How do we plan an individual lesson or a sequence of lessons?

When we plan an individual lesson, we think about its aims, how to achieve them, the ‘shape’ of the lesson and the kind of techniques that are most appropriate for a particular group of learners. For example, if we are introducing a new grammatical structure, we might choose a Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP) approach or a Task-based Learning (TBL) approach. Skills lessons, too, have regular shapes that we can use to organise lesson plans: for example, for receptive skills, we usually plan tasks or activities for learners to do before, while and after reading or listening; for productive skills, there is usually an introductory stage to set the scene (i.e. to explain the context), and maybe input new language, and a feedback stage after the speaking or writing activity.

We also think about the connections between the aims of the lesson and the procedures we use to achieve those aims, as well as answers to the other background components mentioned in Unit 20. The available materials, the length of the lesson and the information we have about our learners all help us to identify possible procedures. But the most important thing is to make sure that the materials, tasks and activities we select are the ones that will help a particular group of learners to achieve the aim we have identified.