analysis

Lecture 5
Planning a lesson for young learners. Writing lesson plans is one of a teacher’s most important responsibilities. Having a good lesson plan makes the teacher’s job easier and allows students to learn as much as possible while enjoying the material. These are the tips for writing lesson plans:
1. Have a clear objective and write it down
When writing ESL lesson plans it is really important to have a clear objective. This should not be something vague like “students will learn the present simple tense” but rather something very specific, such as “students will be able to talk about their likes and dislikes using the present simple tense and new vocabulary words”. Having a good lesson plan written down allows the teacher to refer to it and make notes and adjustments throughout the class.
2. Plan a warm-up
The warm-up can be as simple as posing a question for conversation, talking about a visual such as a picture, or a quick review of the last class’s material. The warm-up should not take more than 10% of the total lesson time.
3. Make lessons fun, visual and interactive
Students learn more when they are interested and motivated and a main idea behind good lesson plans should be creating lessons that students find fun. Adding visual and interactive elements to your lesson plans is a great way to raise the fun factor, as well as increase the likelihood that your students will remember the content.
4. Always have an educational focus
Sometimes teachers get so caught up in making fun lessons that they forget about their objectives and the need for educational lesson plans. Every lesson a teacher gives should include an educational focus.
5. Try to incorporate the 4 skills
All good lesson plans should touch upon each of the four skills, as well as others such as pronunciation and grammar. Each individual lesson will likely focus on only one or two of these points, but a well rounded lesson will somehow incorporate all 4 of the English skills.
6. Be realistic about time constraints
When writing lesson plans it is easy to plan a lesson that includes reading, writing, listening, and speaking, but teachers need to be aware of their time constraints and the abilities of their students. Teachers should have very realistic expectations about what their students can achieve in the given time.
7. Consider multiple lesson plans
Having different versions of the same lesson plan can be a great way to be prepared for anything. A good idea is to have your ideal lesson plan, a shorter version in case of confusion or an unforeseen time restraint, and a longer version on the chance that you underestimated your students or had more time than expected.
8. Plan extension activities
Every lesson plan should include extension activities for both early finishers and students who would like to practice more at home. Never allow a student to finish and just sit there– they will become bored and often disruptive. Some students also look to continue learning at home with additional activities, exercises, or reading and television recommendations. You should always have a few things included in your lesson plan to recommend for further study.
9. Check often for comprehension
Students are often shy and easily embarrassed when learning a new language. Many students do not ask for help or repetition for fear of ridicule. Teachers must check for comprehension various times throughout a lesson. Comprehension checks should never simply ask if the students have understood, rather they must solicit the targeted information from the students.
10. Leave time to review at the end
Many teachers forget how important it is to leave time at the end of a lesson for a quick review of the new material and an opportunity for any questions. It often seems that students have understood the concepts but a well planned review session at the end of a lesson may show otherwise. Using the feedback and questions from the review, teachers can plan a better follow up lesson.
The basic lesson plan may include:
1. Warm-up-5 minutes
2. Homework check(review)-10 minutes
3. Introduction of the new material-5-10 minutes
4. Practice of the new material-5-20 minutes
5. Assigning homework-2-3 minutes
6. Wrap-up-3-5 minutes In a warm-up the teacher gets children ready for the lesson. Warm-ups are quick, easy and enjoyable. After the warm-up the teacher checks the homework. Next comes the introduction of the new material. It could be vocabulary, dialogs, listening material, grammar. When the new material is introduced, it should be first introduced orally with the books closed. Children need to hear as much comprehensible English in class, as possible, because they hear almost none outside the classroom. Cards, realia, animals, role-play are excellent ways to introduce the new material. After the new material is introduced, children open the books and see the material in another context and listen to the classroom tape. All the children should be involved all the time.
Students may repeat, point to vocabulary items or pictures, repeat, check boxes, circle an item. After the practice is finished, it is a good time to introduce songs or chants. While working logically with language, the children were using the left side of their brains. Right brain activity is a good change. After a song or a chant the teacher gives homework. Children must know before they leave the classroom exactly how to do the homework. The wrap-up is an enjoyable activity that finishes the lesson. It might include consolidation of the new material or revision of the material learnt earlier.
The ideal primary foreign language classroom looks like:
• Children play with language
• Children are grouped
• A wide variety of instructional techniques
• Children cooperate to learn rather than compete with one another
• Topics are appropriate and of interest to children
• A great deal of input is made meaningful through abundant context
• Children are active processors of language, not passive
• Teacher trust and guidance
• Learning is holistic, not separate from the meaning it conveys
• Frequent teacher interaction
• Children’s learning styles are honored

Practical task
Working with children can be challenging. However, some simple classroom management techniques and lesson preparation can alleviate many problems. Make the following suggestions complete, filling in the gaps with the appropriate words from the list below:
Punishment, communicative, movement, proximity, TPR, misbehavior, closer, avoid, activities, first, name, establish.

1. Be prepared for the lesson. Plan lessons well, include a variety of ………..that use all the senses, device shorter periods of time for activities, and plan for both ……….and controlled activities.
2. Arrange desks so that they facilitate………throughout the class and allow for easy student interaction.
3………..many discipline problems by your……….to the students-move closer to those students who are disruptive and move throughout the room while they are working.
4. ………….5-7 rules the first day of class. (e.g.raise your hand when you want to speak. Be kind to others). 5. Teach command phrases the……..week of school (e.g. stand up, sit down, open your books, listen, watch). Use……….to teach these commands.
6. “The stare”. When a child misbehaves, simply say his/her name out loud in a normal voice and stare with a very stern face. Usually, the child will look up when he/she hears his/her name. When he/she sees a stern face, he/she usually starts working again. If the………..continues, say the ………..again and move…….to the student. If it still continues, then some……..is given.