Course Design for Teaching E

nglish
Yueh-chiu Wang
National Penghu University

Language
What is a language? Language is a t
ool we use to communicate with othe
r people. We encode what we want t
o say using language which is made
u p of a range of components.

Teachers need to be aware of their learner

s weak areas and give them practice in re
cognizing and producing these sounds corr
ectly.
The meaning of a word can change with th
e stress, for example, contract (noun, a d
ocument), contract (verb, to get smaller).
Quite often nouns have the first syllable s
tress and verbs have the second syllable.
However, there are no straightforward rule
s for word stress in English.

An important feature of English pron

unciation is the way I which individua
l words often flow into each other wit
hout a clear break. This is particularl
y true when a consonant at the end
of a word meets a vowel at the begin
ning of the next.

Sentence stress can also change the

meaning of a sentence. Often when
we are speaking we want to focus on
one piece of key information.
Intonation helps the listener to know
if the speaker has finished (a fall) or
not (a rise).

A speakers use of stress and intonati

on, and also volume and pitch, can al
so tell us how they feelexcited, ang
ry, positive, tired, etc.

Using language to interact

We interact with different people for differ
ent reasons in different situations in differ
ent situations.
There is a wide range of expressions that
perform certain functions, i.e. the things
we do with language, for example, there a
re general functions such as thanking, aski
ng for information, inviting, suggesting, gr
eeting, agreeing, and so on.

Language users need to make choice

s about the language they choose to
communicate with. This choice is ver
y limited in the early stages of learni
ng a language.
In some languages, the relationship
between the speaker and listener is r
eflected in the grammar.

Language in the classroom

We can divide language activities in t
he classroom into two categoriesint
roducing language and using languag
e that has already been encountered.
As learners progress, they will const
antly meet language for the first tim
e, sometimes inside the classroom, s
ometimes outside.

At this point they need to know what

this language means or refers to. Th
ey also need to know how to form it
how to spell it, pronounce it, its rel
ationship to other words, the word e
ndings, and so on. Finally, they nee
d to be able to use it to communicat
e, either in spoken or written form, a
nd to understand it when it is used b
y other people.

Meaning
There are many ways of helping learners u
nderstand the meaning of a word or phras
e. For example, with a word like job we c
an:
--translate the word from English into the
L1
--give the learners examples of types of jo
bs, for example, by providing pictures of p
eople doing different jobs.

--tell the learners to look up the wor

d either in a monolingual or bilingual
dictionary
--give them example sentences using
job

It is important to check that the learners u

nderstand the meaning of the language th
ey are studying. This can often be done b
y monitoring the learners use of the langu
age in spoken or written activities. Anothe
r way is to use concept questions. For exa
mple, to check the use of the present simp
le to talk about a scheduled event in the fu
ture we need to check that the learners un
derstand whether the sentences refer to th
e past, present, or future and what sort of
events are being referred to:

Another way of helping learners to u

nderstand the meaning of a structure
is to provide a background situation.
The situation can be introduced in a
variety of ways including using pictur
es, a dialogue, a short text, and real
objects.

Summary
It is important for the language teac
her to know as much as possible abo
ut the language that they are teachin
g. The language system is complex
and learners need to be guided throu
gh it. They will often come across la
nguage for the first time which they
will need to incorporate into their ow
n language system.

To help them with this process teach

ers need to choose the most appropri
ate texts and activities and give lear
ners the opportunities they need to i
nput language, use it, and modify th
eir understanding of the language un
til they are able to recall and use it a
utomatically.

Teaching Methods and Ideas

The Grammar-Translation Method
Background: The method itself came
from the way individual learners stud
ied classical languages such as Greek
and Latin. This was done mainly by
studying the grammar in detail and t
ranslating texts from the original into
the learners language.

Features
Sentences and longer texts are transl
ated both to and from the learners fi
rst language. Little or no attention is
paid to the ability to speak or commu
nicate. Grammar rules are given a lo
t of attention, especially word ending
s and sentence formation.

Learners learn about the language, r

ather than how to use the language.
Learners do not get much opportunit
y to develop listening and speaking s
kills.
The attention given to grammatical a
ccuracy and translation may be demo
tivating for some learners.

One advantage of the method does h

ave is that teachers develop an awar
eness of grammar rules.

