Idea Lesson plans should state what learners are expected to already know. This shapes your starting point and helps you avoid teaching what they already have. Example ‘Learners can use the past simple for finished…
Idea Target language is the specific item you are teaching: a structure, a set of lexical chunks, a functional exponent. Analyse it before you plan any stages. Example If you are teaching ‘used to’, write…
Idea A good lesson aim is learner-facing and observable: ‘By the end, learners will be better able to…’ Avoid teacher behaviour (‘I will teach…’) as the aim. Example Weak: ‘To teach the present perfect.’ Strong:…
Idea Every lesson needs one main aim — the primary thing learners will be better able to do by the end. Subsidiary aims are language or skills practised along the way. Example Main aim: learners…
Idea A written plan is a hypothesis; the lesson is the experiment. Experienced teachers deviate from plans when learners need something different — but only because they planned well. Example If a vocabulary task takes…
Idea A lesson plan is a tool for thinking — not a script. It forces you to articulate what you want learners to achieve and how you will get them there. Example The plan you…
Idea Classroom management is a system of small, purposeful decisions: room layout, timing, instructions, monitoring, and feedback — all chosen to maximise learner engagement and language use. Example A teacher who prepares her board plan,…
Idea Lesson energy follows a shape: engage learners early, hold attention through varied tasks, and close before momentum drops. Pace is a design choice. Example If the middle of your lesson is three written exercises…
Idea Shared laughter builds rapport and lowers the affective filter. The target is inclusive humour — based on ideas, not people. Never at a learner’s expense. Example A playful example sentence (‘My cat is applying…
Idea Motivation is not a learner trait you inherit — it is partly shaped by task design, feedback quality, and how visible learner progress is. Example Setting a task with a real-world outcome (a menu…