Printed and published for ICDA School Program's Summer Training. Created by Alexander Cueto as a compilation of recent learning.

1. The Effective
Lesson
Essential Components
of Modern Teaching

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As teachers of English language, we face
permanent challenges that put the quality of
our work and professional development to
the test.
As a result, improving the quality of our
lessons is a necessary piece for our careers.
Professional development is anything that we
choose to make better what we do, and so we
can develop ourselves by making changes in
the way lessons are delivered.
Choice, change and trust are three pillars of
professional development because when we
choose a new way of teaching, trusting our
ability to obtain results is a sign of adaptation
to the needs of the environment.
This guide shows options to designing and
delivering effective English lessons, based on
ongoing approaches of educational theories.

3. 3
• Experiential Learning
• Meaningful Learning
• Phases of Learning
• ECRIF
• Student-Centered Teaching
• Classroom Setup
• Giving Instructions
• Correcting
• Activities
• Pairing and Grouping
COMPONENTS

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Modern Teaching
Traditional learning relied on mechanical
features like memorization and passive recitation
from conventional resources.
Today, modern education draws attention to
experiences that lead to permanent changes in
behavior.
In addition, the impact of new theories in
education and discoveries of how people learn,
has brought out major repercussions in the
classroom and how to develop the lessons.
Teachers are now challenged to implant a
personal brand with background information
and their own learning experience.
Following are some of the most notable
implications of this new teaching model with the
purpose to enrich and if desired, modify old
standards to teach a lesson.

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The Experiential Approach
Learning from experience is the new ideal of
constructivism in which the creation of spaces
to build meaningful learning is emphasized.
It is used in a conscious, planned and directed
way that adapts to different learning styles
–visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile.
One basic concept is learning by doing or
hands-on learning, where knowledge is
displaced and the experience instills through
emotions, sensations and principles that mark
the individual.
Experiential learning brings about new
opportunities for self-discovery, experimenting
and reflecting on group work, strengthening
community building and reflecting on the
experience.

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Meaningful Learning
David Ausubel, an educational psychologist,
built upon the work of Jean Piaget and other
constructivists.
The theory of Meaningful Learning explains
learning as the one achieved when putting
together the following constituents:
•Subject with disposition to learn
•Previous knowledge
•New knowledge
•Subject-object interaction.
Accordingly, the learning subject will be able to
assimilate, relate and organize the new
knowledge with the previous, in order to apply
it in a practical way.

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Meaningful Learning
❑ Make Learning active
• Role Playing
• Think, Pair, Share
• Peer Review
• Discussions
• Games
❑ Make Learning Constructive
• Explore the world with real references
• Make Learning Cooperative and Collaborative
• Work In pairs
❑ Make Learning Authentic
• Students think critically

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Learning Stages
When learning a new lesson, students go through
different stages. It’s important to sequence activities
so that they assimilate, relate and organize the new
knowledge.
• At a first stage, they discover the relation between
previous and new knowledge, and from
unconscious unskillfulness, the learner recognizes
lack of ability on the skill.
• Later, and through clarifying activities, students
move on seeing increased level of competence.
• The teacher then promotes retention using
repetitions, visual references and choices, seeking
meaning through familiar settings.
• Internalization happens by providing chances of
usage, reflecting and projecting application in real
situations and contexts.
• Lastly, the learner transfers the experience to the
long-term memory.

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Phases of Learning
I. Unconsciousl
y Skilled
I’m not sure what this is…
II. Consciously
Unskilled
I can identify what this is but I
can't do it.
III. Consciously
Becoming
Skilled
I can analyze and talk with ease
about it, and with help, I can try it.
IV. Consciously
Skilled
I can apply this knowledge
consistently and intentionally, but
I need to concentrate to do it well.
V. Unconsciousl
y Skilled
I consistently and automatically
(without thinking) do the task, I
can transfer it to other contexts
and I can help others do it.

