook, and may be part of a larger thematic unit such as Travel or Leisure Activities. If you have some flexibility in choice of topic, consider your students’ interests and the availability of authentic materials at the appropriate level.
2. Identify specific linguistic content, such as vocabulary and points of grammar or language use, to be introduced or reviewed. These are usually prescribed by the course textbook or course curriculum. If they are not, select points that are connected in some significant way with the topic of the lesson.
3. Identify specific communication tasks to be completed by students. To be authentic, the tasks should allow, but not require, students to use the vocabulary, grammar, and strategies presented in the lesson. The focus of the tasks should be topical, not grammatical. This means that it may be possible for some students to complete the task without using either the grammar point or the strategy presented in the first part of the lesson.
4. Identify specific learning strategies to be introduced or reviewed in connection with the lesson. See Motivating Learners for more on learning strategies.
5. Create goal statements for the linguistic content, communication tasks, and learning strategies that state what you will do and what students will do during the lesson.
Identify Materials and Activities
The materials for a specific lesson will fall into two categories: those that are required, such as course textbooks and lab materials, and authentic materials that the teacher incorporates into classroom activities.
For required materials, determine what information must be presented in class and decide which exercise(s) to use in class and which for out-of-class work. For teacher-provided materials, use materials that are genuinely related to realistic communication activities. Don’t be tempted to try to create a communication task around something just because it’s a really cool video or a beautiful brochure.
Truly authentic communication tasks have several features:
They involve solving a true problem or discussing a topic of interest
They require using language to accomplish a goal, not using language merely to use language
They allow students to use all of the language skills they have, rather than specific forms or vocabulary, and to self-correct when they realize they need to
The criterion of success is clear: completion of a defined task