The importance of creating lesson plan in your ESL classroom.

To have a lesson plan is very important for every ESL teacher. You cannot teach effectively without it. It is your daily guide so you can deliver your lesson in the class properly.
Majority of the schools do not provide a lesson plan. However, most schools provide curriculum guides that will tell you what ESL students need to accomplish. On the other hand, some schools will give you a format to follow, others will let you use whatever format you like.
Generally, a good lesson plan includes the following:

• Day/Date
• Class Level
• Materials that will be used in the class for that day
• Textbooks
• Goal/Objectives
• Unit Title
• Target Language
• Body Lesson

Since I started teaching EFL/ESL, I always used the PPP format for the body of my lesson. PPP stands for Presentation Stage, Practice Stage, Production Stage. Here is an example of the body of the lesson with a brief explanation for each stage:

A. Warm-up Stage – this section includes review of the previous lesson, examples of what the students will learn,or games that will stimulate the students’ interest.
B. Presentation Stage – you will include in this section the target language that you want to teach, including specific structures, models of the target language.
C. Practice Stage – you write in this section specific activities you have planned for the students which is related to the target language.
D. Production Stage– this is where the students really learn a new language skill. The teacher must encourage the students to express themselves while focusing on the target language that was taught during the presentation and practice stage.
E. Conclusion Stage – reviewed what you have studied during class time. You can include here homework for your students.
This lesson format is ideal for new EFL/ESL teachers. New teachers should develop a habit of writing a detailed lesson plan during his / her first year of teaching. I know it is time consuming, but once your used to it, you will develop a skill that you will never regret. However, if you are an experienced teacher, you can write a minimal structured lesson plan.
When I started teaching ESL students, it has been my habit to take a few notes after each class. I write down the things that went wrong during class time, and include my personal evaluation to make my teaching more better. I also save some lessons that I wrote for future use, and it is very helpful.
If you want to make your lesson interesting, do not forget to create a lesson plan. It will give you direction as you face your ESL students