# Anatomy of a Language Lesson Plan

A plan is a working document for the teacher and evidence of thinking for an observer or trainer. It must show
what learners will achieve, how each stage moves them towards it, and what could go wrong.

## Components

| Section | What it contains | Common fault |
|---------|------------------|--------------|
| Class profile | Level (CEFR), number, ages, L1s, strengths, needs, what they did last lesson | Generic ("motivated learners") |
| Main aim | One outcome learners can be seen achieving by the end | Describes the teacher or a topic |
| Subsidiary aims | Skills or language that support the main aim | Five of them: the lesson has no focus |
| Personal aim | One teaching behaviour the teacher is working on | Missing on training courses |
| Assumptions | What learners already know or can do | Not stated, so the lesson starts too high |
| Target language analysis | Meaning, form, pronunciation, CCQs for each item | Form only |
| Materials | Source, adaptation, copies | Missing references for copyright |
| Stages | Name, stage aim, time, interaction, procedure | Procedure without stage aims |
| Anticipated problems | Meaning, form, pronunciation, task, class management, with solutions | "Ss may not understand" with no solution |
| Board plan | Layout of the board at the end of the lesson | Absent: board becomes a mess |

## Writing aims

Main aims are learner outcomes, specific to this lesson and checkable at the end.

| Weak | Why | Better |
|------|-----|--------|
| To teach the present perfect | Teacher action | By the end, learners will be able to talk about life experiences using present perfect + ever/never |
| Ss will understand phrasal verbs | Not observable; too broad | Learners will be able to use six phrasal verbs for travel problems in a role play at a hotel reception |
| Reading about the environment | A topic, not an aim | Learners will have practised reading for gist and specific information in a news article about plastic waste |
| Speaking | No outcome | Learners will have developed fluency in a discussion about flexible working, using phrases for agreeing and disagreeing |

Language aims use "will be able to + use/produce". Skills aims often use "will have practised/developed + sub-skill +
in the context of" because one lesson rarely changes ability measurably.

Observable verbs: use, produce, ask and answer, describe, compare, identify, find, order, match, summarise,
negotiate, write, give, explain. Avoid: understand, know, learn, be aware of, appreciate.

## Stage aims

Every stage has an aim that says why it exists, from the learners' side:

- Lead-in: "to generate interest in the topic and activate vocabulary about travel"
- Pre-teach vocabulary: "to remove lexical barriers to the gist task"
- Gist task: "to give learners practice in reading for gist"
- Clarification: "to clarify the meaning, form and pronunciation of used to"
- Controlled practice: "to give learners accurate practice of the form"
- Freer practice: "to give learners fluency practice using the TL in a personalised context"
- Feedback / delayed error correction: "to correct key errors from the freer task"

## Interaction patterns

| Code | Meaning |
|------|---------|
| T-Ss | Teacher to whole class |
| Ss-T | Learners report to teacher |
| S-S | Pairs |
| Ss-Ss | Groups or mingle |
| Ind | Individual work |

Vary the pattern every one or two stages. Teacher-fronted time above 40% usually means learners are not
practising enough; on CELTA-style courses teacher talking time (TTT) is a constant feedback point.

## Timing

- Stage times add up to the lesson length, with 2-5 minutes of flexibility for a 60-minute lesson.
- Mark one stage as "flexi" (can be shortened or dropped) and have an extension task for fast finishers.
- New teachers underestimate setup, instructions and feedback; add one to two minutes per task.
- A single stage longer than 20 minutes usually needs splitting or an interaction change.

## Anticipated problems

Write each problem with a concrete solution:

| Area | Problem | Solution |
|------|---------|----------|
| Meaning | Ss confuse *used to* with *be used to* | CCQ: "Does she do it now?"; timeline on the board |
| Form | Ss add *-ed* to irregular verbs (*goed*) | Irregular verb list on the board; drill |
| Pronunciation | Ss pronounce *-ed* as an extra syllable in *walked* | Three-column /t/ /d/ /ɪd/ sorting task |
| Task | Ss finish the reading early | Extension: write two more questions for their partner |
| Class management | Odd number of learners | One group of three; teacher does not pair up |