Greater University Tutoring Service Foreign Language Learners

Lesson Planning: Structured/Themed Conversational Practices

Occasionally FLL facilitators may find it strategic to plan ahead and have a themed conversational lesson during group meetings, as an alternative to unplanned, spontaneous, organic conversational practice (which has its own benefits). Planning structured conversations for foreign language practice can be quite similar to what instructors do in class to teach students. On that note, this handout borrows a framework designed by those in foreign language pedagogy to guide you through how to think about your lessons and provide a general sketch of what it can be like.

A common thematic lesson planning strategy is the Five-Phase Lesson Plan1

Overview Stating the objectives and orienting students to the lesson, as a kind of organizer to the lesson, assisting students in structuring their reception and response to lesson. For example, have a syllabus outlining target vocabulary groups or subthemes of lesson beforehand, in addition to a list of goals to achieve through the lesson.

. The five phases are Overview, Preparation, Drill/Practice, Check/Accountability, and Follow-up respectively.

Preparation Entails initial presentation of the material (vocabulary, phrases, etc. of concern) that serves as an input for subsequent active usage of the material. For example, use giant flash cards to get students oriented and memory-activated with the set of vocabulary; provide a text, video, or audio to help introduce vocabulary or phrases within certain context.

Drill/Practice Encouraging students to reproduce what they have learnt in the previous input session through (non-)conventional language production methods such as responding to a question, fictional text production (such as ads, letters, stories), or even a project such as a collage involving text-picture association. Effort should be made (on the facilitator’s part) to try to vary student response patterns in Q&A form of practicing the vocabulary. Also, pay attention to group dynamics, as some students may require more gradual movement (in terms of comfort) from group production of responses to individual responses. Consider various factors and multiple approaches to error of text production by the student – be a supportive and flexible peer facilitator.

Check/Accountability Providing certain opportunities for students to demonstrate their understanding and ability to employ the material provided in active language production. Using assessment methods such as a mini-quiz or mini-presentation (holding students accountable for their production) would help provide the facilitator with a more meaningful evidence of the students’ mastery of the material and help guide future plans in instruction/practice.

Follow-up Reflection of the whole lesson should be done to review the effectiveness of the lesson in assisting students master the target vocabulary or theme, such that the students may be more comfortable and apt at production of language with regards to the theme selected. Go over the objectives of the lesson and think about what could be done to enhance what has been achieved or to compensate for unreached goals.

1 Benjamin Rifkin, Guidelines for Foreign Language Lesson Planning. Foreign Language Annals, 36(2): 167-179.