The Direct Method

Background: The Direct Method was
developed in the early 20th century in
order to overcome the problems con
nected with grammar-translation.
The meaning of words and structures
was communicated directly through
mime and gestures, and practised in
question-and-answer exchanges bet
ween the teacher and learners.

The use of the target language as th

e language of instruction underpins a
lot of teaching today. This centers o
n oral practice of carefully graded str
uctures. The language was practiced
using guided repetition, dictation, dril
ls, and oral-based reading and writin
g tasks.

Audiolingualism
Background: Language was describe
d in terms of the ay it was structured
individual sounds and letters, word
s, structures, and sentence types. L
earners were expected to learn the g
rammar of the new language not by l
earning rules but by producing the la
nguage accurately by responding to s
timuli.

Features
A drill was activity where the teacher
provided prompts and the learners w
ould produce a sentence using the ap
propriate grammatical structure.
Lessons often begin with dialogues.
The emphasis was on the form (or th
e structure) of language rather than
content and meaning.

Correct pronunciation was strongly e

ncouraged from the beginning.
Vocabulary was severely limited in th
e early stages.
The teacher made a great effort to pr
event errors.
Drills were the main way new langua
ge was practised.

Current status
Some language teachers find drills us
eful for practising sentence patterns.
They can be especially valuable in ge
tting elementary learners to build the
confidence in speaking. However, th
e usefulness of drills is regarded as li
mited in that they do not give the lea
rners an opportunity to interact natur
ally with other speakers.

Communicative Language Teachin

g
CLT started in the late 1960s and con
tinues to evolve. It is not actually a
method but an approach to teaching
based on the view that learning a lan
guage means learning how to comm
unicate effectively in the world outsid
e the classroom.

Features
The goal is to learn to communicate i
n the target language.
There is an emphasis on meaning an
d using the language rather than the
structure and form of the language.

Oral and written activities may be us

ed from the start, for example, role p
lays, dialogues, games, and proble
m-solving.
One role for the teacher is that of a f
acilitator who helps learners to com
municate in English and motivates th
em to work with the langauage.

Learners often interact with each oth

er through pair or group work.
The four skills are developed simulta
neously.

Current status
CLT is very widely used in language t
eaching all over the world. It has shi
fted the focus in language teaching fr
om learning about the language to le
arning to communicate in the langua
ge.
The emphasis on pair and group wor
k can create problems in some classe
s.

The approach can lead to too much empha

sis on speaking and listening.
Learners do not necessarily learn what the
y are taught, i.e., the discrete language ite
ms, in the order that they are taught.
One reaction to this has been to change th
e learning focus from the content, i.e. the
structures, functions, and vocabulary, to t
he process, that is to use English to learn
it rather thanto learn to use English.

Task-based Learning
TBL focuses on the process of comm
unicating by setting learners tasks to
complete using the target language.
During this period, the learners acqui
re language as they try to express th
emselves and understand others. Th
e tasks can range from information g
ap to problem-solving tasks.

One advantage of TBL is that learner

s are given the opportunities to use t
he full range of skills and language t
hey have at the same, rather than in
discrete units.

sequence
Pre-tasks: these are activities which prepa
re learners to complete a task, for exampl
e, by guiding learners through an example
of the task they will have to do.
Tasks: these form the main body of the les
son and can involve a number of steps. Fo
r example, learners working in pairs or gro
ups may first complete the task, then prep
are a report on the task, and finally presen
t the report to the class.

Post-tasks: these move away from ac

tivities designed to promote fluency t
o those designed to promote accurac
y.
Learners may also feel that they not
learning or being taught as there is
no formal input or practice stage

summary
Teaching has been influenced by a wide va
riety of methods and trends. New method
s have been introduced as part of the ong
oing search for the best way to teach.
We are now at the point where there is mo
re emphasis on teachers and learners mak
ing their own choices about how to teach a
nd learn. Teachers can use the back-catal
ogue of methods as a starting point to ma
ke decisions about this process.

Chapter 4: Listening
We listen for a purpose, but this purp
ose can be very different depending
on the situation:
-listening for specific details
Listening for general meaning
Listening for the general idea or gist.

Difference
There is also a different listening:
For information
For enjoyment or social reasons
To learn new language

For listeners, listening is how spoken

language becomes input, i.e. it is the
first stage of learning new language.
In the classroom this happens throug
h listening to the teacher, listening to
a CD or tape or watching a video, an
d listening to other learners.

