Lesson Plan

Introduction .............................................
3
Grammar Skills........................................4
Grammar
Beginner..................................................4
Intermediate............................................11
Advanced ................................................18
Productive Skills......................................23
Writing
Beginner..................................................23
Intermediate............................................26
Advanced ................................................33
Speaking
Beginner..................................................38
Intermediate............................................41
Advanced ................................................46
Receptive Skills.......................................51
Reading
Intermediate............................................51
Advanced ................................................56
Additional reading activities ....................58
Listening
Beginner..................................................59
Intermediate............................................64
Advanced ................................................69
Essential reference books
for language teachers .............................74
English language teaching
and learning websites .............................75
Blank lesson plan template.....................78
The "Last-Minute" ESL/EFL
Lesson Plan & Activity Guide
Table of Contents
For more information and help visit www.esl-pro.com
Copyright 2004 ESL Pro Systems Ltd. All rights reserved. 2
The "Last-Minute" ESL Lesson Plan & Activity Guide contains dozens of creative lesson
plans & activities specifically aimed at both new and substitute ESL instructors who may
not have enough time and/or experience to plan a lesson from scratch in a particular
situation.
This guide will also be of interest to more experienced native and non-native speaker
instructors looking for fresh lesson ideas. The lesson plans & activities are clear, concise,
and in most cases require a minimal amount of preparation. The majority of the lessons
& activities are between 40 and 60 minutes in length and cover a variety of skill areas
such as grammar, listening, speaking, writing, and reading. There are lessons & activities
for three levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. The lesson plans are not
designed to be exhaustive, minute-by-minute tutorials, but rather to provide a solid
foundation from which instructors can feel free to expand upon the suggested format and
activities contained within. The guide is in convenient PDF format allowing you to print
out a copy of any of the lessons or activities.
We have also included a list of our 'Top 5' ESL teacher resource books in addition to a
list of excellent websites for further perusal. Think of this publication as your personal
'emergency resource center' one that you can consult every now and then when you
need a great lesson idea in a pinch!
The "Last-Minute" ESL/EFL Lesson Plan & Activity Guide
Level:
Beginner

Topic:
Likes/dislikes

Language Focus:
Grammar: speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to ask and answer
questions regarding likes & dislikes.
Time Activities Materials Evaluation/notes
5 min Warm Up
Flashcard drill with pictures of todays target vocabulary.
Whiteboard, marker.

10 mins Presentation
Start by asking students Do you like coffee? Use mime
and expression to get meaning across. Elicit several
yes/no answers. Choral repetition of question and
answers (Yes, I do/No, I dont). Try a few different topics
w/ same structure. Check comprehension and write the
structure on the whiteboard.

20-30
mins
Practice/production
Refer students to whiteboard and write a chart on it. Write
one students name under name. Other students ask
him/her if he/she likes the items on the chart. Based on
his/her response, put a tick or cross in the column. The
procedure is then repeated with several other students.
When finished, try to elicit third person responses from the
students such as Carlos doesnt like plums. Now have
the students write sentences in the 3
rd
person describing
each student on the chart such as Keiko likes fish, caviar,
and liver, but she hates prunes. Review as a class.

Chart: (example)
(name)/fish/caviar/kimchi/liver/plums

Level:
Beginner

Topic:
Time prepositions

Language Focus:
Grammar

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will be better able to understand & use
prepositions associated with time.
5 mins Warm Up
Number dictation. Read a variety of times and numbers up
to 100. Check answers.

10-15 mins Presentation
Draw a simple diagram on the board that demonstrates the
meaning of on, at, and in. Then write several sentences
using these prepositions for place & direction. e.g.: Ill be
AT the bus stop ON Main Street. The tickets are IN the
envelope ON my desk. Now use a calendar as a prop (or
draw a simple one on the board). Explain, in simple
language, that a YEAR is a period of time, and so is a
MONTH or a WEEK. Therefore, the preposition IN is used.
e.g.: IN 1998, IN August, IN the second week of July. Next,
using a diary entry written on the board, show that an
actual date is a column or line IN that week or month and
thus requires ON + DAY (ON Monday). Next, point out that
the HOUR is a point on the day line and thus requires AT,
as in AT 7 AM, AT 6:30 IN the afternoon, and so on. Drill &
test comprehension by reading out a number of months,
years, times, and days of the week and ask students to
give the correct preposition.
Whiteboard, marker, calendar. ____ x____ = ON

________xl____ = AT

\_____x____/ = IN
10 mins Practice
Ask learners to walk around the class and find exactly
when other students were born and see if they can find
someone who was born IN the same year or same month,
ON the same day, and/or AT the same time. After 10
minutes, have the student report back to the class with
their findings.

10-15 mins Further Practice
Have learners do a fill-in or cloze exercise that makes
references to dates and times for further revision. You
could use a famous incident such as the night the Titanic
sank, or a dialog between two people trying to arrange an
appointment. Review answers.
Teacher-prepared worksheet.

Level:
Beginner

Topic:
Questions

Language Focus:
Grammar: speaking

Date:

Objective:
Students will become familiar with asking and answering simple questions.
Time Activities Materials Evaluation
5 min Warm Up
A game or two of tic-tac-toe on the whiteboard. Write a
grid with 9 present tense verbs. Split the class into two
teams and call on students from each team to give the
past tense form of the verbs.

10 min Presentation
Begin by asking the class questions that include simple
vocabulary, and have them answer all at once. Review
question words and simple questions. Write the
questions on the board for their reference.
Whiteboard, markers.

10-15 min Guided Practice
Whole class: Learners sit in a circle. Go around the circle
having each student ask another student a question. After
answering the question, that student has to ask someone
else a question.

15 min Production
Pair work: Students will complete the worksheets and then
share their answers with another pair of students.
Class set of worksheets that
include simple questions and
spaces for written response.


Level:
Beginner

Topic:
Time expressions

Language Focus:
Grammar:
speaking/writing
Date:

Objective:
Students will be able to identify and use time expressions in written and
spoken form.
5 min Warm Up
A game or two of 20 Questions.

5 min Presentation
Explain what a time expression is and how it is used. Write
examples on the board. Ask the students to identify which
tense can be used with each expression.
None needed.

10 min Guided Practice
Whole class: Have the students match sentence fragments
to time phrases. This can be written on the board and
students can take turns coming up and drawing lines to
match the sentence fragments to the time expressions.
Whiteboard with time
expressions and sentence
fragments written on it.
Write examples of time
expressions on the board for
student reference.
10 min Production
Pairs: Students will take turns asking each other questions
that need to be answered with a time expression.

Level:
Beginner

Topic:
Can for ability

Language Focus:
Grammar:
writing/speaking
Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to ask and respond to basic
questions regarding ability or inability.
5 mins Warm Up
Try a tongue-twister activity.

10 mins. Presentation
Set a situation to teach the meaning of can for
expressing ability or inability. Ask students several
questions with target language. Check answers. Write
structure on whiteboard; point out form & meaning. Drill
several times.
Whiteboard, marker.

15 mins Practice
Use picture prompts to practice question formation. Each
pair gets a pile of picture cards. One student draws a card
and places it on the desk. He/She then has to ask his/her
partner a question about this activity or skill (e.g.: Can you
ski?). Encourage simple follow-up questions (but at this
level, dont expect much).
A pile of picture cards for each
pair. (15-20 cards in each
pair).
Simple drawings should suffice for
the picture cards. Examples could
include pictures showing someone
riding a horse, using a video
camera, playing chess, etc.
10 mins Further practice
Now conduct a poll asking students to raise their hands if
they can do one of the activities on the cards. They should
then write sentences such as Three people in this class
can play the piano or Nobody in this class can speak
French.

Assign homework from a good
grammar workbook for review &
consolidation.
Level:
High
beginner
Topic:
Order of adjectives

Language Focus:
Grammar: writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to demonstrate a better
understanding of multiple adjective usage.
5 mins Warm Up

On the whiteboard, write about five sentences, each using
two or three adjectives to describe a noun. Make some of
the sentences correct in terms of adjective order & make
others incorrect. Give students a few minutes to read the
sentences & decide if theyre right or wrong. Review each
sentence & point out why the wrong ones are wrong. Draw
a grid on the whiteboard showing the correct order for
multiple adjectives.
Whiteboard, marker. Information regarding adjective
order can be found in most good
English usage books.
15 mins Practice
Scrambled sentences. In pairs, give students a worksheet
with 10-15 sentences using multiple adjectives. Either
scramble all the words in a sentence, or just the
adjectives. Students have to unscramble the sentences
and re-write them in logical order. Make into a fun
competition. Check with whole class when finished.
Teacher-prepared worksheets
appropriate for this level.

15-20 mins Further practice
Ask students to write 8-10 sentences with multiple
adjectives, some of which are in the correct order, which of
which arent. They then pass them to a partner who
checks them and tries to determine which are correct &
which arent.

Level:
High
beginner
Topic:
Adjectives

Language Focus:
Grammar: reading/writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to use a variety of
adjectives to describe food and restaurant dishes.
5 min Warm Up
Review of food vocabulary. Place pictures of food on the
board and have students identify the names of the food.
Laminated pictures of various
foods that can be taped onto
the whiteboard.
Observation: Make note of the
vocabulary that the students have
trouble with.
10 min Presentation
Explain that adjectives are one part of speech in English.
Review adjective usage. Hand out menus and ask
students to identify the adjectives in the menus.
Various takeout menus.

Whole Class: Place a menu without any adjectives on the
whiteboard. Have students brainstorm adjectives that can
be used to enhance the menu. Have the students read the
menu out loud when the activity is complete.
Large menu posted or written
on the whiteboard.
Suggested adjectives: spicy, sour,
sweet, hot, cold, delicious, tasty,
delicate, succulent, creamy, light,
fruity, crisp, soft, etc.
15 min Production
Pairs: Give the students construction paper and lined or
blank paper. Tell them that they are to create their own
menu of 5-10 items with at least two adjectives to describe
each item on the menu. They can use food from their
native countries but everything must be written in English!
Construction paper in various
colors; 1 sheet for every pair.
Blank or lined white paper; 1
sheet for every pair.

Level:
Low
intermediate
Topic:
Parts of
speech/word form
Language Focus:
Grammar: reading/writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to identify parts of speech in a sentence.
5 min Warm Up
Dictation or pronunciation activity.