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ECRIF Framework
• Understanding in which stage learners are
found is essential because each stage marks
the type of complexity.
• ECRIF Framework is designed to help teacher
focus on the learning process that students
go through as they work with the target skill
or knowledge rather than what the teacher is
doing during the lesson.
• In this way, the teacher plans activities and
thinks about the content to service learning in
a principled way.
• ECRIF can be used
to plan lessons and adapt course book
materials = (reflecting for action)
• to assess where students are in their learning
process during a lesson = (reflecting in action)
• to reflect on student learning after a lesson
= (reflecting on action)

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Scaffolding with ECRIF
ENCO
UNTE
R
Providing clear context.
Giving students chance to
talk, providing text to read
or listen to, eliciting
vocabulary.
Brainstorming vocabulary, answering
questions with target language, describing a
picture, gap fill activity, choosing the best
response to a dialog, marking specific
words in a text
CLARI
FY
Finding out what students
already know.
Matching meaning or rules to words or
sentences, sorting sentences or words into
groups, Discussing the meaning,
pronunciation, rules of the language items,
Using dictionaries.
REME
MBER
Dong choral repetition,
giving specific feedback to
students.
Having students quiz each other, for
example, with pictures, meaning and
words. Drills, Playing games, Recognition
activities, saying a word and pointing a
picture, matching questions and answers,
meaning and words, sentences and
situations.
INTE
RNAL
IZE
Providing chances to use the
vocabulary, or structure to
talk about themselves, giving
students time to think and
recall, allowing students to
write and reflect.
Answering questions, doing gap fill
activities, choose correct words, place into
blanks, doing tailless sentences, correcting
sentences with mistakes, making a story,
creating a survey, making sentences about
yourself, putting words in order, ranking.
FLUE
NTLY
USE
Encouraging students to ask
more questions and give
longer answers, giving
students time to get ideas,
noting errors that students
make for future lessons.
Retelling stories, doing role-plays,
discussing questions, jigsaw activities,
making a decision based on oral analysis.

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Student-Centered Lessons
When designing a lesson, teachers normally
consider what they will do but take less time to
position themselves under the learner’s
perspective.
This is an essential step when planning objectives
and activities since we want to ensure that our
learners are capable of using the target language.
Finding out what students already know or
activating schema prepares them for the new
material. Also, the objectives and the ways to
measure learning must align with the content.
Objectives that are easy to track can be stated
with the format SWBAT:
• By the end of the lesson, Students Will Be Able To:
write, draw, identify, sort, construct, compare, label, list,
describe, arrange, match. Define, decide, explain,
recommend.

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Teacher Talking Time
Effective classes develop with participation that
places students at the center, either individually, in
pairs, or in group work.
This means the teacher speaks less during the
presentation and development of activities to
support the lessons, using inductive teaching
rather than traditional account of concepts.
Inductive teaching entails that learners discover
for themselves and are more involved in the
learning process, rather than being passive
recipients. This way they are likely to be more
attentive and motivated.
If the class is done collaboratively, learners get the
opportunity for extra language processing which
in turn prepares them for greater self-reliance and
autonomy.
Effective teachers aim to reduce their talking time
increasing students’ production instead.

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Collaborative Learning
The notion of making students responsible for
their learning implies that learning can happen
from other sources besides the teacher’s.
This is a key component of student-centered
classes in which learners are empowered to use
language.
In order to create an environment in which
cooperative learning can take place, three things are
necessary. First, students need to feel safe, but also
challenged. Second, groups need to be small
enough that everyone can contribute. Third, the
task students work together on must be clearly
defined.
The simplest format of collaborative learning is
Think-Pair-Share and it can be used in every class.
Changing the size of groups and adjusting the
amount of interaction adds more interest and
excitement to the lesson, transforming sessions in
fun and cherished experiences.

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Tips to Empower Students
•Make students write their questions about a
text, rather that asking them. Later, they discuss
their questions with students in other groups.
•Students take dictations from each other. One
way to do this is having all students at the
board. Student X dictates to everyone and can
immediately see the results.
•Students bring in sentences they’ve found for
analysis in class.
•A student writes the day’s plan on the board
and opens the class by greeting everyone,
calling attention to the plan, and reading
through it.
•Students give closure to the lesson by asking
and answering, “What have we learned today?”
or they can write a sentence or two about what
they have learned.