Listening is a receptive skill, i.e. we r

eceive language rather than produce
it. Listening is the process of interpr
eting messageswhat people say. W
e saw in Chapter 3 language involves
putting messages into a form that ot
her people can understand using the
se elements.

--individual sounds
Syllables
Words which may be linked together
with some sounds being dropped or c
hanged.
Phrases
Clauses
Grammatical structures

Sentences
Longer stretches of spoken English.

Intonation, and word and sentence st

ress, also add meaning. Listeners al
so have to deal with speakers repeati
ng themselves, making false stars, p
auses, and noises (ums and ahs. T
he listener has to be able to decode
all of this as quickly as the speaker p
roduces it. This obviously take a hug
e amount of practice.

Listening skills
Learners need to develop the followin
g skills:
Learning to listen in various ways
Adapting the way they listen accordin
g to the test and the reason for listen
ing
Recognizing the features of spoken E
nglish

Using visual and textual clues to help

them
Listen activelyasking for repetition,
clarification, etc.
Developing their background knowle
dge

Learners need to develop the confide

nce to control a conversational by as
king the person speaking to speak m
ore slowly, explain what they have sa
id, repeat something, and son on.

Paralinguistic features (gestures, han

d movements, and facial expression
s) can often be different from one co
untry to another. Learners should le
arn as much as possible about the cu
lture of the country and people they
are going to communicate with.

Listening in the classroom

When we are practising listening in t
he classroom it is helpful to think ab
out how we listen in real life. We sho
uld try to:
Ask learners to do things in class whi
ch they would be likely to do outside
about the context

Give them the opportunity to listen a

ctively
Give them the opportunity to listen i
n different ways
Give learners the opportunity to liste
n to a range of situations, accents, a
nd topics.c

Listening activities can be planned i

n three stages.
Pre-listening: activities which help yo
ur learners prepare for what they will
hear
Listening: activities which are usually
a type of task, for example, filling in
a chart, answering questions, followi
ng a route on a map, making notes,
etc.

Post-listening: activities which are a

chance learners understanding of wh
at they have been listening to, give f
eedback, and consolidate what they
have learnt.

Listening stage
While pre-listening activities are abo
ut preparing for the questions or a ta
sk, listening activities are about the l
earners finding the answer or doing t
he task.

Post-listening stage: The first thing y

ou need to do after the learners have
carried out the listening activity is to
check the answer. Learners can com
pare their answers with each other fi
rst. You can then check the answers
with the whole clas.

Checking answers can help you analy

ze the particular difficulties that the l
earners have had with the listening a
ctivity. You might need to give some
feedback if can see that learners are
having problems with a particular so
und, structure, or vocabulary item.

There are various types of activities:

Answering questionscomprehensio
n, multiple choices, tur or false
Completing something a form, grid,
chart, picture, etc. using information
that learners hear

Following directions on a map

Matching what is being said with a se
t of pictures
Doing something in response to what
learners hear, for example, draw som
ething, move in a certain way (stand
up, sit down)

Some listening activities require lear

ners to listen to a text and answer q
uestions, while other activities requir
e more interaction, i.e. learners liste
n then respond or react
listenrespond/reactlisten

Speaking
The speaking process:
We speak in many different types of
situation. For example:
--talking to someone face to face
--talking to someone on the phone
a learner answering a question in cla
ss

--taking part in a meeting

--an exchange between a customer a
nd an assistant in a shop
Asking a stranger for directions
Chatting to friends

We speak for many reasonsto be s

ociable, because we want something,
because we want other people to do
something, to do something for som
eone else, to respond to someone els
e, to express our feelings or opinion
about something, to exchange inform
ation, to refer to an action or event i
n the past, present, or future.

Speaking is a productive skill. It inv

olves putting a message together, co
mmunicating the message, and inter
acting with other people.

Interaction
Spoken interaction involves two or m
ore people talking to each other, for
example, one person makes a reques
t and the other person responds. We
call this an exchange.

Spoken and written language: som

e differences
In written English people usually writ
e complete sentences. Written Engli
sh is organized into paragraphs, pag
es, chapters, and complete texts, for
example, a book or an article in a ma
gazine. Spoken English comes in the
forms of turnsone persons part in
an exchange between two or more p
eople.

