For me, an English lesson usually takes 45 minutes, and there can also be a double version that lasts 90 minutes. When it comes to kids, a lesson should last 30-35 minutes, and for older pupils 90 minutes is acceptable. For each English lesson, the teacher must have the appropriate preparation. Teachers always need to be prepared for several reasons:
– to make the lesson effectively implemented and always in the same pace,
– to never miss an important part of the class,
– so that realization of the lesson is the same in different groups and so on.
Preparation for the class that is well done is a great help for a teacher. Once created it can be used for years. In pedagogical literature there are two kinds of tasks. As a professor, I prepare both types before the class. Educational tasks permeate the educational process, and include the development and nurturing of students’ personality traits such as perseverance, orderliness, systematic, logical thinking, humanity and more. Example of educational task is reading a text, writing composition, talking about a cultural topic. The educational objectives are based on the mandatory contents that are presented to a student. An example of such a task is a test of present perfect tense.
There are different types of lessons:
– Introduction – this is the first lesson at the beginning of the course. I tend to be casual while introducing myself to my students, and they to me. I always ask them to share an interesting fact from their lives and I ask them why they learn English.
– Processing – these are the texts that we are reading for the first time, new grammar rules etc. Before each class I see if there are some things I do not know or that I forgot. I also take a look at grammar that we are studying that particular day.
– Revision – I never managed to quickly think of tasks in the classroom. Therefore, I always come prepared with the tasks and f it is possible, I copy them on sheets of paper and give them to students.
– Assessment – this involves tests and examinations, which I always prepare early, often even at the beginning of the course.
It is very important that the lessons do not become boring to students and that the teacher doesn’t use only blackboard and chalk. Textbooks are important. Also, there are visual aids (photos, drawings, maps – extremely important in working with children), and audio-visual aids (radio, TV, computer …) that make the lesson more interesting and dynamic.
In the end, I want to mention that in preparation for the class I learned to leave a space for class analysis and evaluation: what was good the previous time, and what can be better. It would be good to include opinions of students. A real teacher will get rid of vanity and accept suggestive criticism. This part of the preparation for me as a teacher is very important because it may contain suggestions for future planning and improving.