How to Plan a TEFL Lesson for Assignment A When You Feel Completely Stuck

1. Strip the brief down to one clear job

Before you think about texts, games or timings, you need one sentence that sums up what this assignment is really about. On most TEFL and initial teacher training courses, the first big written lesson-planning task is about planning a skills lesson (often reading or listening) with clear aims, sensible staging and a short written explanation of your choices.

Take your assignment sheet and look for:

• what skill they want (reading, listening, sometimes a mix)

• what kind of text or audio they expect

• what you must hand in (plan only / plan plus rationale / worksheets as well)

On a separate piece of paper, write one plain sentence:

“This assignment wants me to plan a ___ lesson for a ___ level class and explain why I chose these tasks.”

Keep that sentence in front of you. Every decision you make should help you do that one job.

2. Start with your class, not a random idea

Many trainees get stuck because they start with a “cool activity” or a favourite topic, then force everything else to fit. It’s easier if you begin with the learner profile in the brief.

Look again at the description: age, level, class size, reason for learning, any special needs or restrictions. Imagine them as a real group in a real room. Ask yourself:

• What can they already do with this skill?

• What do they probably find hard?

• How long can they honestly concentrate?

If you are planning a reading lesson, for example, a B1 adult group might cope well with a short online article, but an A2 teen class may need something shorter and simpler with more pictures.

Once you have a clear picture of your class, the planning decisions feel less abstract. You are planning for real people, not just trying to please a marker.

3. Choose a text that does one job well

Assignment A almost always expects you to build the lesson around a central text or listening. The biggest mistake is choosing something because it looks interesting to you without thinking about level and lesson aims.

To get unstuck, follow this order:

1. Decide what you want learners to be better at by the end (e.g. reading for gist, listening for detail, following instructions).

2. Choose a text that naturally fits that skill and level.

3. Check length: will they be able to finish in the time allowed, with tasks?

If the brief mentions “authentic materials”, that simply means a text that was not written for a coursebook or exam, such as a short blog post, menu, email or advert. Many trainees find it helpful to skim a few examples of TEFL lesson planning from training sites like ESLbase, then come back to their own brief and adapt the general ideas.

The text does not need to be clever. It just needs to be clear, level-appropriate and usable in different stages of your lesson.

4. Build a simple spine for the lesson

When you feel overwhelmed, think of your lesson as a spine with a few strong bones. For a reading or listening lesson, a very typical pattern is:

• get students interested in the topic

• help with key words or ideas they will need

• first encounter with the text (quick overall understanding)

• second encounter (more detailed questions)

• follow-up task using the content (speaking or writing)

Write these steps out in your own words, then pencil in what your learners will actually be doing at each point. At this stage, don’t worry about pretty formatting. Just write notes like “pairs discuss three questions about holidays” or “students match headlines to paragraphs”.

You now have the backbone of the lesson. Everything else is detail.

5. Turn notes into a plan the marker can read

Assignment A usually wants more than just a rough idea; it expects a full plan with timings, interaction patterns and stage aims.

Take each of the stages from your spine and add:

• a realistic time (not every stage can be five minutes)

• who is working with whom (T–S, S–S in pairs, groups, etc.)

• clear teacher actions (“Ask…”, “Show…”, “Monitor…”)

• clear student actions (“Read…”, “Compare answers…”, “Underline…”)

Check that the timing adds up to the lesson length set in your brief. If you run over, cut something that is not central to the main aim. If you are under, extend the most useful stages, such as pair work on post-reading tasks.

This is the point where you can tidy language, but keep instructions short and practical. Imagine saying them in a real class.

6. Add a short, honest rationale

Many providers ask for a written explanation of why you planned the lesson this way. This is not a second essay. Think of it as you talking to your tutor about your choices.

A simple way to organise this is:

• a short paragraph about the group and why you chose this topic and text for them

• another paragraph about how your tasks help learners practise the chosen skill

• a final paragraph about how you tried to support weaker learners and keep stronger ones challenged

If the brief mentions background reading, you can refer to one or two ideas you have seen in your course notes or in a basic methodology book. You do not need ten references; you need to show that your decisions were not random.

7. Check your plan like a marker, not a trainee

Before you upload the assignment, try to look at it with your tutor’s eyes. Ask yourself:

• Can I see the main aim at a glance?

• Do the stages move in a logical order?

• Are timings believable for that level and group?

• Does anything feel copied or “thrown in” just to look clever?

If something looks out of place, simplify it. Markers usually prefer a clear, realistic lesson over a complicated one that would fall apart in a real class.

8. When you are still stuck

Sometimes, even after all this, you still feel you’re going in circles. In that case, you might want another pair of eyes on your draft. A specialist tefl assignment writing service can compare your plan with the brief, point out gaps and confusing parts, and suggest clearer staging. The key is that you stay involved: you should understand and be comfortable with every stage of the lesson you hand in.

Planning Assignment A while tired and stressed is never fun, but it is a skill that improves quickly once you have a simple process. Start with the brief, picture your class, choose one suitable text, build a clear spine and then add details that make sense. Step by step, the empty page becomes a real lesson