10 -15 min Presentation
Review the eight parts of speech and their uses with the
class: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs,
prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. Focus on the
use of suffixes to help in the identification of nouns, verbs,
adjectives, and adverbs.

Whole class: Write a variety of sentences on the
whiteboard and have the class identify the various parts of
speech.

20-30 min Production
Get students to write two or three paragraphs about a high
interest topic. Set a reasonable time limit. When finished,
have them switch papers with a partner, who will then read
the paper, check for any errors, and label the parts of
speech used. Students then confer with each other.
Extended Practice: Mini take-
home exam with sentences in
which learners have to identify &
correct the one error that makes
each sentence incorrect.
Level:
Low
intermediate
Topic:
Subject/object
questions

Language Focus:
Grammar; speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will demonstrate a better understanding
of subject and object questions and be able to use them in conversation.
10 min Warm Up
20 Questions-One student thinks of a famous person. His/Her
classmates then ask yes/no questions to find out who that person is.
They get 20 chances. Play two or three games.

15 min Presentation
Write The president called the Queen on the board. Ask learners to
identify the parts of speech & word order (SVO). Then erase The
president & write Someone. Ask Who called the Queen? Elicit The
president. Write it on the board. Inform learners that this is a subject
question. Then write, The president phoned someone. Elicit new (object)
question. Write Who did the president call? on the board. Elicit answer
(The Queen). Ask learners to study the two questions: 1) Who called the
Queen?, and 2) Who (Whom) did the president call?. Point out different
word order (inversion) in object questions and addition of auxiliary verb
(do). Check understanding.

Place 4 pictures of famous people (or write their names on the
whiteboard) in a circle on the whiteboard. Connect them w/ arrows.
Explain that the arrows represent phone calls. Ask a variety of questions
such as Who called Madonna?, Who did Madonna call?, Who called
George Bush?, Who did he call?, etc. Learners continue in pairs until
finished. They then use 4 different names and do activity again. Conclude
by asking learners questions like Why did Madonna call Hillary Clinton,
do you think?
Large pictures of
celebrities.

15 min Production
Teacher writes on board: Who called you last night/this morning/last
weekend? Who did you call last night/this morning/last weekend?
Students ask & answer questions in pairs. Then add: Who emailed
you?/Who did you email? /Who visited you?/Who did you visit? w/ time
expressions.
Assign homework from a
grammar workbook for
consolidation of grammar
point.
Level:
Low
intermediate
Topic:
Passive sentences

Language Focus:
Grammar

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to make simple sentences
using the passive verb form.
5-10 mins Warm Up
Tic-tac-toe game on the whiteboard; write a grid with the base form
of six irregular verbs. Split the class into two teams. Students have
to give the past participle form of three verbs to make one line. First
team to do so wins. Play two or three games with different verbs
(preferably commonly used in the passive).
Whiteboard, marker. Example:
eat I drink I cut
hit I make I draw
grow I feed I lead

Show the students a series of ten pictures (or use an OHP) with
various scenes. Ask students to listen as a sentence is read aloud
describing each picture, and to match each sentence to the picture.
Repeat the sentence once. Students should look at the picture card
and write the number of the question that matches the sentence
(e.g.: #2: e). Students then check their answers with a partner.
Then write the sentences on the board. Allow students a few more
minutes to check their answers. Review together. Point out
differences in form & meaning between active & passive verb forms.
Check understanding.
A large picture card with a
series of ten separate
pictures marked a, b, c, etc.

The pictures should be
drawn in pairs, with one
picture in each pair
displaying an opposite
action. e.g.: The robber hit
the policeman The
policeman was hit by the
robber. The objective here
is to clearly portray the
usage & meaning of the
passive and active verb
forms.
10 mins Practice
Now erase the sentences off the board. In pairs, students use the
pictures to reconstruct the sentences from memory, writing two
sentences for each of the prompts such as this: The robber/The
Queen/ The old woman/The dog/The clown, etc. Check
answers together.

15-20 mins Production
Use another large drawing or photograph as a prompt. For
example, a scene of a busy restaurant with many people doing
different things. In pairs, students are to write as many sentences
as they can, using the passive voice to describe the scene. The pair
with the most correct sentences is the winner.
A large picture or drawing (or
photocopies of this picture for
each student). Make sure the
picture has enough activity in
it to support at least ten
passive sentences.
Variation: Use several
different pictures, one for
each pair or small group.

Level:
Low
intermediate
Topic:
Past continuous

Language Focus:
Grammar:
speaking/writing
Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will begin to be able to use the past
continuous tense in speech and writing.
5 min Warm Up
Dictation or game.

10 min Presentation
Set a context. Introduce the past continuous structure to
the class through examples on the board. Contrast the use
of the past continuous and past simple in the examples.
Check understanding of form & meaning with concept-
check questions.

Pair work: Hand out worksheet in which learners must
choose the simple past or past or past continuous forms of
the verb. Correct the answers as a class. When finished,
learners read the dialogues in pairs and switch roles.
Class set of teacher-prepared
worksheets.
The worksheet should consist of a
15-20 line dialogue in which the
speakers use a variety of past
tense & past continuous structures.
Use blanks in these places and
write two answer choices for each-
one using the past tense and one
using the past continuous.
20 min Production
Hand out a picture of a crowded train station or similar
place showing lots of people doing various things. In small
groups, students are given 15 minutes to write as many
sentences as possible describing what they see. Check as
a class. The team with the most correct answers wins.
Picture or photograph copied
for each pair.
Variation: Give each team a
different picture.
Level:
Low
intermediate
Topic:
How many vs. how
much/quantifiers/count
& non-count nouns
Language Focus:
Grammar: speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to identify and use
quantifiers with countable and uncountable nouns.
5 min Warm Up
Flashcard drill; introduce new vocabulary used in this
lesson (count & non-count nouns). Check pronunciation.
Flashcards w/ various items. Flashcards should portray the
following nouns: park, noise, bank,
crime, industry, store, litter,
unemployment, church, restaurant,
and immigrant.
10 min Presentation
Review countable & uncountable nouns. Soap bars vs.
liquid soap, oranges vs. orange juice, etc. Introduce
various quantifiers (a lot/(not)many/(not) much/a little/ a
few/some/none) & usage. Write target vocabulary on
whiteboard. Ask which nouns are uncountable or
countable (or both).

Opinion poll: Have learners make questions using target
vocabulary: How much/many _________ is/are there in
(city)? Learners should respond using target quantifiers.
Encourage & accept different opinions. Then divide the
learners into groups of 3 or 4 and give each group a set of
cards w/ target vocabulary. One learner chooses a card
and makes a question. Another learner answers using a
quantifier. The next learner takes a different card and
repeats the process until all cards have been read.
Vocabulary cards (teacher-
prepared) for each group.
Use the city in which you are
teaching the class for this activity.
20-30 mins Production
Pair work: Divide students into new pairs (different
language groups if possible). Students interview each
other using the Tell Me About Your Hometown
worksheet, asking the question How much/many
____is/are there in your hometown? Students answer with
quantifiers and are encouraged to ask follow-up questions.
Worksheet for each student. *This worksheet should contain a
list of 12-15 nouns; some can be
repeated form the earlier activity
but add new ones as well (such as
crime, museums, coffee shops,
etc.). Include the target question
and quantifiers to be used.
Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Tag questions

Language Focus:
Grammar:
speaking/writing
Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have become familiar with more
complex questions and be able to use and respond to tag questions
accurately and appropriately.
5 min Warm Up
A game or two of 20 questions.

10 min Presentation
Introduce question tags (isnt it, didnt he, were you, are
you, is she, arent you, etc.) by asking students various
questions using target structure. Elicit answers. Explain
formation on whiteboard. Emphasize proper intonation w/
Q&A drills. Check understanding w/ concept-check
questions.

Pair work: Learners ask a tag question, leaving out the
tag; their partner completes the tag. Check answers &
switch roles. 10-15 questions each.
Small slips of paper with tag
questions.
Prepare enough tag questions so
that each student gets lots of
practice.
15-20 min Production
Learners are given a worksheet w/ statements and missing
question tags. First, they must complete the tags. Then,
they stand up & ask classmates the questions until they
find someone who says yes. They write the students
name next to the question & find another person who
answers yes to the next question and so on. The first
student to complete the worksheet is the winner.
Worksheets. Example
questions:

You can speak 3 languages,
_____?

You live with a roommate,
_____?

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Comparatives &
superlatives
Language Focus:
Grammar: speaking &
writing

Date:

Objective:
Bytheendofthislesson,learnerswillbeabletousecomparativeand
superlativestructureswithimprovedaccuracy.
5 min Warm Up
Tongue twister or other pronunciation activity.

5-10 min Presentation
Introduce comparatives and superlatives with pictures on the
whiteboard. Work on form and spelling rules. Also teach irregular
forms. Inform them about typical learner errors with these structures
(e.g.: omitting the in superlatives and than in comparatives). Use
picture prompts for oral drills.
Whiteboard, markers. Large, laminated pictures can be
particularly helpful herethe ESL
textbook series Side by Side
offers a box set of such cards.
Small group work: Comparison cards. In groups of 3, students draw
a card that has two noun phrases and an adjective on the card
(e.g.: My arms -Your arms - (short). The student then makes a
comparative sentence, which the other two students judge as being
grammatically correct or not. Another student then makes a
superlative statement using the same prompts. Continue process
until all cards have been used.
A different set of
cards for each group
of students.
*Prepare cards beforehand.
20+ min Production
Small groups: Fish Tales- each group will choose a character from
which to develop a fish tale. The first student starts with a
sentence such as The secretary was very strong. The next student
makes a comparison, such as The secretary was stronger than an
ox. The next student then makes a superlative structure with an
even more unbelievable statement, such as The secretary was the
strongest person that ever lived. The learners then choose a new
character. Hold enough rounds for everyone to have a chance to
use the superlative sentence. Encourage fun & goofy ideas! Ask
students to write their sentences at the end and then share them
with the rest of the class.
Assign homework from a grammar
workbook for further practice.

