Teach English in Qishan Zhen - Rizhao Shi

The best thing that I have learnt from TEFL/TESOL course is lesson planning (model 9), lesson planning has been a grey area for me for a long time, because I have come across very good teachers that always have a lesson plan, I have also come across good teachers who believe that lesson plans make lessons boring, inflexible and less productive both categories have a logical explanation. The teachers that believe that every teacher should always have a lesson plan, are mostly new teachers who emphasis that every lesson should have a degree of flexibility to it. While those that don't believe in lesson planning are mostly experienced teachers, and often have mental lesson plan without them realizing. Lesson planning in TEFL/TESOL course was able to clearly state from the very beginning of the course that "there are various schools of thought on this issue. Some theorist suggest that lesson planning is not a good idea as it creates a more fixed teacher centered lesson. It is true that too much planning can make lessons rather rigid and stop the teacher from being flexible to the needs of the students. However, it is very difficult for inexperienced teachers to be able to be as flexible as the world requires the teacher is expected to let the students decide what to do in the class but an inexperienced teacher would find great difficulty in being able to conduct a lesson in such a way, as he/she wouldn't be prepared to deal with some of the language problems that may arise from such a lesson and lessons, therefore may lack direction". The model also highlighted the important functions of lesson planning, which are; as an aid to planning, this is very important because if a teacher does not know what his students are expected to achieve, his or her effort will be in vain and there may be no improvement at the end of a lesson and the teacher may not notice. Another important function of lesson planning is that it serves as a working document, the teacher will be able to set target and achieve them during a lesson, however this dose not mean that time for certain activities cannot be extended if it is enjoyed by the students or the purpose of the activity is not achieved within the allocated time. lesson plans also serve as a record for future reference, incase if another teacher is to cover for the main teacher in his or her absence. It is one thing to know the importance of lesson planning and is another thing to be able to write a good lesson plan. There is no special way to write a lesson plan, however their are basic principles of lesson planning and this course was able to address it in a very simple way by emphasizing how important it is for lesson plan to be simple because one may need to refer to it during the lesson, lesson plans should not be script, it should be structured and the structure should be maintained, the anticipated time for each activity should be written in the margin, the balance of skills should be checked and it should be kept flexible and open to adaptation. The principles mentioned have given me a great yet simple standard to draft out my lesson plan. Aside the basic principles of writing a lesson plan, I have also learnt that what one includes in a lesson plan is very much up to the person, But it is important for one to have a structured plan at the beginning of his or her teaching carrier, so as to have a clear guide on what to achieve and how to achieve it. This course recommended that the following should be included in a lesson plan; learner objective ( this is what a teacher wants the student to be able to do at the end of a lesson), personal aims (what one as a teacher wish to achieve), language point (shows the theme around which ones lesson is based), teaching aids ( materials and other aids needed to teach the lesson), procedure (the activities used to achieve learners objective), anticipated problems ( for teacher and students), phase, timing, interaction, class level, number of students, date/time,and teachers and observers names. One can also plan a sequence of lessons and the procedure is same as planning for a single lesson with a number of special issues which must be considered, they are; flexibility, goals, revision, variety, and balance. In conclusion, lesson planning is the best thing I have learnt in TEFL/TESOL course, it has given me a guide to all my lessons as a teacher and I believe it will make my teaching carrier better. So, thank you TEFL/TESOL COURSE.