Psychological English lesson planning

By Adam Borowski

What's my level of English? Every English teacher has heard this many times. Your students want to know their English level. Their parents want to know. Be careful how you answer this seemingly harmless question. You don't want to sugarcoat things, but you also want to avoid caustic comments. Teachers who just complain will eventually lose their jobs.

A “tiger mother” is standing in front of you. What do you tell her? You know the consequences for your student can be severe if you don't choose your words carefully. Teachers must know how to balance praise and criticism. It's a useful life skill to have.

When you're told your new students are advanced, it doesn't necessarily have to reflect reality. You're likely going to end up with a mixed-ability class. Advanced students can help their less advanced friends. Teachers often forget advanced students are an asset. What if a teacher feels threatened by a smart student?

Perhaps the student is actually a better English speaker? How can a lesson be productive if the teacher loses authority? Teachers who have a vast knowledge won't be intimidated by off-the-cuff questions. Yes, your students are going to test you.

If you aren't confident in your abilities, your students are going to pick up on it faster than you can write your name on the board. False confidence is better than no confidence. Don't exaggerate, because you risk turning into a caricature ― and that's the worst case scenario. Particularly in Confucian cultures.

Here's a lesson plan structure to help you break the mental barrier.

How long is your lesson? Time first. Followed by age range. Followed by the advancement level. Remember your idea of elementary, intermediate, and advanced isn't universal. Be specific.

Objectives ― Specify what you want your students to learn by the end of the lesson. For example ― by the end of the lesson students will have a more extensive vocabulary relating to weather phenomena.

Materials ― Describe what kind of materials you're going to be using. Make sure the materials are easy to find. You don't want to be frantically searching for a newspaper in your bag.

Anticipated problems ― sensitive topics, e.g. family, politics, what have you - ought to be avoided. Watch your favorite YouTube teaching video carefully ― you don't want surprises in the middle of a demo lesson with tiger mothers watching your every move. What if you don't know the names of your new students? Use name cards. You want big names, big letters ― not scribbling. Make sure your students know that.

Solution to the anticipated problems ― it's good to have a lesson contingency plan.

Activity ― let's start with a warm-up.

Aim ― what's the aim of the activity?

Procedure ― describe the activity in detail.

Timing ― let's say the warm-up exercise takes five minutes.

Followed by ― the next activity, aim, procedure, timing. Repeat for each activity.

Homework ― Write it on the board. Make sure your students see it.

Post-lesson reflections ― What needs improving? What went smoothly?

Draw on your personal experience when you teach. We're all an amalgamation of experiences. We aren't just teachers.

Adam Borowski (adam.borowski1985@gmail.com) is a technical Polish-English translator, and a business English teacher.