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Verb tense review

Language Focus:
Grammar: speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had an opportunity to use a
wide variety of verb tense structures through engaging conversations.
10 15
mins
Presentation
After preliminary introductions, put students into groups of
3 or 4. Ask each group to write down the names of all of
the verb tenses they can remember, plus an example
sentence for each tense. When finished, ask for example
sentences for each tense & write them on the board.
Review meaning & usage.
Whiteboard, markers. This would be an excellent lesson
for the first class of a new course.
40 mins Practice/Production
In pairs, students interview each other with worksheet
questions. Encourage follow-up questions about each
topic. Each student writes short notes about his/her
partners answers (not full sentences) for future reference.
Once finished, students should take a few minutes to
review the notes (no writing). Students then find another
partner. Students then ask & answer questions about their
previous partner using the 3
rd
person.
Teacher-prepared worksheet. Example worksheet questions:
What were you doing at this time
last year? What will you be doing at
this time next year? What do you
do? How long have you been living
here? Etc.
5 mins Wrap up
Review any problems with verb tenses and 1
st
and 3
rd

person usage.

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
3
rd
conditional

Language Focus:
Grammar:
speaking/writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had practice reviewing the 3
rd
conditional and
be better able to construct grammatically correct sentences in both speech and writing.
5 mins Warm Up:
Dictation activity.

Whiteboard,
markers.
This grammar point is typically taught
at the upper intermediate level but
this lesson may be a good review for
learners at the advanced level.
10 mins Presentation: Review the 1
st
& 2
nd
conditionals with example sentences
on the board. Point out that there is a third type for talking about the past.
Elicit example sentences from students. Write form on board. Check
understanding with concept-check questions.

30 mins Practice I: Distribute a set of word cards to different students and ask
them to stick them on the board in correct order to form a sentence. Then
hand out a different word card set and ask a different group of students to
come forward and make a sentence. Repeat several times with different
sets of word cards. Practice II: Ask students (in pairs) to choose four of the
sentences and write an example paragraph for each that describes the
situation leading up to those sentences. e.g.: John had a history test last
week. He went out partying with his friends the night before the test. He
didnt study very hard for the test, so he got a low score. If he had studied
harder, he would have passed. When finished, each pair writes a second
sentence beginning with If They then pass their paragraph to another
pair, who have to complete the new If sentence. e.g.: If he had passed
the test, he wouldnt have had to repeat the course. This pair then writes a
new uncompleted If sentence and pass it to the next pair. This
continues until all the pairs have had a chance to write a new 3
rd

conditional sentence for each of the word card sets.
Several sets of
5 x 7 word
cards, scotch
tape.
Word card set #1: studied, have, had,
harder, if, he, John, would, passed.
#2: worked, Jane, she, failed, hadnt,
if, hard, wouldnt, have. The
remaining sets can be the teachers
choice.

20 min Further practice: Hand out worksheets in which students have to devise
3
rd
conditional sentences for each situation. Review as a whole class when
finished.
Teacher-
prepared
worksheets
with ten
situations.
Example for further practice activity:
Mark had a lottery ticket, number
7765438. But he lost it. Ticket
number 7765439 won. The winning
prize was a trip to Rome. If
Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Describing past
habits
Language Focus:
Grammar: writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have had practice using would
when talking about past habits and will be able to use this modal verb with
better accuracy & appropriateness.
5 mins Warm Up: Set the theme by discussing summer holidays
you once took. Write out a paragraph beforehand and
include numerous sentences with the target structure
would + base verb for storytelling.

Whiteboard, markers. Prepare a 50-75-word paragraph
before class describing summer
holidays you took as a child and
the activities you would do at that
time.
15 mins. Presentation: Ask students to write down as much as
they can remember from the story, whether individual
words or groups of words. Then ask the students to form
small groups, compare what they wrote down, and try to
come up with one completed version.

Now ask one student from each group to come up to the
board and write his/her groups version on it. When each
groups version is on the board, hand out copies of the
original version. Ask students to locate any discrepancies
in the texts. Focus on any substitutions of would. Point
out the use of would in these contexts, and contrast with
used to. Review form & meaning.
Photocopies of text.

30 mins. Practice/production: Now ask students to write their own
texts, of a similar length and style, about their own
childhood holidays (using the target language). When
finished, they should exchange papers with a partner &
discuss their stories.

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Grammar Jeopardy

Language Focus:
Grammar

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had practice reviewing a
number of grammatical categories through an enjoyable, competitive
activity.
5 mins. Warm Up: Familiarize students with the game show
Jeopardy through a brief discussion. Also review the
grammatical categories in the activity to follow.

Write the category and point graph
on the whiteboard before class
begins.
10 min Presentation: Tell students theyre going to play a game
of Jeopardy. Direct their attention to the whiteboard &
explain the rules as follows: Each student takes a turn
selecting a category and point value to create
grammatically correct sentences. For example, a student
who chooses adverb clause for 100 points might
produce a structure such as When I was young, I was
very interested in dinosaurs. If they say a correct
sentence from a certain category, they get the points. If
they make an error, they lose those same points. Each
team takes turns.
Example of graph to be written on
the whiteboard:
(Suggested) Headings: adverb
clause/adjective clause/noun
clause/gerund-
infinitive/subordinating
conjunction/reported
speech/wish/phrasal verb. Under
each category draw a column with
five boxes, each having a point
value of 100, 200, 300, 400, & 500.
30 min Practice/production: Inform students of the scoring
system and begin. No textbooks, dictionaries, or other
materials are allowed during the activity. Enforce a 1-
minute per question time limit. After all the categories have
been selected by each team, the team with the highest
score is the winner. Play another game if desired.
(perhaps with some different grammatical categories)

Level:
High
intermediate/advanced
Topic:
Gerund vs.
infinitive
Language Focus:
Grammar: speaking &
reading
Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have a better understanding of the
use of verbs that take both infinitive and -ing forms through examples of
authentic writing & speech.
5 mins Warm Up
Dictation activity.

Divide the class into 3 groups and give each group a
different set of 10 sentences. Each set has example
sentences using the key verbs remember, forget, and stop
+ gerund/infinitive. Students are to study the lines of data
and try to divide them into two patterns. After 5 minutes,
put the students into new groups, so that at least one
member of each of the former three groups is in each of
the new groups. Their task is to explain the forms &
patterns of meaning for each particular verb, and then
try to work out a rule. Ask a member from each group to
report to the whole class & discuss. Draw timelines on the
board to review the grammar rules at work here.
Concordance data obtained
from the Internet and printed
out for class copies.

Either write the sentences on a
worksheet or on the whiteboard
before class starts. To save time,
use concordance data from the
Internet as a source of example
sentences. Use clear sentences
with the key language points in
todays lesson (verb +
infinitive/gerund). Check this web
site: http://vlc.poly.edu.hk/
10 mins Practice
Pair work: Hand out a discrimination exercise in which
students have to choose the correct verb form after these
three key verbs. Review answers afterwards and discuss.
Handouts. Worksheet should have a mixture
of about ten sentences such as
this:
I went to the post office but forgot
to mail/mailing the letter.
10-15
minutes

Further practice
Hand out worksheets and have students ask each other
questions using the target language. Encourage follow-up
questions. Review answers as a class.
Handouts. Example questions: What must
you remember to do before you
leave home in the morning? What
can you never forget doing?, etc.
Level:
High
beginner
Topic:
Describing
processes
Language Focus:
Writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to write a simple paragraph
describing a step-by-step process.
5 mins Warm Up:
Try a game or two of 20 Questions.
Whiteboard,
markers.

20 mins. Procedure I: Introduce use & meaning of signal words. Hand out a copy of a
recipe with signal words missing & ask students to fill in the blanks. Check
answers. Now hand out a copy with 5-7 sentences from another recipe written
out of order. Ask students to underline any signal words and put the
sentences in the correct order. Check and ask students to write the sentences
in a paragraph. Hand out another exercise that lists the steps for a first-aid
procedure. Repeat process. Procedure II: Now hand out a copy with 7 simple
pictures showing a process (such as potting a plant) out of order and a list of
sentences describing each picture. Ask students to match the picture with the
sentence and again write a paragraph. Then give students a choice of several
processes to write a short paragraph about, such as planning a party,
changing a flat tire, making a dish from their country, etc. Make sure they use
signal words.
Teacher-prepared
worksheets.
Signal words: First, then,
after that, next, finally, etc.
20 mins. Procedure II: Draw a number of shapes on the board, such as a triangle,
circle, squiggly line, square, and several others of your choice. Now ask the
students to draw these shapes anywhere in a 5 x 7 box on a piece of paper.
On a separate piece of paper, they are to write instructions for their partner
describing how the shapes are arranged in the box. When finished, they read
the instructions to their partner who then attempts to recreate the drawing on
his/her piece of paper. After switching they compare their drawings with their
partners. As a follow-up, try another activity in which students have to give
directions to somewhere using maps as a reference. Review lesson content at
the end.

Encourage the use of
signal words in the
instructions.

Level:
High
beginner
Topic:
Compositions

Language Focus:
Writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have written a short composition
using pictures as stimuli.
5 mins Warm Up:
Teachers choice. Perhaps review time expressions &
simple transition words.
Whiteboard, markers. Prepare the folders beforehand.
40 mins.
Procedure: Outline todays lesson; show an example of a
finished composition w/ pictures if possible. Then hand out
a folder containing pictures cut from magazines to each
student. Each student is to create a story in chronological
order using at least six of those pictures (characters can
be melded - for example, all young boys in a set are
John even though they are actually different people).
When students have chosen the pictures have them begin
writing.
Magazines with a lot of
interesting pictures.

Scotch tape or glue.

Small poster-size construction
paper.

Aim for about a 50-75 word
composition.

Level:
High
beginner
Topic:
Chain stories

Language Focus:
Writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have co-written a short story in
three parts: a beginning, middle, and end.
5 mins Warm Up: Review the format of a simple essay &
transition words used to tie sentences/paragraphs
together.
40 mins Procedure: Pre-select a theme (mystery, fable, soap
opera, etc.) and inform students. Divide the class into
groups of three. Explain that everyone will write Part A (the
beginning) and then give it to another person in the group.
That person then writes Part B (the middle) and gives it to
the third person in the group. The third person writes Part
C and the story is finished. Review as a class when all are
finished.

Make sure each students name is
written on the story at each turn.

This can also be done as an email
exchange.