Another difference is the way in whic

h written language can be planned w
hereas spoken language is often unpl
anned, unless youre giving a prepar
ed speech or presentation.

When you speak you give clues through th

e use of stress, pauses, intonation, or gest
ures.
Spoken English is messywhen people sp
eak they often repeat themselves, speak i
n incomplete sentences, hesitate and paus
e between words, and use fillersshort so
unds or words that give us more time to t
hink and put a message together.

You speak differently depending on w

hom you are speaking to and why.
Speaking skills: Learners need to de
velop the following skills:
Producing connected speech
The ability to interact
Talking round gaps in their knowledg
e

Speaking in a range of contexts

Balancing accuracy and fluency.

Speaking in the classroom

In the classroom we need to get our
learners to practice both production
and interaction. At other times, we
want our learners to concentrate mor
e on interaction and on becoming mo
re fluent.

Pair work and group work: It is a good

idea to put learners into groups or pa
irs so that they can get more speakin
g practiceif learners only speak to t
he teacher, their opportunities for pra
ctice are limited.

Types of interactive activities

Information gap activities: We often i
nteract with other people to give or a
sk for information. Classroom activit
ies that stimulate this type of situatio
n are called information gap activitie
s.

Describe and draw

Describe and arrange
Describe and identify
Find the differences

Discussion activities
We also speak to give our opinions or
to hear other peoples opinions. Disc
ussion activities give learners the cha
nce to speak more freely and expres
s themselves. It is helpful to structur
e a discussion activity by giving learn
ers enough information about what t
hey will be talking about, and giving
them enough time to think about wh
at they want to say.

Role plays
These can be like mini-dramas. Each
learner is given a character and a car
d with some information on it which
can include information about their r
ole and the situation.

Games
Games are often useful to liven up a
lesson. Some examples of games gi
ving speaking practice include:
The teacher choose something from t
he classroom, for example, the black
board, and says to the learners.
The learners have to guess what it i
s. Learners can also play this game i
n groups.

Informal interaction
The teacher and class can interact inf
ormally, asking each other what they
are going to do at the weekend, talki
ng about recent new stories, telling j
okes or personal stories.

Feedback and correction

Learners need encouragement and th
ey need to know when they are maki
ng mistakes that might cause other p
eople not to understand or misunder
stand them. Teachers should also us
e the opportunity to praise learners f
or getting something right, doing so
mething well, trying hard, and showi
ng a positive attitude towards learnin
g.

Speaking is a complex process which

involves constructing a message in a
form that other people can understan
d, and delivering the message using
the correct pronunciation, stress, an
d intonation.

Speaking also involves interactionc

ommunicating with other people. To
do this, learners need to be able to r
espond to what other people say, an
d use the language appropriate time
they need to be accurate and fluent
enough for the other person to under
stand and to fit into the flow of conve
rsation.

Reading
There are two basic types of texts-au
thentic and non-authentic. Examples
of authentic texts are newspaper arti
cles, website pages, emails, packagin
g and labels, and so on. Non-authen
tic texts are written especially for lea
rners using imaginary contexts and s
implified vocabulary and sentence co
nstruction.

Texts vary in length from street sign

s, text messages, emails, newspaper
articles, short stories, to novels. The
way we read will depend partly on ho
w long the text is.

Reading skills
Learners need to develop the followin
g skill:
Learning to read in various ways, for
example, skimming and scanning
Adapting the way they read accordin
g to the text and their reason for rea
ding

Reading actively-using a dictionary, guess

ing or asking about unknown words
Understanding the relationship between se
ntences
Helping understanding by using textual an
d visual clues ,i.e. headings, the way the t
ext is organized into paragraphs, punctuati
on, signal words, pictures, typography, an
d so on.

Using contextual clues-where the lea

rners are, what they and other peopl
e are doing at the time
Inferring meaning
Guessing meaning
Background knowledge of the culture
about which they are reading.

When we read the eye usually moves from

top to bottom and left to right across the p
age or screen. Our brain holds short secti
ons of the text long enough in its working
memory to decode it and relate it to the pr
evious part and anticipate the next part of
the text. The reader also uses their know
ledge of the world and the language in thei
r long-term memory to help them underst
and the text.

