APPLIED LINGUISTICS for BA Students in English
PLANNING
Short-term planning – Lesson plans
Pre-planning
Before teachers start to make a lesson plan they need to consider a number of crucial factors, such as the language level of the target group, their educational and cultural background, their levels of motivation, and their different learning styles. Teachers also need knowledge of the content and organization of the syllabus or curriculum they are working with, and the requirements of the exams the students are working towards. Armed with the knowledge of the students and of the syllabus the teachers can go on to consider the four main planning elements: content, language, skills and activities. As communicative language teaching is content based teachers always have to be aware of the fact that English is only a tool for the students through which they can learn a lot about the world. That is the reason why the content of the lesson: the topic (e.g. animals, healthy way of living, elections, etc.) about which the students will learn something in English must enjoy priority. Lesson planners have to select content which has a good chance of provoking interest and involvement. Content is to some extent dependent on a course book the teachers can still judge when and how to use the course book’s topics or whether to replace them with something else. The teachers can predict knowing their students, which topics will work and which will not.
Teachers have to decide what language to introduce and have the students learn, practice, research or use. One of the dangers of planning is that where language is the main focus it is the first and only planning decision that teachers make. Once the decision has been taken to teach the Present Continuous, for example, it is tempting to slip back into a drill-dominated teaching session which lacks variety. Language is only one area that we need to consider when planning lessons.
While planning the lesson, teachers need to make a decision about which language skills and what thinking skills we wish our students to develop. Teachers must be aware of the fact that communicative language teaching is holistic so while teaching English they are supposed to develop students’ learning skills while using metacognitive, cognitive, and social mediation strategies. In the pre-planning phase teachers have to think over the various ways in which students’ learning strategies, logical ways of thinking and their cooperative techniques can be developed in the lesson.
When planning, it is vital to consider what students will be doing in the classroom, teachers have to consider the different work forms, the types of activities whether they are stirring or settling. The best lessons offer a variety of activities within a class period. Students may find themselves standing up and working with each other for five minutes before returning to their seats and working for a time on their own. It is not only work forms that must be altered, but the different types of skills, such as oral and written, receptive and productive skills. Teachers always have to be aware of the fact that students have no other chances of developing their speaking skills but in the classroom. That is the reason why oral skills should dominate foreign language lessons. Organizing the various activities in the lesson teachers must take the classical phases of a lesson into consideration.