More exchanges are possible if you
give two turns in the middle (2
parts).

Level:
Low
intermediate
Topic:
Story writing

Language Focus:
Writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have had practice writing a fictional
story and will have a better understanding of the various types of genres.
5 min Warm Up:
Dictate the following words & phrases and ask students to
guess what the relation between them is:
pen/pencil/paper/eraser/time/imagination/a comfortable
chair. Elicit that these are things a writer needs.

15 min Procedure I: Elicit author and ask the following
questions: Does anyone have a favorite author? Have you
got a favorite book? What is it? What was the last book you
read? Get a few answers and then put students in pairs.
Encourage follow-up questions. When finished, elicit
genre or story type. Then, put the names of different
genres around the classroom, such as love story, detective
story, adventure, historical, science fiction, horror, etc. Ask
students to stand up, walk around, and stand under their
favorite genre. Tell them that they are going to write a story
of the genre they are standing under, and as they are
grouped. New groups sit together. Now elicit elements of a
story (protagonist, plot, background). Hand out worksheet
to each student.
Small posters with
the names of various
writing genres written
on them.

Tape.

Worksheets.
Worksheet: The worksheet should have a grid
on it with boxes containing the following:

Genre/protagonist
(sex/age/name/nationality/occupation/physical
description/character description).

Background - (time & place).

Plot Summary
40 min+ Procedure II: Students now begin to write their stories as
a group. The teacher monitors and helps where necessary.
They should take the composition home and finish it their
own way, then review it with other group members
versions in the next class. The best version of each genre
can then be posted on the wall.

Level:
Low
intermediate
Topic:
Narrative writing
(story circle)
Language Focus:
Writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had practice writing a narrative
and had a chance to improve their overall writing fluency.
5 min Warm Up
Play a game or two of tic tac toe on the whiteboard with
present and past tense verbs.

30-40 min Procedure: Put students into small groups of 4 or 5,
sitting in circles. The teacher then dictates a sentence
such as: That day, when Jenny came back from work,
she knew something was wrong. Each student writes the
sentence at the top of a piece of paper. They are then
asked to write the next sentence in Jennys story. When
finished, they pass their paper to the left. They now have
to write the next sentence of the story that has just been
passed to them. This continues until the pieces of paper
return to their original owners. The teacher then asks
students to write a final sentence to their story. Have the
students then read the stories out loudthe results are
often highly amusing!

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Controlled
narratives
Language Focus:
Writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have had practice writing a
descriptive narrative.
10 mins. Warm Up
The Bad Cold dictation. Pretend that you have a bad
cold today. Tell the class that youre going to do a dictation
but if you sneeze or cough they have to provide an
appropriate word. Read a 25 to 30-word passage and
include 8-10 blank spaces. Review students answers and
compare with the original version.

15 mins Procedure 1: Read a teacher-prepared short story in the
past tense to students. Tell the students you will pause
after a noun for them to shout out a suitable adjective.
Listen to them all & secretly write down the best one.
Continue like this until the story is finished. Read the story
again, using the chosen adjectives. This time, pause after
a verb & elicit adverbs. Repeat process. Read a third time
and elicit past continuous tenses. Finally, read the
completed version.
Whiteboard, marker.

Level-appropriate short story
prepared or selected
beforehand.
(Sample worksheet)
1. Look at this story, and with
another student add adjectives,
adverbs, and any other interesting
information.
One day Anna went to visit her
father. She took some books and
magazines. Her father was happy
to see his daughter. They talked,
and Anna went home.
2. Now write the full story here:
30 mins. Part II: Pair work. Students follow same procedure and
develop a new story step- by- step. Hand out the story on
the worksheet and guide them through the steps.
Encourage them to use their imaginations but make sure
the phrases and words are appropriate. Students then
read other pairs finished narratives and vote on the best
one.
Teacher-prepared worksheets. Assign another narrative for
homework.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
World music

Language Focus:
Writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have had practice writing & talking
about their favorite musical artist.
5 mins. Warm Up
Ask students to briefly talk about the most popular
singer/group in their country at the moment.
Whiteboard, markers. This lesson will work best if
students are asked several days
beforehand to bring in a tape or CD
of their favorite singer/group. Class
size should be about 8 students or
less, or time will be a major factor.
20 mins. Procedure 1: Ask each student to make a 10-minute
presentation about his/her favorite singer/group to the
class. The presentations are to be written first, and then
given orally later. Presentations should include a short
biography of the artist, when they first heard this artist &
why they like the music, the types of instruments used,
and a translation of the lyrics of his/her favorite song by
this artist. Students should end their presentation by
playing a short excerpt of this song.
CD/tape player. The teacher may want to make
copies of each students translated
lyrics for the other students to
follow along with when the song is
played.
variable Part II: The preparation for this activity may take one or
more lessons, and the presentations may take yet another
class to finish. You may want to ask the students to submit
their written presentations to you before their
presentations for feedback. You may also want to show
them a sample report with the suggested format, or write
the format on the board.

*Make the lesson even more
engaging by introducing the
students to an artist from your
country they may not already know.
The lesson may have to be revised
if you are teaching a monolingual
class.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Story reconstruction

Language Focus:
Writing:
descriptive/narrative
Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have had extensive practice writing
descriptive and narrative paragraphs as well as using adverbials &
conjunctions.
5 mins Warm Up
A review of conjunctive adverbs & subordinating
conjunctions may be useful here.
Whiteboard, marker.

10-15 mins Procedure 1:
Step 1: Put students into 4 groups, A, B, C, & D. Each
group is given a picture from a story sequence.
Individually, each student then writes two sentences in the
past about the picture.
Pictures from a story sequence
(can be obtained from teacher
resource booksusually
photocopiable).

30+ mins. Part II: Take the pictures back from the groups. Now form
new groups of four, with one student of each of the four
previous groups. The students then show each other their
sentences & work together to write a coherent narrative
that describes the four pictures in logical order. The
completed stories can then be circulated around the class
& used as a basis for student-student correction.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Giving/asking for
advice
Language Focus:
Writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have had practice writing &
responding to advice letters.
5 mins. Warm Up
Discuss newspaper advice columnists with studentsdo
they have them in their country? What do people need
advice for?

10 mins. Procedure I: Distribute examples from English
newspapers for students to look over. Discuss together.

Copies of newspaper advice
columns.

30 mins. Part II: Put the students into small groups. Ask each
group to think of a problem & then write a collaborative
letter to an advice columnist. Aim for a 50-word paragraph.
When finished, the letters from each group are given to
another group to read. This group must then write a clever
response to the letter. The replies are then returned to the
original group for consideration. Discuss the letters and
responses in the final 10 minutes of the class.

This activity can incorporate the
added bonus of conditional
sentence practice if desired.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Creative writing

Language Focus:
Writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have developed their creative
writing skills through the use of newspaper photos.
5 mins Warm Up: Ask students what they think creativity
means. Elicit examples.
Whiteboard, marker.

Newspapers, mounted
newspaper photos.

40 mins Procedure: Hand out a number of interesting photos from
newspapers that have been mounted on construction
paper. Students choose one. Then ask them to write a
story about what they think happened before, during, and
after the photo was taken. The stories can be completely
imaginary, or based at least partially on the factual aspects
from the accompanying article. Aim for 50-75 words. When
finished, students read each others stories and vote on
the best one. You could ask the students to hand in their
stories for teacher correction as well.

Variation: You could also use
comic strips, personal ads (clean
ones!), and unusual short stories
as starters for a creative writing
lesson.

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Cause & effect

Language Focus:
Writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have received instruction in & have
had practice with cause & effect writing.
5 mins Warm Up
Tongue twister activity.
40 mins. Procedure I: Hand out a short article on global warming.
Have students read it & discuss afterwards. Ask
comprehension questions. Now discuss cause & effect
and write a few examples on the whiteboard. Introduce
connectors of result such as so, therefore, thus,
consequently, as a result, etc. Then have students fill out a
worksheet related to cause & effect as presented in the
article. Review with whole class and write students
sentences on the board.
Photocopied articles.

Teacher-prepared worksheets.
Worksheet: Design a simple
worksheet with the titles cause &
effect at the top of two columns.
Leave a long space between them.
When students do the worksheet,
they just write short phrases under
each example of cause & effect.
When finished, review with the
class. Then ask them to write
complete sentences using a
connector.
10-15
mins.
Part II: Now introduce more connectors that can be used
to support cause & effect sentences, such as for example,
for instance, such as, one example of this, etc. Ask
students to validate their cause & effect sentences using
supporting examples. Ask students to review their
sentences with a partner when finished. At this point,
students should have enough ideas, words, and sentences
on their worksheet and in their notes to begin writing well-
organized paragraphs. Assign a different topic for
homework and ask students to write similar paragraphs to
what they produced today.

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Process language

Language Focus:
Writing & speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had practice writing in the
passive voice to explain how something is done.
5 mins Warm Up
Review active vs. passive voice with several example
sentences. Review usage & emphasize importance of the
passive for process language.

5 mins. Procedure I: Tell students theyre going to build a better
mousetrap. On the board, write the following: Give the
name of: a) something long & thin, b) something sticky, c)
a large building, d) a jungle animal, e) something round, f)
something good to eat, g) something used to tie objects
together, h) something springy.
Large pieces of blank paper.

Colored markers for each
group.

40 mins+ Procedure II: Put the class into groups of 3 & give them
large sheets of blank paper to draw on. Tell them they
have 20 minutes to discuss & complete the design for a
new mousetrap using the all of the objects on the board.
When finished, ask them to write a step-by-step process
for building the mousetrap using the passive voice. When
completed, they should then swap their instructions with
another group. Each group then reads the instructions &
tries to draw a picture representing the mousetrap design
described. When finished, they then look at each others
drawings and see how close they are to the original.
Review and discuss any difficulties at the end. Choose the
most creative one!

This activity will work best in large
or multiple classrooms where the
groups will have some privacy.

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Descriptive writing

Language Focus:
Writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have improved their ability to use
descriptive verbs in writing.
5 mins Warm Up
Tongue twister or other pronunciation activity.

10 mins Presentation: Write the verbs say, laugh, walk, eat, think,
and drink on the board. Put students into small groups and
ask them to come up with synonyms for each verb. After 5
minutes, check answers & write appropriate synonyms on
the board.

