ELT365 · Day 251 — Anticipated Problems — Learners and Tasks
Idea
Beyond language, plan for procedural problems: unclear task design, grouping that doesn’t work, or a text too long for the time available.
Example
‘The reading text has twelve unfamiliar words — I may need to pre-teach three blocking ones or the gist task will fail.’
Try
Read through your next lesson plan. Identify one task that could go wrong and write a concrete solution beside it.
From my training materials
My CELTA training file includes a lesson plan procedure template that features a dedicated column for “Anticipated Problems and Solutions.” This structure encourages me to think ahead about potential procedural hurdles before they occur in the classroom. For example, the template shows a stage where the lead-in activity involves asking students about music that was playing. The anticipated problem noted is that “perhaps students won’t like the music.” The suggested solution is practical and low-stakes: “That’s OK. Just make a joke of it – I like cheesy pop.”
While this specific example deals with student engagement, the format itself is a powerful tool for planning any skills or systems lesson. It forces me to look beyond language accuracy and consider if the task design might fail due to procedural issues. By writing down concrete problems and their immediate, manageable solutions, I can approach the lesson with more confidence. This method ensures that if a task does not go as expected, I have a prepared response rather than being left to improvise under pressure.
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