Skimming and scanning

The ability to read something quickly
and efficiently is an important skill fo
r learners to acquire.

Reding for gist/skimming:

When we read for gist or skim a text
we do not try to understand everythi
ng in itwe read through it fairly qui
ckly to get a general idea of what it i
s about.

Scanning: This is the kind of reading

we do when you want to find out abo
ut something specific, for example, g
et a particular piece of information fr
om a text. We also scan when we are
looking something up in a telephone
dictionary, or in an index to find refer
ences to specific topics.

Reading for detail

Skimming and scanning are done fair
ly rapidly, but if we want to follow a t
ext in detail we read more slowly. If
we are reading a book in order to get
information for our studies, we will al
so tend to read more carefully and m
ay make notes as we read.

Reading for pleasure

If we are reading a novel, a magazin
e, or a letter from a friend we are re
ading for enjoyment or to relax. We
will often read some parts of the text
carefully and others quickly dependin
g on personal interest.

Reading for general meaning

We often read at a steady pace, occa
sionally skipping parts, rereading so
me parts, taking note of some detail
s, and ignoring others.

Inferring meaning
Sometimes part of meaning of a text
is not explicitly statedwe have to in
fer it by using reading and the text t
o make our own conclusions.

Reading in the classroom

Reading activities aim to:
Introduce and develop reading skills which
are useful outside the classroom.
-introduce or practice language.
Learners should read as widely and as ind
ependently in English as they can. Extensi
ve reading of materials such as readers is
an excellent way of developing reading skil
ls and increasing vocabulary.

Learners should be encouraged to ch

oose what they read and give help fi
nding reading materials.

Planning a lesson
First of all you must decide what the
aim of the lesson is. To do this you n
eed to consider your learners needs
which skills do they need to develo
p? How can you help them develop t
heir skills?
Choosing the right text for your class
is one of the most important decision
you have to make.

Consider the topic: what they are int

erested in, what do they know about
the topic? Will you need to give some
background information first?
Level: what levels are your class? Ho
w much of the vocabulary in the text
do they know?

Length: How long is the text? How lo

ng will it take to read? Reading takes
time and is seen by some learners as
a waste of classroom time.
Our alternative is to tell the learners
to read a text before coming to class.

Pre-reading activities
Set a task for the learners
Help the learners prepare for the tas
k
Motivate the learners to read.

Answering questions
Teachers use questions to check whe
ther the learners have understood a t
ext. The questions should reflect the
type of reading skill being practiced:
Gist questions
Detailed comprehension questions

Scanning questions
Questions can also focus on the language.
Pre-reading activities should help the learn
ers achieve the aims of the activity.
Stimulate what they already know about t
he topic.
Help them with words and phrases they wi
ll need to know.

Reading activities
Here are three types of reading activi
ties:
Teacher-learner interaction activities
Learner-learner interaction activities
Text-only activities: the learners read
the text all the way through answerin
g questions or doing the activities se
t.

Teacher-learner interaction activites

You can stop learners during their re
ading to ask them questions. These
questions can be written after certain
paragraphs in the text if you are mak
ing a worksheet.

Learner-learner interaction activitie

s
Jigsaw reading: Each learner has one
half of a text. They have to ask ques
tions to find out what is in the other l
earners text.
Problem-solving:
Reading race

Post reading activities

You can use some of the words in the
text as a springboard for language fo
cus/vocabulary activities after the re
ading text has been used for reading
comprehension and reading skills de
velopment.

Creating a reading environment

Try to collect real examples of Englis
h words in print.
Advertisements that have English wo
rds in them can be a useful source fo
r younger learners you can find exam
ples of advertisements for childrens
toys or other childrens products.

Using real examples is important bec

ause these short texts will convey a
message. They will help learners to
understand that reading involves und
erstanding a message.

In order to motive learners to read it

is important to create a positive read
ing environment. This is particularly
true for younger learners but some o
f the following ideas also apply to old
er learners.

Reading for younger learners

An excellent way to motivate younge
r learners to read is to read to them.
Not only do stories expose them to t
he patterns of English but they can al
so create a positive attitude to books
and the printed word.

Interactive reading for younger lear

ners
Teachers of English to younger learne
rs are primarily concerned with getti
ng children listening and speaking.

