Those starting out in EFL need to develop a fast, efficient approach to lesson planning, explains Declan Carey

Picture this: it’s late at night and you’re still planning lessons for tomorrow. Time is ticking, yet with such a plethora of materials to choose from, both online and from textbooks, it seems impossible to decide what to do.

It’s okay if this situation sounds familiar; almost every teacher has found themselves here at some point. As an experienced teacher, I still spend time planning lessons, but it’s much shorter than it used to be, and the late nights are no more (or at least much less frequent).

Planning involves finding or creating materials and putting these together in a coherent way. With a little experience and some practical hints, planning lessons can be done much faster and become an enjoyable process.

To start with, get into the habit of reusing everything you create. Whilst it can take time initially to create materials, games and flashcards, they can be used with different classes time and time again.

Pictures can be used for introducing grammar, brainstorming vocabulary and creating discussion activities. Make sure to laminate them to keep them in good condition. It won’t take long before you have a nice bank of pictures and games which can be used for almost any lesson, and you’ll save loads of planning time.

If I’m teaching a common grammar topic, indefinite articles (a/an) for example, I already know which pictures, games and activities I can use from my files. This leaves me with a much easier job because half the lesson is already planned.

Top tips for pics

• Use visuals/pictures for different purposes throughout the lesson. Think about reusing them for lead-ins, introducing grammar and vocabulary.
• Laminate and keep anything that can be used more than once. Create a file you can bring with you to lessons – this will save you if things don’t go to plan.
• Tag your materials, pictures and games for specific topics and always bring them with you to those lessons.

It’s also worth spending time acquainting yourself with good quality and reliable online resources. The internet is a mind-bogglingly large space and within it there are some great sites for teachers to find and share materials. But there’s also a lot which you won’t want to use, so try not to waste too much time crawling through pages and instead stick to sites you trust.

For instance, ISL Collective is a great page with over 70,000 worksheets, games and activities freely available to use for teachers. I use it often because I know I can count on it.

Further to that, social networks are invaluable for ESL teachers. I follow and interact with many teachers on Twitter (I’m @DeclanGCarey) who openly share fantastic resources and ideas in their blogs and on their timelines. Language schools frequently have Facebook pages where they share ideas.

Personally, I believe this is one of the best ways to meet other professionals and find excellent materials and ideas. Just remember to also share your own ideas and resources and give something back to the online community.

Online options

• Build your online profile and begin interacting with professionals in the same field. It’s okay to ask for help and ideas, but be sure to give something back.
• Identify some reliable sites and use these as your go-to places when looking online to save time searching endlessly. Try ISL Collective, Ed.Ted.com, One Stop English and Lingua House.
• When taking worksheets from the internet, use them as a resource and not an entire lesson. Few students enjoy completing worksheet tasks for 90 minutes.

Textbooks are everywhere in English language teaching, and using them properly can save time lesson planning. During observations, I see some teachers going through textbooks like a good thriller novel, page by page, but I prefer to focus on the best bits and use only the relevant parts.

For instance, if I have a 90 minute lesson, I might use the textbook for a lead-in as they often come with nice pre-prepared discussion questions to create interest. After that, I often take the listening task and base the first part of the lesson around that.

But that huge article and grammar revision section? I probably won’t need it or the students can do it at home, and instead we’ll practise using the language with visuals and games in class. So think carefully about what you actually need from your textbook and use it as a base for your lesson, rather than a crutch to carry you through 90 minutes.

Textbook tips

• Pulling out the best and most relevant parts of textbooks to make lessons interesting and save time creating new materials.
• Remember that you don’t need to complete every task. It’s okay to skip some activities and set other tasks for homework. I often do this with the reading tasks. (exam classes are a bit different).
• Mix textbook activities with your own resources and games to quickly put together a nice interactive lesson your students will enjoy.

By following these guidelines, you can save time planning lessons and instead focus more on other aspects of teaching and avoid the late nights.

Don’t forget

• For online resources, get involved in social media communities with other teachers. There’s a weekly #ESLchat where teachers discuss various topics relating to our profession. This is a good place to begin building your network and finding blogs that experienced teachers share.
• Most experienced teachers will have files of activities and materials they reuse, but also think about creating lesson plans you can reuse. It’s worth making lesson plans online and saving them to use for other occasions. Feel free to use some of my own lessons here: wordpress.com/lessonplans
• There are many textbooks available, so it’s really about finding the right ones for you.