10 mins

30 mins
Procedure I: Matching exercise. Hand out the worksheet.
In pairs, students try to match a new group of general
verbs with a more specific synonym of that verb. Check
answers as a class. Demonstrate subtle differences in
meaning.

Procedure II: Ask learners to write a short story about
something that has recently happened to them. Ask them
to use simple verbs such as say, do, make, tell, walk, etc.
Students then pair up & exchange stories. Each student
should then add other appropriate verbs from the previous
activity. Stories can then be returned with each writer
adding his/her partners suggestion or rejecting it and
adding another one. Finished versions can then be read
aloud with a short Q&A session.
Teacher-prepared worksheets. Worksheet-Suggested general
verbs: tell, move, say, laugh, eat,
drink, throw, run, move, hold, and
walk. Specific verbs: exclaim,
toss, stagger, munch, slurp, twist,
writhe, hurl, sip, order, swallow,
insist, giggle, clutch, fidget,
chuckle, sprint, mutter, wander,
instruct, nibble, gulp, snigger, lob,
hug, trudge, job, mention, wriggle,
bend, grasp, stagger, whisper, and
pass.

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Descriptive
paragraphs
Language Focus:
Writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to write better descriptive
paragraphs.
5 mins Warm Up
Never-ending sentence: Write the word The on the
board and ask a student to supply the next word. Continue
until all students have added a word.

20 mins Procedure I: Introduce todays topic by writing a short
paragraph on the whiteboard that is lacking in imagination
and description. Tell students that today they will
work on improving their ability to write stimulating,
imaginative paragraphs.
Step 1: Ask learners to think of a place they are very fond
of, a place they go to relax or enjoy themselves. Once they
have this place in mind, move on to the next step.
Step 2: Now ask them a series of questions, and tell them
that they are to write down their responses. Give them
enough time to reflect upon each question.
Questions: What is the name of
the place you are thinking about?
How do you get there from here?
What is the first thing you see
when you arrive there? What does
the air smell like? If you reach out
& touch something, how does it
feel? What are the colors you see?
What sounds do you hear? Are
there people there? What are they
doing? What buildings, plants,
animals are there? How do you feel
when youre there?
15 mins. Procedure II: Now ask students to use their responses to
write a clear, cohesive paragraph. When finished, have
learners exchange papers with a partner for feedback.

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Editing

Language Focus:
Writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had extensive practice editing
compositions and learning how to spot written errors.
5 mins. Warm Up:
Teachers choice. Perhaps review common
proofreading marks and symbols used by teachers
when grading student writing.
Whiteboard,
markers.

10 mins Procedure I: Divide the class into small groups of
five. Assign each student a role according to their
abilities: writer, proofreader, language expert, and
two editors. Hand out role cards. Give students a
few minutes to read the cards and ask questions.
Give the writer a few stimulating topics to write
about. One option would be to provide the closing
sentence. e.g.: Sorry, dear, but I dont love you
anymore.
Teacher-
prepared student
role cards.
Role cards - Writer: Write a short story on the topic of
your choice. Use about 100 words. When finished, pass
it on to the proofreader. Proofreader: Check your
classmates composition. Tick a box on this card (x)
each time you spot a mistake. Then pass your card on
to the language expert. Language expert: Read your
classmates work and the proofreaders card. If you
disagree with the number of mistakes he/she found,
discuss the matter with him/her. Then note the mistakes
and correct them. Pass the corrected version to the
editors. Editor: Evaluate your classmates composition
and give him/her a score from between 1-10 points. Be
fair! Discuss the score with the other editor and reach
an agreement.
30-40
mins.
Procedure II: Now start the activity. To keep
everyone busy, a variation would be to either have
students play all of the roles at different times or to
ask each student to write a short composition and
try one or more of the roles afterwards.

Level:
Beginner

Topic:
Ordering food

Language Focus:
Speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have had practice ordering food in
a restaurant using basic vocabulary.
5 mins Warm Up: Ask students to name different types of food
they can order in an American restaurant. Write the
vocabulary on the board. Elicit a conversation between a
customer ordering food and a server. Point out the uses of
would like and Here you are.

30 mins Procedure: Hand out the dialogue and menus to
students, and ask them to read through both carefully. Put
students into pairs and ask them to use the menu to do a
role play between a customer and server. Both students
should switch roles a few times.
Teacher-prepared dialogue
between a server and a
customer, consisting of about
18-20 lines. Dialogue should
be split into two parts: ordering
the food & drinks and paying
the bill.

Menus

Level:
Beginner

Topic:
Asking for repetition
& clarification
Language Focus:
Speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have had practice developing
strategies to ask for repetition in order to clarify meaning.
10 mins Warm Up:
Play a few games of 20 Questions.

30 mins. Procedure: Start talking to the students very quietly and very
fast so that they cant understand you. Get them to ask you to
repeat what you are saying. Discuss different phrases they could
use in situations like this and write them on the board. Now put
students into pairs. Hand out the dialogue to them and ask them
to read it silently. Then ask them to converse with their partner
and switch roles. When finished, ask them to extend the
dialogues by imagining that the speakers have to keep asking
each other to repeat things because theyre in a noisy place or
have difficulty understanding each other. Encourage them to
speak clearly but mutter in order to make the situation more
realistic. Each pair has to choose four phrases from the list on the
board (two for each student) and write these phrases (and the
other speakers repetitions) into the conversation. When finished
writing, they should perform the extended conversations. Review
activity with students and point out different expressions used for
different levels of formality.
Copies of a 10-12 line
teacher-prepared
dialogue.
To make the situation more
realistic, you could put on some
loud background music.

Sample exponents:
Im sorry? / I beg your pardon? / Im
sorry, I didnt
catch/hear/get/understand the last
part/part about/last/first word.
What was that?
Would you mind repeating that?
Sorry, what did you say?
-Etc.

Variation: Use a telephone
dialogue.

Level:
High
beginner
Topic:
Fluency building

Language Focus:
Speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had considerable fluency
practice in an enjoyable context.
5 mins. Warm Up:
Play a few games of Hangman with recently learned vocabulary
items.

30 mins Procedure: Write a list of interesting topics on the board, such
as Soccer, Fast Food, My Country, School, etc. Divide
the class into two teams, and ask for a volunteer from each
team to come to the front of the class and sit in a chair facing
the other students. Students from the opposing team are to
choose a topic from the board and ask the student sitting in the
chair to talk about that topic almost non-stop for 60 seconds.
Short pauses of five seconds are allowed for thinking time, but
they must be limited to three or four pauses. If the student
manages to talk about the topic for one minute, his/her team
gets five points. Award proportionally fewer points for students
who talk less. Continue the game with each student taking turns
in the hot seat. The team with most number of points at the
end is the winner. Make note of any errors that seem to be
prevalent for review in the next lesson.
This activity will probably work
better with young adults and teens.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Survive!

Language Focus:
Speaking: grammar

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, the learners will have had considerable oral
fluency practice by discussing creative uses for everyday objects in
extraordinary circumstances.
5-10 mins. Warm Up: Ask students to imagine that theyre on a
cruise ship. There was a violent storm and the ship sank,
but some people (the students) managed to reach a small
island. The island has fruit and fish available to eat, but the
only things the survivors have with them are several
objects that have washed ashore. Elicit vocabulary as
much as possible.

30 mins. Procedure I: Bring out the objects for this activity and
elicit the names in English. Ask students the target
structure What is it used for? for each object. Write the
grammar rule on the board (for + gerund). Put the students
into small groups of three or four. Each group must think of
alternate uses for the objects in their desperate situation.
Write an example on the board such as A coat hanger is
used for hanging clothes. Its also used for opening locked
car doors. It could be used for catching fish.
A coat hanger, some diskettes,
a knife, a can opener, a
hammer, a tube of lipstick, a
comb, a paint brush, & a ball of
string. Others could be added.

20 mins. Procedure II: Stop the activity when students have
decided how they can use the objects. Ask each group to
present their ideas to other groups. When finished, take a
vote on what the most imaginative uses are. Then ask
students to make list of the ten objects they would most
like to have in this situation. Review & discuss afterwards.
As a follow up, show the film Cast
Away.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Questionnaire

Language Focus:
Speaking: grammar

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had extensive practice using
both the present perfect and simple past tense verb forms in speech.
5 mins. Warm Up: Review the difference between the present
perfect & past tense verb forms in both meaning and form.

30 mins Procedure: Discuss the current top four or five films that
are currently showing or have been very popular in the
past few months. Tell the students they are about to find
out which one is the most popular one in the class. Write a
simple questionnaire form on the board with the titles
Name of film, Tick if seen, and Good/satisfactory/bad/
very bad at the top of each column. Ask students to copy
it onto a piece of paper. In small groups, the students now
discuss the kinds of questions they can use for this activity
(a mix of present perfect and past tense questions). They
then interview each other and complete the charts.
Discuss the results as a whole class when theyre finished.
This can lead to a writing activity where students write a
one- or two-paragraph review of one of the films.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Personality &
feelings
Language Focus:
Speaking: grammar

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had extensive practice with
adjective + preposition combinations through an interactive activity.
5 mins Warm-up:
Review of adjective + preposition grammar point.

30-40 mins Procedure: Write a number of adjectives expressing
feelings on the board (e.g.: afraid, interested, fed up,
responsible, etc.). Elicit the prepositions that go with each
one and the kind of complements the prepositions may
take (i.e.: nouns and gerunds). Ask students some
questions using the target language and elicit responses.
Then hand out the worksheet. Students should first write
their answers to the questions, and then ask a partner. As
an added challenge, omit the prepositions on the
worksheets and have the students select the correct ones
before answering the questions. At the end of the activity,
have students report their findings with structures such as
Bothand I/Neithernor I/Both of us/ Neither of
usetc.
Teacher-prepared worksheets
with 15-20 questions using
adjective + preposition
structures.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
The Party

Language Focus:
Speaking: vocabulary

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have had conversational practice
using a number of adjectives of character.
5 mins Warm Up
Try a few tongue twister drills.