Writing
When we are writing we have to do s
omething similar except that we do it
with letters rather than sounds. We
put these together to forms words, p
hrases, clauses, and sentences, and
put sentences together to make a co
herent text.

We write for many reasonsto pass

on information and opinions, to ask q
uestions, request or offer something,
to entertain, to keep a record, to org
anize our thoughts, as part of the ass
essment process.

When we write we should think abou

t the readers. Who are they? What i
s our relationship with them? Why ar
e they going to read what we write?
We then need to adjust the content a
nd style accordingly by using formal
or informal language and the appropr
iate layout and conventions.

We can break down the writing process int

o three stages: preparation: think about t
he reader; consider why we are writing; th
ink about the content; decide the appropri
ate layout and style.
Draft: put our ideas together in a draft for
m. This is probably all we need for things
like shopping lists and memos.

Editing and rewriting: We will probabl

y need to rewrite several times so th
at the text is coherent, clear, and has
few or no mistakes.
Please refer to p. 86, Figure 7.

Writing is also part of the language le

arning process. We write:
To practice the language
To reinforce the language we have le
arnt
To help memorization
As a way of recoding language
As a part of being assessed.

Writing skills
Learners need to develop the followin
g skills:
Handwriting: forming letters, connect
ed script, upper and lower case, start
ing from top left and writing across t
he page
Spelling
Use of punctuation

Forming sentences; word order, endi

ngs, relationships.
Writing longer texts: coherence and
cohesion
Using the appropriate layout
Using the appropriate level of formali
ty
Study skills: making notes, keeping r
ecords, etc.

Handwriting
Learners may need to work on their hand
writing skills if:
Their L1 is not based on the Roman script,
for example, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, A
rabic
They are not used to writing with a pen, fo
r example, they are more used to using a
keyboard
They havent had the opportunity to devel
op their writing skills in their L1
They are young learners.

Spelling
Spelling causes problems for lots of l
earners because there is no one-to-o
ne relationship between sounds and
spelling in Engllish.

Punctuation
Learners need to know the basic elements
of punctuation:
Capital letters: for the beginning of a sent
ence, place names, and so on.
Full stops: for the end of a sentence
Commas: to mark the ends of phrases and
clauses
Question marks: to signal a question
Apostrophe: to show an abbreviation or po
ssessive.

Forming sentences
English sentence formation is compli
cated and there are many possible p
atterns.

Using appropriate layout

The layouts of a letter, email, memo
are very different. Learners need to
be aware of the various elements tha
t make up these types of texts.

Using the appropriate level of forma

lity
Levels of formality depend on people
s relationship to each other-whether
they are friends or dont know each o
ther, whether someone is senior or ju
nior, and so on.

Study skills
Learners need to develop the skills of note
taking and record keeping. Note taking is
an essential skill in the classroom particula
rly if learners are going to be studying aca
demically at some stage. During a lesson
the teacher should always give learners ti
me to make notes, make sure that whatev
er they themselves write on the board is cl
ear and relevant, and monitor learners no
te taking and give advice if necessary.

Learners should also be encouraged t

o keep a record of new language. Th
is could be a new word, phrase, or gr
ammatical item.

Writing in the classroom

Writing activities in the classroom ar
e used: to develop writing skills and
as part of the process of language le
arning.

Writing steps
In order to prepare for a writing activity th
e learners can:
Think about the audience or reader
Brainstormfor example, if learners are pr
eparing to write about globalization, they s
hould note the arguments for and against.
If they are going to write a description, th
ey can brainstorm some relevant vocabula
ry.

Practice specific writing skills, for exa

mple, using punctuation, using linkin
g words, and so on.
Practice specific writing skills
Practice particular language forms
Decide on the content-what to includ
e and not include

Look at a model textfor example, t

he puntuation, use of paragraphs, co
hesive devices, layout, etc.

Writing stage
Learners write a draft, and rewrite u
ntil they complete the final version.
They should refer back to decisions
made in prewriting stage regarding a
udience, content, aims, and outline.
They should also check for use of an
y language they practiced and make
sure that their text is both cohesive
and coherent.

The learners can work in groups and

give advice and feedback to each oth
er. As the learners go through this p
rocess the teacher should monitor an
d also give advice and feedback. At t
he same time teachers should let the
learners work as independently as po
ssible.