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Classroom Set Up
The way that learners are arranged plays an
important role for the interactions and the nature
of planned activities.
Our intention to enhance the channels of
communication is easily achievable when students
are strategically positioned.
Also, teachers can better see their behavior which
in turn facilitates classroom management.
Typical lay-outs with students facing each other is
ideal for classes, and it fits TPS activities as well as
easy attention to the teacher.
Consider grouping people with enough ease of
access and circulation, since it creates the
appropriate setting to execute instructions that
derive from activities.
Another point is allowing students to stand up and
move for a specific purpose. There will be as many
possibilities as space available.

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Lay-Out Considerations
•Can I see the faces
of every single
student and can
they see me?
•Can everyone see
the board (if you're
planning on using
it)?
•Can the students
see one another?
•Can I move around
the room so that I
can monitor
effectively?

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Giving Instructions
There are plenty of ways to give instructions,
from simply telling them to writing steps on the
board, or modeling with a volunteer. In short,
instructions must be given beforehand, making
sure doubts are not left unattended.
Get students’ attention ensuring they are listening.
Sequence the steps in a logical way.
Be as brief as possible. Use simple, direct language
–such as commands.
Use visual, tactile or kinesthetic support.
Write keywords on the board.
Use an appropriate pace for your learners. Speak
slowly and clearly.
Maintain eye contact and watch for signs of
incomprehension.
Only give the instructions necessary for the
particular stage of the activity.
Have two participants model the task.

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CCQs
CCQs or Comprehension Checking Questions are
used to help students understand the meaning of
new language by highlighting what is important
about it and making clear what is not. They also
serve the purpose of revalidating instructions
previously given.
These questions follow a defined sequence of
increasing difficulty:
• Yes/No and Either/Or questions
• Example
• Short answer
• Definition
Ask CCQs to the whole class, not just one person
so that you aren’t pressuring them to get the
right answer. If wrong answers are given, then
the teacher goes back to present again
emphasizing what was confusing.

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Correcting
Teachers regularly have to decide about the best
way to provide feedback of flaws detected.
This unavoidable task implicates diverse factors
depending if you want to encourage fluency or
accuracy. It is relevant to pay attention to the
learning stage in which the student is found:
❑ Pre-learning: Ignore and continue the
conversation. Take note to teach it in the future.
❑ Encounter: Ignore the inaccuracy but begin to
create opportunities to clarify.
❑ Clarify: Answer the learner’s question or create the
opportunity.
❑ Remember: Provide direct hints or the answer so
that the learner can self-correct if at all possible.
❑ Internalize: Provide slight/indirect hints that really
gives the learner the chance to self-correct.
❑ Fluent use: Ignore them but note that student is
self-correcting.

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Techniques for Responding to
Mistakes and Identifying Errors.*
Student Error: I go to the bank yesterday.
❑ “No, that’s wrong. You must say, “I went to the bank yesterday.”
❑ “I went to the bank yesterday.”
❑ “Yesterday, I…” (pause to let student correct).
❑ “Verb tense?”
❑ “Go is in the present. You need past tense.”
❑ “What’s the second word?”
❑ Whisper or mouth, “I went.”
❑ “What?”
❑ “Oh, you went to the bank yesterday.” (in conversational tone.)
❑ Draw six lines on the board _ _ _ _ _ _ and point to the second line
to indicate a problem with the second word.
❑ “Really? Did you make a deposit?”
❑ “Go?”
❑ Make a gesture to indicate past tense.
❑ Use fingers to indicate where the error is. (Each finger represents a
word in the sentence.) allow time for self-correction.
❑ Finger touches ear, quizzical expression on face.
❑ “Can anyone help (name student)?”
❑ “Please repeat.”
❑ “You go to the bank yesterday?” (stress “go”).

