Teacher Discussion Forums

Hi. I am currently taking some classes in order to become certified to become an ESL teacher. I have never taught anything before, so everything that I am learning about teaching is new to me. I never realized how many decisions ESL teachers need to make on a daily basis. It seems like a teacher can have his/her entire lesson planned out almost perfectly, but if the students don't understand, he/she needs to make quick decisions to change his/her technique. How does one prepare a lesson plan if he/she does not know how the students will react? How do you make decisions quickly when you realize that your technique is not working on the students?

I think the important thing is to always have back-up lesson plans. As you learn more about your students, you'll be able to create lessons that are more likely to work.

Even though I've been teaching for over 15 years, new classes can still throw me for a loop. For the first few classes, I'll go in with twice as much material as I think I'll need -- and I make sure to cover a range of interests and abilities.

The lesson plan should concentrate on what you think the students should learn that day; your back-up should use different methods of teaching the same thing. You could also have back-up topics in case, say, they just can't wrap their minds around modals that day and would prefer to write dialogue.

The education field requires teachers to have some flexibility in their planning as some lessons can be a flop. Teachers must be well planned and have a "plan b" in case a lesson does not go as planned. However, once you get to know your students, you will begin to understand exactly what they need and what their levels are so that you can build lessons that are appropriate and effective for all of your students. If a lesson does not go as planned you will know how to tweak it and make it so they understand. In addition, SIOP is a great workshop to look into where you will learn effective strategies to engage all learners.

Thank you for your comments. I will be sure to create back-up lesson plans in case my techniques are not effecient. I would also like to check out that SIOP workshop. I'm unfamiliar with teacher workshops. Is it something they offer once you become a teacher or is it something that I should look into myself? Also, while we are under the subject on lesson planning, I have another question. Is it best to fit many different subjects into one lesson plan to keep it interesting? My main goal is to teach them English, but I can incorporate Science, Math, etc. into my lesson plans as well because they will still be learning English. Maybe I just shouldn't go overboard with too many subjects, right?

I totally agree that it is important to have additional materials to be prepared for changes. There can be many unexpected challenges that will demand the teacher to change the plan for the day. Sometimes an insect in the room or snow outside are enough to distract the entire class for the lesson. I personally like my plans to be flexible. Since there is also the possibility that students actually participate so well in an activity that I want to give them more time for it. Here is a link for SIOP material: http://www.siopinstitute.net/research.html

I think they can learn English easier through contents, e.g. science. You are still teaching them English and in addition the students for instance learn the frog development. I had very good experiences teaching content integrated language classes and my students appreciated the enriching topics.

When I plan a lesson I usually focus on one or two subjects depending on the lesson. If you have too many subjects in a lesson, the vocabulary could be overwhelming. Plus you don't want to have to stop part of your lesson to switch to another subject matter if the students are just starting to use authentic language or show interest or understanding. When planning a unit you will want to incorporate different subject areas because a unit is many lessons over a couple of weeks. However, a lesson is usually 45-60 minutes, depending on your school's schedule. Hope this is helpful!