Teach English in HuangshA Zhen - Chongqing

Lesson planningMany teachers have different views as far as lesson planning is concerned. Different methods and styles work for different teachers. Some teachers feel planning lessons is a bad idea as this result in more rigid, teacher centred lesson not allowing change according to the students needs. Though there is some truth in this it is still important to do a bit of planning before class, especially if the teacher is inexperienced. It is difficult for inexperienced teachers to be flexible and allow students to decide what to do in class as they may not have the experience and knowledge to come up with activities on the spot. They will also not be equipped for some of the language problems that may arise in class. They may need a bit more time researching activities as they may have no idea what is relevant and what is not for the level of the students being taught. students may also take advantage if they see the teacher is a bit nervous and new at teaching making lessons a waste of time and very unproductive. Some experienced teachers may feel they do not need to do any planning as they are equipped for any problems that may arise in class. This may be true in some cases but it is still a good idea to write down some sort of lesson plan and what is being covered in class in case someone else needs to take over the class, they will at least have some idea what the students have and have not covered. It is always good to write down lesson plans just in case they are needed in a case such as the one mentioned above or for any type of evaluation etc. Even though most teachers inexperienced or not do some type of planning before class it is important to remember that planning should be used more as a guide and time should be included for any variations in planning. Planning should not be rigid and should allow for change if the teacher can see the activity that was planned is not working and needs to be adjusted to suit the class. Before planning lessons there are some factors that need to be considered which will determine a large amount of what is done in each lesson. Firstly, the teacher should always keep the level of the students in mind, making sure work covered is appropriate to the level and age of students being taught as well as the pace of the lesson. Teachers should not try and rush through work. The pace should rather be a bit slow than to fast as students will get frustrated and give up trying if they are not grasping any of the concepts. Secondly, lessons should always include activities which are fun and interesting. It is important to keep the students engaged in lessons. Teachers should find out what games and activities students enjoy and adapt the work to suit the games. If students are having fun while learning English it is more likely that they will pick up on the language a lot faster, contributing to a positive learning experience. To conclude, teachers should always do a bit of planning before class, the depth of planning depends on the experience of the teacher or the how the teacher personally feels about lesson planning. Lessons should always have an aim and some objective the teacher wishes to produce by the end of the lesson. Lessons should always include fun and interesting activate activities, motivating students to study. lesson plans should not be rigid; the teacher should be able to change activities not working for a specific class. In all cases the teacher should keep the interests and needs of the students first on the list when planning lessons. Keep lessons fun, interesting and at a steady pace and all of the students will have a positive learning experience.