30 mins. Procedure: Ask students to brainstorm as many
adjectives of character (shy, generous, passionate, etc.)
as possible and write them on the board. Then tell
students to choose one of the adjectives of character but
not to tell anyone. Explain to students that they are all at a
party and they that they have to mingle and chat with each
other in the role of the chosen character adjective. Explain
that they are to pretend to have that character, but that
they cant say what the adjective is. Now ask them to write
the name of each student on a piece of paper and then
start mingling. When they think they know what adjective
the person they are speaking to is trying to express, they
should write it down next to that persons name. When
they have finished talking to each other, ask them to sit
down and call out the adjective that matches each student.
Check answers together and review.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Chain story

Language Focus:
Speaking: writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have had both oral & written
practice telling parts of a story.
5 mins Warm Up: Review the elements of a story on the
whiteboard (introduction/background, character
development, plot, setting, conclusion, etc.).

Procedure I: Ask students to sit in a large circle. Tell them
that they are about to tell a story, each taking a turn to add
a sentence to it as it goes around the class. Begin the
story yourself with an introductory sentence like It was a
dark and stormy night when Susan suddenly heard a
knock at the door. The student on your right should then
continue the story, adding the next sentence, and so on
until the story has gone around the class. Go around a
second time if the story still has legs (depends on the
class size). When the last student has concluded the story
(the student on your left), say the first sentence again and
have the students repeat their part of the story once more
to help them remember it.

Procedure II: Now put the students into pairs and have
them write the story out. Monitor and help where
necessary. Review one or two of the most accurate
versions with the class.

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Word associations

Language Focus:
Speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have had extensive practice with
word associations and will have further expanded their vocabulary.
10 mins Warm Up
Ask one student to come to the front of the class. Give that person a piece of paper
with a recently learned word or idiom written on it. This student must then draw a
picture on the whiteboard expressing the concept of that word (he/she cant say the
word or spell it out). The other students try to guess the word. Set a reasonable time
limit. If the class guesses the word, the student who drew the picture gets a point. Play
several games.
Whiteboard,
markers.

30-40 mins Procedure: Write a number of nouns on the word to stimulate interestthey can be
anything from Friday to Hero to California to George Bush. Now ask students to
shout out the first words that come to mind when they think of the cue words on the
board. Write their word associations next to the words already on the board. Now write
a dozen more or so and put students into small groups. Ask one student in the group
to write down the words they associate with the other dozen or so words. Set a
reasonable time limit and when theyre finished, review the words each group comes
up with. Next, write several words and/or phrases on the board aimed at generating
conversations rather than just word associations. Examples could include:
Vegetarians/ Christmas/My best friend/I once dreamed that/ If I hadnt/and
so on. When students have had time to think of how they would finish the sentences,
ask them to write them down and then exchange answers with partners. Encourage
them to ask follow-up questions.

This is an excellent
activity for practicing
more complex
conditional sentences.

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Discussion

Language Focus:
Speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had considerable fluency
practice discussing world events.
5 mins Warm Up: Activate vocabulary by having students recall
various important world events in the past 10-20 years.
Write a list on the board.

40 mins Procedure: Distribute a worksheet that lists about 15
important world events from the latter part of the 20
th

century. Put students into small groups. Each group must
now develop at least five questions on two of the events
listed. Also have them write multiple-choice answers, A, B,
C, D, to the question so that a survey can be taken.
Answer choice D should be labeled Other. When finished,
one student from one group forms a pair with a student
from another group. A survey is then taken of other
students opinions on the subjects. When finished, have
students re-group and compile their findings. Have them
report back to the class and have a discussion of some of
the more interesting or controversial points brought up.
Teacher-prepared worksheets. Worksheet topics could include the
following:
-9/11
-The US-Iraq War
-The Asian Economic Boom
-The Collapse of the Soviet Union
-The Greenhouse Effect
-Terrorism & its Causes
-The late 90s IT Meltdown
-etc.

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Ranking activity:
Work
Language Focus:
Speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have completed a fluency-building
activity.
5 mins Warm Up: Ask students the following questions: If you
could have any job in the world, what would you like to do?
Why? Do you think its fair for your boss to ask you to work
overtime without extra pay? Why or why not? If you were
paid for overtime, would you prefer to be paid with money
or in time off?

30-40 mins Procedure: Now hand out a worksheet and ask students
to ask & answer the questions with a partner. When
finished, have them discuss their answers in small groups.
Teacher-prepared worksheets. Worksheet: Which of the following
benefits is most important to you
and why? Rank them in order of
importance.
-A high salary
-Good working conditions
-A boss you like
-Co-workers you like
-Little or no overtime
-Good opportunities for promotion
-A job near where you live
-The opportunity to travel
-Flexible working hours
(Add any others you may think are
important)

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Desert dilemma

Language Focus:
Speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have had intensive conversation
practice and worked on their problem-solving skills.
5 mins Warm Up: Lead into the activity by discussing survival in extreme
situations. Now ask students to imagine they have just crashed in a small
airplane in the Sonora Desert in Northern Mexico. The pilot is dead and
the plane is just a burnt-out shell. There is no radio and they think theyre
about 200 km off course. Daytime temperatures go above 45C and at
night they dip to zero. The area is flat & arid. Only a few items on board
came out intact, and they are listed on the whiteboard
Whiteboard,
markers.

40 mins. Procedure: Explain that each student is to write down a list of the seven
most important items on this list to ensure survival and/or rescue. When
theyve finished, put students into small groups of 5-6. Ask them to elect
one student as their leader. The task for each group is to agree on a final
list of items and to explain why they have chosen those items. Set a 30-
minute time limit and then ask the leaders to write their list on the board
and to explain why the group chose those items. When finished, ask the
class to consolidate all the items on the board into a final list of six items.
Check back after 10 minutes and discuss the results.
Items to be written on
whiteboard:
Two cans of canned food
50 meters of rope
Knife
Flashlight
Tent
Cell phone
6 liters of water
A can of gasoline
One bottle of whiskey
Several blankets
A compass
A loaded .45 pistol
Book: Edible Desert Plants &
Animals
One pocket mirror
One red & white parachute

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Implications

Language Focus:
Speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had extensive conversation
practice.
5-10 mins Warm Up:
Ask one student to come to the front of the class. Give that
person a piece of paper with a recently learned word or
idiom written on it. This student must then draw a picture
on the whiteboard expressing the concept of that word
(he/she cant say the word or spell it out). The other
students try to guess the word. Set a reasonable time limit.
If the class guesses the word the student who drew the
picture gets a point. Play several games.


30-40 mins Procedure: Write several questions on the board to
stimulate discussion such as: What would be the
implications of an event such as the outbreak of civil war in
your country? How about the discovery of huge oil
reserves? Or what if stretches of water more than a
kilometer wide could not be crossed? What if tobacco and
alcohol were made illegal? Or if all drugs were legal and
cheaply available? Put students into small groups and
have them write down the positive & negative implications
of these and any other timely questions you may like to
ask. Set a time limit and discuss each groups answers as
a whole class.

A variation of this activity would be
assigning roles to each person in
the groups. These roles, such as a
homemaker, doctor, company
president, teenager, etc, may
require the students to have vested
interests and thus further stimulate
discussion.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Newspaper
headlines
Language Focus:
Reading

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had practice reading
newspaper articles and have had learned a number of new vocabulary
items.
5 mins Warm Up: Ask learners if they ever read a newspaper in their first
language and/or in English. Briefly discuss.
30 mins Procedure: Newspapers use special grammar & vocabulary. Write
two headlines on the board:
A) Man found safe in Miami, B) Man finds safe in Miami. Ask
students what the difference is. Briefly discuss. Write the following
headlines on the board & ask learners to guess the meaning of the
underlined words: New hospital plans axed. Bush stunned by
results. Singer and actress to wed. Cabinet split on Euro.
Government report due tomorrow. Odds of success low. Hooligans
mar soccer match. Controversy over election result. Elicit students
answers but dont give synonyms yet. Ask them what parts of
speech are underlined. Hand out worksheet & ask students to
match the words. Check answers when done. Next, write a number
of sample headlines on the board and ask students to re-write them
in a different verb tense or with reduced clauses. Check student
answers & point out that newspaper headlines do not always follow
normal grammar rules. Now ask students to write three more short
headlines from a) history (e.g.: Caesar invades Britain) and b)
current affairs. When finished have them check their headlines with
a partner. To extend the activity, have them write short articles for
each headline.
Teacher-prepared
worksheets.
Worksheet: Put words into two
columns. In one column, write the
underlined words from the board
activity. In the other column write:
chance, spoil, divided, expected,
get married, shocked, about,
cancel.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Scanning

Language Focus:
Reading

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had extensive practice
scanning newspapers for key information.
5-10 mins Warm Up: Review scanning/speed-reading techniques.
Point out that when reading a text quickly its often not
necessary to read very word.

30 mins Procedure: Divide class into small groups and give each
group a newspaper. Ask them to devise a quiz for the
other groups in which they have to write 8-10 questions
based on facts (esp. times, locations, & dates) they find in
the newspaper. When finished, the groups exchange
newspapers and quizzes. Set a reasonable time limit and
make it a challengethe first group to correctly answer all
the questions is the winner. Discuss activity afterwards. If
time permits, do another.

The TV listings and sports section
of the newspaper are good sources
for scanning activities.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Reading
comprehension
Language Focus:
Reading: speaking,
writing, vocabulary

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had practice in reading
comprehension and had an opportunity to draw upon their passive and
active vocabulary stocks.
10 mins Warm Up
Continuing story. Write a sentence on the board followed by
an ellipsis. e.g.: It was a dark and stormy night, and Mary
was all alone in the house Now ask your students to add
a sentence one by one until youve gone around the class
once (or twice!).

30-40 mins Procedure: Using copies of an interesting, level-
appropriate, pre-selected text, tell the students that todays
reading activity will be a little different from most. Now take
out a pair of scissors. Cut along a line so that the last one or
two words at the end of each line are cut off. Put students in
small groups. Hand out the text and ask students to read it
and try to guess the missing words for about 10 minutes.
Then ask for suggestions from each group and write them
on the board. See if any of the groups chose the correct
words. Then give them another passage and ask them to
first write their answers individually, and then check with a
partner. Go over the correct answers with the class but draw
attention to any suggestions that may fit in each sentence.
Teacher-prepared reading
passages.