Post-writing stage
The learners can share or display the
ir finished work and give overall com
ments on how successful their work
has been. The teacher can do follo
w-up work on any area of the langua
ge that still needs work.

Planning
Before we teach a lesson, we need to
decide:
What the goals or aims of the lesson
are
What resources to use: a coursebook
or textbook, handouts or worksheet
s, posters, recorded material, etc.

Whether to adapt the coursebook, if we ar

e using one-to supplement, leave out, or r
eplace activities, and materials to make th
em ore appropriate for our learners and ou
r teaching methods
Which types of activities the learners will d
o
How the learners will interact with you and
each other

--the sequence of activities

the timing and pacing
How best to use the classroom

Aims
The aim of a lesson will depend on a
number of factors:
The learners level: are they element
ary, lower intermediate, etc.?
The class profile: are the learners ge
nerally homogeneous or are they a
mixed ability class?

Their needs: what new language do t

hey need? What language do they ne
ed to practise? Needs can be describ
ed in terms of individual needs (what
learners need in terms of their own p
ersonal development), and institution
al needs (what they need to cover in
terms of a school or national curricul
um and to pass exams, etc.)

What type of learners are they, for e

xample, visual, kinaesthetic, auditor
y, and so on)?
Their interests: what sort of topics in
terest them?
Their motivation: what sort of activiti
es, topics, or materials motivate the
m?

The number of learners: Is it a big or smal

l class? How will this affect the types of act
ivities and preparation of materials?
Attendance: Do the learners attend regula
rly?
Assumed knowledge: what have the learn
ers already studied? How well can they rec
all and use language they have studied?

Anticipated problems: for example, a

re the learners abilities mixed? Are t
here any discipline problems?

Coursebooks
There are various ways in which you
might need to change things in a cou
rsebook. It is helpful to let your lear
ners know if you are going to omit th
ings or change the order of activities
or chapters and explain why you are
doing so.

Activities
These can be divided into activities t
hat require the learners to read, writ
e, speak or listen or a combination of
some or all of these.
Skills are often combined in an activi
ty. For example, the learners read a
text, answer questions about it, disc
uss it, then write their own text.

Interaction
The teacher and learners can interact
with each other in a wide variety of
ways. Here are some examples of in
teraction patterns:
Teacher to whole class
Teacher to individual learner in open
class
Teacher to individual learner

Pair work, i.e. two learners working t

ogether
Group work, for example, the class d
ivided into halves or small groups of
three or four
Melee: learners move around the cla
ss and interact at random.

Teachers position
Stay at the front of the classroom in
front of the board
Walk around the class at random
If the class in a semi-circle, walk rou
nd from left to right or right to left
Stand at the back of the class

Types of questions
You need to plan the kind of question
s you are going to ask and who your
e going to ask.
Open questions vs. closed questions
Teachers should think about the type
of questions and the way they ask th
em as they affect the learning proces
s in important ways.

Sequence of activities
Lessons with a particular aim are ma
de up of a sequence of activities whic
h relate to each other.

Timing and pacing

This is determined by how long each
lesson is and how much time you ha
ve over a term or course. Decide ho
w long each activity will take. A less
on needs to have lots of variety and t
he pace should be relatively quick for
young learnerseach activity should
be relatively short.

Classroom
The size and shape of the classroom
will also affect your lesson plan. Can
the learners move around? Is there s
pace for the learners to do physical a
ctivities, get into groups, walk aroun
d, etc.? How is the furniture arrange
d? Can it be moved? Some ways of a
rranging desks in a classroom are sh
own below. Please refer to p. 108.

A lesson in three stages

Opening: In the first part of a lesson
the teacher should explain to the lear
ners: what the aims of the lesson ar
e, how the lesson links to previous o
ne(s), what activities they are going
to do.

Before you start work on a new area

it is a good idea to review work that
was covered in a previous lesson.
You can use a warm-up activity to ge
t the learners attention and interest.
This can be something that is unrelat
ed to the main part of the lesson.

Middle
This is where you focus on the main
aim of the lesson.
For the four skills the main part of a l
esson usually focuses on an activity
or series of activities that practice on
e of the skills or sub-skills.

End
The final part of a lesson aims to brin
g it to a close or conclusion. There a
re a number of things you can do in t
his stage:
recap the main points of the lesson
Relate the lesson to the goals or aim
s you stated at the beginning

Go over any homework instructions o

r preparation learners must do for th
e next lesson.
Praise learners for what they have ac
hieved in the lesson.
Get learners for what they have achi
eved in the lesson.
Get learners to evaluate the lesson.

