Humanising Language Teaching
Year 5; Issue 6; November 03

Planning Lessons and Courses

Whether you are an experienced teacher or you have not had much practice so far, planning a new course, or even a single lesson, can mean quite an ordeal at times.

Questions like, how much can be taught in a 60 minutes lesson?, how can I avoid monotony both for my students and myself?, which materials will be suitable for such a mixed-ability group?, what can I do with early finishers?, and the like, are in the minds of almost all teachers at one time or another. Planning Lessons and Courses contains both thought-provoking analysis on the roles of the teacher and at the same time clear explanations of key principles. Throughout the eight chapters of the book, Tessa Woodward tries to give practical answers to the many key principles in foreign language teaching : Who are the students?, how long is the lesson?, what can go into a lesson?, how do people learn and so how can we teach?. What can we teach with?, how can we vary the activities we do?, getting down to preparation and what are our freedoms and constraints?.

Planning Lessons and Courses provides a step-by-step approach to lesson planning, deeply rooted in established educational theory, and at the same time, aided by Woodward's hands-on teaching experience.

Tessa Woodward is well aware of the difficulties and concerns that teachers are facing and she struggles hard to encourage both beginners and experienced teachers, helping the former to be more confident, and refreshing the routines of the latter. She does not go into long explanations of how to write down lesson plans that are stored in the headmaster's office, but rather concentrates on those elements that will ensure our lessons and courses are good ones. And Tessa Woodward's criteria of a good lesson or course is the one where there's plenty of language learning going on.

Book reviewed by Neus Serra
First published in APAC magazine, Jan. 2003