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ESL Lesson Plans: Spice 'em up!
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A few of my 3rd grade students. Wendy Rose Gould I www.wendygould.com
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When I first began as an ESL / EFL teacher (English as a second/foreign language), I pretty much stuck to the text book. I also treated my teaching as more of a performance than an opportunity to create a wholesome learning environment. Based on conversations with fellow ESL teachers, I learned that I was not alone in this "newbie" methodology. And really, there is no shame in being rough around the edges when you begin your ESL career.
After all, we're nervous, we're in a totally new cultural environment and we don't have an understanding (yet) of our students' English ability. Despite these obstacles, it's possible to spice up your ESL lesson plan, even if you want to stick to the text book. Please advise!
1.) Worksheets are wonderful (and can be fun)!
The textbook usually provides a few good worksheet-type activities. Unfortunately, these tend to be short and the students are bored by them. You can find plenty of websites online, such as this one and this one, that provide worksheets for various subjects.
Or, you can make your own. For example, an easy worksheet that you can make includes “filling in the blanks.” Whenever the students will watch or listen to a dialogue, make a worksheet that has the dialogue typed out. Take a few words out and replace them with blanks ( ________ ). The students must pay close attention to what is being said in order to fill out the worksheet. Worksheets serve as a supplement to your lesson and ehance learning when done well.
2.) Play Games
You have to make English fun in order to motivate your students, especially if your students aren't tested on the material or have a lower level of English skills. After all, school doesn’t have to be about sitting in a desk and having information thrown at you. Everyone knows that! The great thing about games is that you can always incorporate your lesson into the game itself. The best kind of game is one that allows your students to speak English with each other. When you (the teacher) aren’t talking, that means the students are. Isn’t that the goal of teaching English anyway?
**For ideas on games, check out the "Related Articles" portion of this article.
3.) Use visuals
I cannot stress this enough! Humans in general are often very visual creatures. Younger children almost always need to visualize something in order to understand it, especially when learning a foreign language. Employ power points (the more pictures, the better), short skits and movie, flash cards, etc. YouTube is an excellent source for material, as well. You can often find plenty of ESL stuff by typing “ESL” on the You-tube search engine.
4.) Teach popular songs
This is one of my favorites. Have you ever noticed that it’s easy to remember song lyrics? Look for some great and ESL-friendly songs that your students can learn. Try to find a song with vocabulary from your current lesson. Having the key sentence in the song is ideal, but if you can't find one that utilizes the key sentence, aim for something similar. I often spend 15 minutes on one song and hand out a worksheet with the lyrics and a few blanks (see #1). Some great songs I’ve used from YouTube are: Lemon Tree, The Lion Sleeps Tonight and Summer Holiday.
5.) Get physical
That’s right! There are plenty of ways you can get your students up and moving. TPR, or “Total Physical Response,” is one of the most effective ways to teach ESL. I like to do TPR as a warm up for each class. For example, “Put your hands on your head. Clap 2 times. Pick up your book. Point to the computer.” The students must listen carefully and actual do what they hear. Another way to ‘get physical,’ is by role-playing. It’s one thing to listen and repeat a dialogue, but if you have your students speak the dialogue together in front of the class you will likely have a better response. Also try charades or miming which is always fun and is an easy way to practice vocabulary words.
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