Language Teaching Pedagogy

The importance of lesson planning cannot be overstated. The process of lesson planning allows educators to think through the content and form of their lesson to ensure its coherence, pertinence, and efficacy. As many educators know, a robust lesson plan - while initially time-consuming - offers a solid framework that be reused and adapted well after its initial use. Lesson planning involves balancing a number of considerations that include lesson-level educational goals, program-level learning outcomes, modalities of instruction, types of assessment, checking for learning along the way, sequencing and scaffolding, etc. The sub-pages of this topic will address some of the most important aspects of lesson planning for language teachers, notably educational goals and frameworks for understanding input, interaction, and output. There are also more general resources linked on the right-hand side of this page for conceptualizing effective lesson planning.

Judith Shrum and Eileen Glisan's Model for Designing a Lesson Plan:

1. Planning Phase
   • CONTENT
     1. Context/Theme:
     2. Objectives/educational goals: Learners will be able to...
     3. Standards addressed:
   • LEARNERS: What do I need to know about the learners in order to plan instruction? What background knowledge do they need? What experiences, if any, have they had with this content? What special needs of my students need to be addressed in instruction?
2. Teaching Phase
   • ACTIVITIES: (includes materials) What are the teacher and learners doing? Possible sequence:
     1. Setting the Stage
     2. Providing Input / Engaging Learners
     3. Guided Participation
     4. Extension
     5. Closure
3. Reflection Phase
   • ADAPTATIONS TO LESSON: What changes did I have to make as I taught the lesson? Explain.
   • SELF-REFLECTION ON LESSON EFFECTIVENESS: Did I achieve my lesson objectives? How do I know? What worked especially well and why? What would I change if I were to teach this lesson again?

Shrum, Judith L, and Eileen W Glisan. Teacher’s Handbook : Contextualized Language Instruction / Judith L. Shrum, Eileen W. Glisan. 2nd ed. Boston, Mass: Heinle & Heinle, 2000. pp. 64-5.

"This format illustrates the process the teacher follows during the planning phase, teaching phrase, and reflective phase. Under the "Activities" section, possible segments of the lesson are listed. This approach is adapted from the one suggest by Ballman (1998, 1996). The purpose of the "Setting the Stage" phase is to capture students' attention on the lesson context, to activate students' background knowledge, and to prepare students for the learning process. [...] The "Providing Input / Engaging Learners" phase consists of presenting oral language in context, using visual support in the form of drawings, photos, and other visual and/or written language, and incorporating comprehension check techniques to ensure comprehension. It also provides opportunities for learners actively involved in attending to the input and interacting with the teacher. "Guided Participation is used here within a Vygotskian framework to refer to the scaffolded assistance offered to the learner (novice) by the teacher and / or peers (experts) in helping the learner to solve a problem or perform a task. The "Extension" phase denotes the opportunities for pairs/groups of students to participate in culminating activities that integrate multiple skills and standards. During the "Closure" stage, the teacher brings the lesson to a close by asking students to recall what they learned and/or by describing how the current lesson will be used as the basis for the next lesson."

Shrum, Judith L, and Eileen W Glisan. Teacher’s Handbook : Contextualized Language Instruction / Judith L. Shrum, Eileen W. Glisan. 2nd ed. Boston, Mass: Heinle & Heinle, 2000. pp. 63-4.