Evaluating a lesson
After you have taught a lesson, it is
a good idea to evaluate it. Here are
some questions you can use. Please r
efer to p. 112.

Planning a course
In planning a whole course we detail
all the things a learner should learn i
n that period of time. This list is ofte
n decided by the institution, depends
upon which coursebook is being use
d, or is determined by the examinati
on the learners are preparing for.

It is a good idea to carry out a needs

analysis before writing a course outli
ne if possible.
Once we have found out what the lea
rners needs are, we can consider wh
at language to include in the syllabus
and in what order it should come.

Course projects for children

Children in particular like to have so
mething concrete they can work tow
ards for the end of a course. Please r
efer to p. 118.

Assessment and Evaluation

Ways of assessing learners: Assessm
ent is the process of analyzing and m
easuring knowledge and ability, in thi
s case, the learners knowledge of th
e language and ability to communica
te. Assessment can be done either f
ormally or informally.

Diagnostic tests
Diagnostic tests are designed to prov
ide information about individual learn
ers strengths and weaknesses in spe
cific areas of the language system, fo
r example, a test could tell us about
which phonemes a learner is or isnt
able to produce accurately in connect
ed speech.

Placement tests
Diagnostic tests are given to learners
at the beginning of a new course. Th
e aim is to determine the range of la
nguage learners know and can use s
o that teachers can place them in the
most suitable classes or groups.

Progress tests
Progress tests are given to learners d
uring a course to see how far their la
nguage ability has developed, for exa
mple, what vocabulary they can use
that they couldnt at the beginning of
a course.

Achievement tests
Achievement tests are given to learn
ers at the end of the course and are
based on what they have studied dur
ing the course. They aim to show w
hat learners are able to do at the end
of the course that they couldnt do at
the beginning of the course.

External proficiency exams

External proficiency exams may be p
roduced by the Ministry of Education
in a particular country, or by an orga
nization which sets language exams i
nternationally.

The effects of using tests

Testing and evaluation can have a sig
nificant influence on how a teacher w
orks with their learners, and also infl
uences how learners learn. Some o
f the good and bad effects of testing
can include: p. 123

Preparing tests for your learners

The following guidelines should help t
o make progress and achievement te
sts a positive experience for your lea
rners.
Test what you have taught.
Test what is useful.
Test all four skills.
Tell your learners when and what.

Make sure the instructions are clear.

See p. 124.
Make use of materials that are alread
y available.

Types of tests
The following types of test involve a
number of different aspects of langu
age use. Testing experts agree that
they are all good ways of testing lear
ners language knowledge. They are
all simple to prepare and it is easy to
base them on work your learners hav
e been doing.

It is important that you are familiar with t

hem in order to prepare your learners for
exams which might contain them.
Dictation: Dictation is very good way of te
sting listening and writing skills. You can e
asily make a short dictation by using part
of a text that your learners have already r
ead and listened to.

Gap filling tests

A gap-filling test is a text in which in
dividual words are missing. Learners
have to fill in the missing words.
You can make these tests from readi
ng or listening texts in materials you
use with your learners.

C-tests
In a C-test the second half of every
word is missing. Learners have to co
mplete the words.
C-tests often involve several short te
xts so that a wider variety of languag
e is tested. They typically require le
arners to complete 40-50 words. No
tice that both gap-fill tests and C-tes
ts give learners a complete

first sentence so that they know wha

t the test is about.
Multiple-Choice Questions: Multiple-c
hoice questions are a common type o
f test and can be used to test both in
dividual language items, such as voc
abulary or grammar, or listening or r
eading comprehension.

A multiple-choice question usually gi

ves the learner a choice of one corre
ct answer and two or three incorrect
ones.

Word order
Putting the words into a random orde
r makes the learners think about sen
tence construction and the relationsh
ip between words, phrases, and claus
es. Obviously, the longer and more c
omplex the sentence the more difficu
lt the test.

Sentence completion
Many tests require learners to compl
ete sentence with an appropriate wor
d or phrase. Learners can be given a
choice of answers or a prompt.

Sentence transformation
This is the name given to tests where
the learner