Scissors.
The reading passages should be
re-typed in a line-by-line format so
that you can easily cut off the last
one or two words of each
sentence. A text with 15-20 lines
should suffice.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Text reconstruction

Language Focus:
Reading: vocabulary

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had considerable intensive
reading practice and be better able to reconstruct a text using key words.
5 mins Warm Up:

40 mins. Procedure: Hand out copies of a reading passage to
each student. Have them read it through. Now ask them to
turn it over. Hand out the jumbled key words worksheet. In
pairs, ask students to put the key words back into the
correct order without looking at the text. If the students get
stuck, allow them to quickly look back at the text but they
have to turn over the key words worksheet at the same
time. When all the students have the words in the correct
order, take the text away. Now ask them to reconstruct the
text in writing from the key words. Check each pairs text
when finished, and then allow them to check their
reconstruction with the original version.
Photocopies of a reading
passage.

Photocopies of jumbled key
words (one per group).
Reading passage should be
approximately 150-200 words long.
A passage from a guided reader at
level 4 or 5 would be one source of
a level-appropriate text.

Before class, write a list of key
words from a sample text in
jumbled order on a sheet of paper.
Make one copy for each group of
students.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Paragraph structure

Language Focus:
Reading: writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have a better understanding of the
role of topic sentences and how they are written.
5 mins Warm Up: Introduce topic of text through discussion.
Review form & function of topic sentences with a few
examples on the whiteboard.
30 mins. Procedure: Hand out worksheet with missing topic
sentences from 8-10 short passages. Ask them to read
each passage. Then, either write the missing topic
sentences on the board (in jumbled order and marked a, b,
c, etc.) or hand out another photocopy with them written
on it. In pairs, students then match each topic sentence
with the correct paragraph. As a follow-up, ask students to
write a paragraph on a particular topic of interest. When
finished, ask them to black out the topic sentence and
hand the paragraph to a partner. Each student then reads
his/her partners paragraph and then tries to write an
appropriate topic sentence. When finished, have them
exchange papers and compare.
Teacher-prepared worksheets. Each passage with a missing topic
sentence should consist of 50-75
words and be numbered 1, 2, 3,
etc.

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Ordering
paragraphs
Language Focus:
Reading: writing

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had considerable intensive
reading practice and had practice writing a concluding paragraph.
5 mins Warm Up: Students are told that theyre going to read a
story, and asked to predict what it might be about based
on the title alone.

40 mins. Procedure: Give the students 6-8 jumbled paragraphs
where, apart from the first two, they are in the wrong order.
In pairs, they are asked to reconstruct the passage to
make a coherent narrative. When finished, check the order
each pair came up with and show hand out the original
text MINUS THE LAST PARAGRAPH. Their task is to now
write the final paragraph, afterwards exchanging their
version with a partner for further reading practice. Finally,
hand out a copy of the original passage with the
concluding paragraph included. Discuss any discourse
markers in the text that may help link the paragraphs
together.
Copies of a 250- to 300-word
reading passage, minus the
last paragraph.

Jumbled paragraphs for each
pair of students.
It may be a good idea to set a
minimum number of words to be
written for the concluding
paragraph.

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Reading for gist

Language Focus:
Reading

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have had practice reading for gist
and detailed comprehension.
5 mins Warm Up: Briefly discuss the reading passage with a
general Q&A session.

40 mins. Procedure: Select of text of interest and blank out every
7
th
or 9
th
word with correction fluid. Hand out copies of the
reading passage (150-200 words) and ask students to
work with a partner and see if they can fill in the blanks
correctly. Check answers afterwards. Then ask the
students to re-read the completed text to answer 6-8
comprehension questions.
Teacher-prepared reading
passages.
Variation: Focus on specific parts
of speech; for example, adverbs.

Additional reading activities
Try one of these reading activities to liven up your lessons. They can be adapted for any level.
Remove a number of words from a reading passage without leaving blanks (you will have to
re-type the text). List the excerpted words in chronological order. And ask the students to
replace them in the text at any point they think is appropriate. When finished, give them the
original version to compare & discuss.
Remove a sentence from each paragraph of a reading passage and randomly transpose it
into a different paragraph. Ask the students to read the passage, find the inappropriate
sentence in each paragraph, and then put it the correct one.
Ask the students to write comprehension questions instead of you!
Use correction fluid to blank out different words or phrases containing factual information on
different copies of a reading passage. Each student receives a copy of the text with about
ten words or phrases blanked out. These are different for each student in a small group.
They must then ask each other questions to find the missing information. A pair work
variation would be to use different key words in certain places in the text; the students would
then have to search for a certain number of words that are different by asking each other
questions (they cannot look at each other's text).
Level:
Beginner

Topic:
Directions

Language Focus:
Listening

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have developed their ability to
accurately give and understand verbal directions.
5 mins Warm Up: Review prepositions & phrases such as behind/in
front of/next to/on the left, etc.
30 mins+ Procedure I: Hand out maps to each student. Ask them to
locate different places on the map, such as a bank or train
station. Elicit target language when asking for and giving
directions. Inform the students that Jack is having a party and
that they have been invited. Their task is to listen to directions
of how to get to Jacks house and draw the route on their maps.
Procedure II: Now play the tape once, and tell the students not
to draw anything. Play it a second time and ask them to now
draw the route to Jacks house. Ask students to check their
routes with a partner. Review as a class. Now do the activity
again starting from a different point on the map. Check as a
class. Do a final activity in which each student is given two
copies of a different city map. On one copy they are to explain
the route shown from one location to another while their partner
listens and traces the route on his/her map. They then switch
roles and repeat the process.
Cassette player, tape
recording of someone
giving directions.

Photocopies of hand-
drawn city maps with a
variety of streets,
businesses, parks, etc.
Variation: Stop the tape at certain
key points and allow the students
to discuss the task for 30 seconds
or so (but not look at each others
map).

Level:
Beginner

Topic:
Cloze exercise

Language Focus:
Listening

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had practice listening for
meaning by focusing on content words.
5 mins. Warm Up:
Try a few games of Hangman with recently taught
vocabulary.
30 mins+ Procedure: Place the cloze passage handouts face down
on each students desk. Allow no note-taking while
students listen. Explain the topic of the passage briefly.
Read the passage twice as fast as the normal speed. Tell
students to turn their paper over and complete the
passage by writing one word in each blank space. Allow
about 10 minutes for them to complete the passage. Elicit
answers from the students, and write all acceptable
answers on the board or OHP. Review as a class. Repeat
procedure with a second passage.
Teacher-prepared cloze
passage handouts.
Use a passage with about 50-70
words and 8-12 deletions.

Level:
High
beginner
Topic:
Culture cards

Language Focus:
Listening: speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had practice listening to and
making descriptions.
5 mins. Warm Up:
Pronunciation activity (e.g.: mimimal pair drill).
Whiteboard, markers. Make a set of culture cards with
words on each one designating
one thing from each culture
represented by your students (in a
multi-lingual class).
30 mins+ Procedure: Hand out the culture cards, face down, onto a
desk at the front of the classroom. Divide the class into
teams, and tell them that in this activity they will describe
things, people, places, and so on from their countries. The
first team to guess what it is gets a point. Only one guess
per hint is permitted. Demonstrate by picking card from the
deck. Dont show the card to the students. Give subtle
hints about the item to elicit guesses from the students. If
someone guesses correctly, give that persons team a
point. Repeat process with another card. After doing this
with four or five cards, let students draw the cards and
provide the hints. Continue until each student has had a
chance to draw a card representing his/her country and
give hints. When finished, tally the points and declare a
winner. As an extension of this activity, have learners write
up two more culture cards each and play another round.
Several sets of teacher-
prepared culture cards.

Blank cards.
Example hints:
Its something small & colorful.
Its made of wood.
It opens and closes.
Answer: sensu (a Japanese fan)
Etc.

Level:
High
beginner
Topic:
Dictogloss

Language Focus:
Listening

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had intensive listening practice
and worked collaboratively to reconstruct a text.
5 mins. Warm Up: Prepare students for the text they will be
hearing by asking questions and discussing a stimulus
picture. Pre-teach any difficult vocabulary.
Whiteboard, markers. This activity provides a useful
bridge between top-down and
bottom-up processing.
30 mins. Procedure: Tell the learners that are going to hear a
passage read out loud twice. The first time, they just listen.
The second time they are told to take down notes,
focusing on content words that will assist them in
reconstructing the passage. When the dictation is finished,
learners pool their notes and work together in small groups
to produce a full version of the passage. Review each
groups version, and then hand out a tapescript of the
passage for them to check. Repeat procedure with a
different passage.
Cassette player, tape with
recordings of two different 50-
60-word passages.

Photocopies of tapescripts.
Sample passage: In 1985 there
was a terrible earthquake in Mexico
City. Many thousands of people
died in the disaster. People
searched the city for missing
relatives and friends. Rescuers
worked without rest for several
days. There was a lot of suffering
and enormous destruction. The
cost to rebuild the city was
extremely high.

Level:
High
beginner
Topic:
Weather report

Language Focus:
Listening

Date:

Objective:
specific details such as temperatures.
5 mins Warm Up: Demonstrate how students should NOT try to
approach listening by playing a taped weather report
without any preparation and then having them answer
random questions afterwards.
Whiteboard, markers. Cassette recording of a weather
report.
20 mins+ Procedure: Distribute index cards with the names of the
cities mentioned in the weather report. Play the tape
again, telling the students to only listen for the temperature
of the city on each card. When the tape has finished,
check comprehension by calling out the names of the
cities and asking the students to give the temperature.
Extend the activity with news reports in which students
have to identify names, cities, topics, etc.
Cassette player, tape.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Half of the news

Language Focus:
Listening

Date:

Objective:
specific information and predicting what is about to be said.
5 mins Warm Up: Have a brief chat about current news stories. Whiteboard, markers.

20-30
minutes
Procedure I: Split the class into several small groups and
tell them that theyre going to play a game. Now ask them
to listen to a news report, and shut the tape player off
halfway through. Elicit what kind of information might be in
the second half of the report. Write ideas up on the board.
Play the tape again and let students hear the report in its
entirety.
Cassette player.

Tape with 6-8 short news
reports.