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22
Classroom Activities
The objective of a lesson defines the nature of the
activities to put the target language in practice.
Games and motions in the classroom activate
senses and brain activity that otherwise would not
get involved.
1.
Teachers must decide how much content students can
focus on without being overwhelmed. They also need
create a logical sequence that helps students work
toward a final objective.
With the inclusion of pictures and verbal directions, the
teacher helps students focus on key elements of the
lesson. Effective teachers need to break down content
so that students can progress step by step.
The use of pictures, demonstrations, verbal
explanations. Peer teaching, and practice all
contribute to students relating new information to
prior knowledge, a key feature of learning. By using a
variety of sensory models, the teacher helps students
with different learning styles notice key features in
the content.

23. Tools for
Activities
•Brainstorming ideas
•Engage in discussions
•Prepare presentations
Small Groups
•Students get a new partner
each time the outer or inner
circle moves one person to the
right.
Fluency Circles
•Students change partners when
the last person on the left side
moves to the right and
everyone slides down one
position to face a new person.
Line ups
•An inner circle of students
participates in a discussion or
activity, Students in the outer
circle either observe or whisper
ideas to the inner circle.
Fishbowl
Many factors contribute to
how and whether students
participate in an activity
and learn from it:
• What options are there for
the arranging students in
the classroom?
• How can decisions about
timing and staging of an
activity affect student
participation?
• How can the position and
participation of the
teacher affect?
• How can the use of
materials and/or
technology affect?
• How can the classroom
environment affect? 8/8/2016A. Cueto 23

24. How to Pair
and Group •Students move around the
room in cocktail-party style
getting new partners and
chatting.
Mingling
•Students move to different
parts of the room to do
activities. They can also remain
in place and rotate pieces of
paper with activities written
for them around the room.
Stations
•Students in small groups (As,
Bs, Cs, Ds) do an activity such
as discussing, listening, or
reading. They are then
regrouped by counting them
off (1,2,3,4) so that new
groups each have only one
member from their previous
groups. Students report to the
new groups what they learned
in the old groups.
Jigsaw
• Assign students to groups
or pairs by gesturing who
will work together.
• Count off students. If you
have 16 students and want
pairs, count off students
one-through-eight. Put the
ones together, the twos
together, etc.
• Count off using different
vocabulary (sports, fruit,
animals). This is a fun way
to review vocabulary and
add some more excitement:
Okay, all of the monkeys
over here!”
• Line up students according
to height (birthday, time it
takes to get to school, etc.).
• Ask students to find a new
partner.
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Best Practices
Effective teachers use the following:
☺ They always greet students when arriving to the
classroom.
☺ They write relevant information about the lesson, e.g.
objectives, book unit, etc.
☺ They bring dynamism to the class by not remaining
seated at their desk.
☺ Start their lessons with a reference from students’
surroundings.
☺ Ask questions and encourage students to ask
questions as well.
☺ Call students by their names.
☺ Praise students when they achieve progress, no
matter how little they are.
☺ Allow students to have a say about the lesson. Give
them options to decide.

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Best Practices
☺ Using background music when appropriate.
☺ Inaccuracy response techniques –including peer
correction.
☺ Teach to different modalities (VAKT).
☺ Use Think/Pair/Share.
☺ Getting students to keep eye contact during pair
work.
☺ Modeling –both Teacher to Student and Student to
Student.
☺ Giving students solitary time to work and process
information.
☺ Using humor.
☺ Move around room, both teacher-student.
☺ Keep ratio of student talking time vs. teacher talking
time.
☺ Pair work/group work –varying methods of
pairing/grouping and switching partners/groups.

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Best Practices
☺ Peer-teaching.
☺ Use Concept Checking Questions.
☺ Get feedback from learners –Example: ask for
their feelings on tasks; ask if it was too easy, too
difficult, or just right.
☺ Ask students to share one thing they learned in
the lesson before leaving.
☺ Discover the world outside by bringing authentic
material to the classroom. Take students outside
when possible.
☺ Use technology as a supporting tool, to
complement what is discussed in class.
☺ Circulate to detect possible distractions, engage by
letting them know you are aware of their presence.
☺ Provide equal opportunities to participate, even if
they have to call on some of them.