Procedure II: Now play the next report, and again stop it
halfway through. Now ask someone from one of the
groups to continue the report. If he/she responds quickly
and gives a reasonable answer, give that team 5 points. If
its lacking in some way, give fewer points. Continue with
the remaining news reports. The team with the most points
at the end is the winner. When finished, play all the news
reports again and discuss what was similar to and different
from the students versions.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Descriptions

Language Focus:
Listening: speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had practice listening to
descriptions and using speculative language.
5 mins. Warm Up: Have a brief discussion about how people are
attracted to each other. Elicit specific examples with a
variety of adjectives.
30 mins. Procedure: Put the students into small groups. Distribute
the photocopy with photographs on it. Ask students to look
at the photos and discuss what kind of person they think
the people in the photos are. Then tell the students that
they going to hear the people introduce themselves, and
that they have to match the speakers voice with his/her
photo. Continue with the other speakers and have the
students check their answers with the other groups. Follow
up with a discussion.
Photocopies with 6-8 of your
colleagues photographs on
them.

Prepare tape recordings and
photocopies beforehand. Each
recording should be 1-2 minutes in
length and the person speaking
should cover his/her name, age,
marital status, appearance,
hobbies, etc.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Songs

Language Focus:
Listening

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have developed intensive listening
skills by listening to a song.
5 mins. Warm Up: Have a brief discussion about popular songs.
Find out what they know about the song you have selected
for this lesson.

Copies of the song lyrics.
Select a popular song beforehand
and type up a double-spaced
transcript of the lyrics. Change
some of the words to similar-
sounding words.
30 mins Procedure I: Write the title of the song on the whiteboard,
and get the students to predict some of the words they are
might hear. Write them on the whiteboard. Now play the
song. After its finished discuss the words they heard and
did not hear on the tape. Play the song a second time.
Procedure II: Hand out the tapescript. Tell the students
that some of the words have changed. They are to listen to
the song again and identify the words that have changed
by marking them on the tapescript. In pairs, students
check their corrections. Check as a whole class. Optional:
Have the class sing along with the song as it is played a
final time.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
Headlines

Language Focus:
Listening: speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have further developed their
extensive and intensive listening skills.
10 mins. Warm Up:
Elicit information about what has been in the news lately,
both domestically and abroad. Tell the students that they
about to listen to the news on the radio. Ask them for
some sample headlines and write them on the board. Pre-
teach any difficult vocabulary they are going to hear.

20 mins. Procedure: Now play the tape and ask students to make
short notes for each news item. e.g.: Taiwan-earthquake-
20 people killed- lots of damage- 7.1. Pause the cassette
player after each news item. When finished, ask students
to retell the news stories to each other using their notes as
cues. Hand out transcripts for students to check at the
end.

Transcripts of the news items.
Record a short 3-5 minute radio
news bulletin beforehand.

Level:
Intermediate

Topic:
The Best
Candidate
Language Focus:
Listening

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had practice listening
selectively for specific information.
5 mins Warm Up: Briefly discuss qualifications for a few jobs
(e.g.: police officer, accountant, teacher, etc.)

30-40 mins Procedure: Hand out a copy of the job description
worksheet. Check students understanding of the
information. Distribute the table or write it on the board.
Play the tape of the three short interviews. Ask students to
fill in the age and years of experience rows as they
listen. Then play the tape again but stop at the end of each
interview to allow students to complete the table. Play the
tape again in its entirety. Procedure II: Split the class into
selection panels and let students check their tables to
make sure they have similar information. Ask each
selection panel to choose the best candidate for the job
and then report back to the class. Discuss.

Copies of a sample teacher-
prepared job description and
requirements.

Copies of a table with columns
for Candidates 1, 2, & 3 on the
top and rows with Age, Years
of experience, Qualifications,
Job-related skills, and
Interests.
Tape should have three 2-3 minute
interviews with different candidates
for the job (enlist other ESL
instructors to help you record the
tape).


Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Selective listening

Language Focus:
Listening

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had intensive practice listening
to and summarizing the key points in a conversation.
5-10 mins. Warm Up:
Try a level-appropriate dictation activity.
30 mins. Procedure: Tell the students that they are about to hear a
conversation that contains both important and unimportant
information. After listening to the conversation, the
students are to summarize the key points the speakers
made. While listening, the students should focus on the
main points only. Write several subheadings on the board
to give students some guidance. Now play the tape twice.
Have students note under each subheading one or two
essential points each speaker made. Procedure II: In
pairs, students now summarize what the speakers said.
Students compare which points they considered most
important and give reasons to support this. Discuss as a
whole class afterwards and repeat with a different
conversation if desired.
Cassette player, tape with a
two 2-3 minute conversations
between two people
(preferably a male and a
female). Each conversation
covers a different topic in
which the speakers discuss the
topic from different viewpoints.

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Listening accuracy

Language Focus:
Listening

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, students will have worked on improving their
listening comprehension.
5 mins. Warm Up:
Tell students that they are going to listen to native
speakers talking. Then tell them a name of the program
you have recorded but nothing else about the speakers or
topic.
30 mins Procedure: Play the tape once for general
comprehension. Elicit the main points of the conversation.
Then play the tape a second time, this time in sections.
Pause the tape after each section and ask students to
transcribe as much as they can. Procedure II: Put the
students into small groups and ask them to try to
reconstruct the conversation using their transcriptions.
When finished, play the tape once more for them as a final
check. Review with tapescripts.
Cassette player, taped 5-
minute segment of a radio or
TV program (talk show).

Copies of tapescript.
Follow-up activity: Have students
record the same dialog and then
listen to their version of the same
conversation compared to the
original.

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
The News

Language Focus:
Listening/speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have developed their skill in
selective listening for specific information.
5 mins Warm Up: Have a short class discussion about listening to the news.
Ask the following questions: a) Do you prefer to get news from the
newspaper, the radio, or TV? Why? b) What types of news items are
usually the top stories? c) What areas of the world have been in the
news lately? d) What news stories do you expect to hear on todays
news?
Whiteboard,
markers.

30 mins+ Procedure: Use the students answers to make two lists on the
board: a list of places from Question c and a list of news items from
Question b. Play the first part of the news (the headlines). Students
listen and decide a) how many news items there are, and b) which of
the places on the board the news items are about. Now play the rest
of the tape. Have students decide what type of news the stories are
about. When finished, have them form small groups and discuss
which story they are most interested in. Take an informal poll of which
new item is the most interesting for most students. Then play that item
again. Students should answer the following questions: Who is
involved? What did they do? Where did the event take place? Why is
it newsworthy? As an extension, ask students to discuss what they
think the ramifications of these news items will be.
Cassette player,
tape recording of
the radio news.

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Listening to
messages

Language Focus:
Listening

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had practice listening to and
retrieving information from recorded messages.
5 mins Warm Up: Have a brief discussion about listening to and
leaving recorded messages on the phone. Do the students
consider them an irritant?
30-40
mins.
Procedure: Write a number of questions regarding the
first message on the whiteboard for students to discuss.
Play the first message as many times as necessary for the
students to get down the necessary information. Then
have the students compare their answers in pairs. Review
any new vocabulary. Move on to the next message and
repeat the process. Three or four 30-60 second messages
should suffice for one lesson.
Cassette player, tape
recordings of simulated
answering machine messages.
At this level try to include some
challenging idioms and complex
sentence structure in the
messages.

Variation: Prepare an information
table or cloze activity for students
to complete while they listen.

Level:
Advanced

Topic:
Personal ads

Language Focus:
Listening/reading/speaking

Date:

Objective:
By the end of this lesson, learners will have had practice getting
information from recorded messages and have practiced the language of
personal information, personality characteristics, interests, and idioms.
5 mins Warm Up: Introduce the concept of personal ads by
asking questions such as: Why do people put personal
ads in the newspaper?

Whiteboard, markers. Pre-record 6-8 personal ads
representing both males and
females (make sure theyre
appropriate in terms of content &
level). Try to include some
challenging idioms and other
vocabulary.
40 mins Procedure: Hand out the photocopied personal ads and
review the abbreviations used (e.g.: SWF). Then hand out
the worksheet and explain what is required. Now play the
recorded personal ads. Have students compare answers
with a partner when the recordings are finished. Review
any new vocabulary. Discuss the ads they have listened to
and ask questions such as Would you like to meet this
person? Why or why not? What kind of person do you
think he/she is? Etc. As a follow-up, have the students
perform a role play in which one student plays a person in
one of the ads. Another student calls him/her to express
interest in getting together and they have a short
conversation. Have students vote on the best role play!
Cassette player, tape with
recordings of 6-8 personal ads.

Teacher-prepared worksheets.
Worksheet: Crate a table with
headings such as:
Name
Personality
Interests
Type of person he/she is seeking
Etc.

To make the task more
challenging, have the students
initially match the recorded ads
with the written ones (they will,
obviously, have different texts).

Essential reference books for language teachers
Practical English Usage, by Michael Swan. Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, 1995.
Considered by many to be the "bible" of English language teaching. It contains over 600 entries focusing on
problem points in the language for both teachers and students. Revised in 1995. "Don't leave home without it!"
The Practice of English Language Teaching, by Jeremy Harmer. Longman, 3rd edition, 2001.
An essential guide for English language teachers that contains a comprehensive and up-to-date account of theories
of language and language teaching along with a wide variety of teaching ideas. The third edition has been completely
rewritten and updated.
Fun with Grammar, by Suzanne W. Woodward. Prentice Hall Regents, 1997.
A teacher resource book with over 200 communicative, task-based games and activities for all levels.
Highly recommended!
Grammar for English Language Teachers (with exercises and a key), by Martin Parrott.
Cambridge University Press, 2000.
An excellent resource for helping teachers develop their overall knowledge and understanding of English grammar,
and it also provides a quick source of reference in planning lessons and clarifying learner problems.
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 11th edition, 2004.
An authoritative dictionary that every language teacher needs. Over 240,000 words, phrases, and definitions in
addition to hundreds of helpful hints on grammar and usage.
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Level: Topic: Language Focus: Date:

Objectives:

Authorship credit for The Last-Minute ESL/EFL Lesson Plan & Activity Guide:
Written by: Patrick Selby
Reviewed by: Patrick Selby and Homero Monaco
Graphic design by: Mike Zanni
Project managed by: Mike Zanni
This product/publication includes images from Corel Gallery 1,000,000 which are
protected by the copyright laws of the U.S., Canada and elsewhere. Used under license.

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