We are used to thinking about how to make a lesson useful: how to plan it so that everything is done in time? How to explain clearly new topic? How to work it out effectively? But no less attention should be paid to making the lesson interesting. No matter how much useful material we prepare, the student will learn it much faster and better if he is involved.
Here are some strategies you can use to make any lesson and any topic interesting.

1) Warm-up

The beginning usually sets the tone for the entire lesson. So if you want your lesson to immediately engage your student, start with an interesting warm-up, such as a game.

2) Games

This is the most effective method interest the student, and at the same time work new material. Games on any lexical or grammatical topic can be found on ESL sites and in various collections, such as Grammar Games and Activities And Vocabulary games and activities. By the way, adult students love games no less than children.
Practical and interesting task, which does not require additional materials- role-playing game . This task is more complex than just discussing the topic. It requires active participation, acting and creativity from the student, and therefore full attention.


3) Songs

Music is great for language learning. Words set to a rhythm are remembered faster. In addition, the song usually uses the same grammatical tense. Find out from the student what musical styles and groups he likes. By singing phrases from his favorite songs, he will quietly learn new vocabulary and master the necessary grammatical forms.

4) Stories

Present new grammar or vocabulary to the student in story form. For example, if you are studying the topic “ Past Continuous/Past Simple”, you can start: “Yesterday, while I was going to work by the underground, a man came into the carriage and sat down opposite me. He had a monkey in his lap. The monkey was wearing jeans and a yellow jacket”(by the way, this is true story). Such a presentation of the topic will be much more interesting for the student than: “Right, today we are going to study the difference between Past Continuous and Past Simple.”


5) Communication

In any task, include an element of Speaking, because for most students this is the most interesting aspect of learning a language. Even if you need to do an exercise like fill in the gaps, discuss with the student the photo that goes with the exercise or the most interesting sentence in it. Any task can always be “diluted” with the help of communication.

6) Changing tasks

Never turn a lesson into a lecture. Even students with good concentration will find it difficult to listen to a monologue in a foreign language for 20 minutes. In addition, modern students are accustomed to quickly changing from one type of activity to another and to an interactive form of learning. Therefore, to keep it interesting, alternate the type and duration of tasks. Also, always prepare tasks that involve communication and active participation of the student. It is better to leave written exercises for homework.

7) Creative homework

By the way, about homework. Of course, it also has to be “useful,” but that doesn’t stop it from being interesting. Give your student creative homework assignments that he or she will want to do. For example, if you are studying the past simple, ask him to prepare a summary of an episode of his favorite TV series. If you are studying the topic “Food”, ask him to create a menu for his own restaurant. Creative and interesting homework can be invented for any grammatical or lexical topic.


8) Flexible lesson plan

A plan is a necessary part of the lesson, and structure is the key to good results in your studies. At the same time, the lesson is much more interesting if the teacher knows how to adapt the plan to its course. Sometimes there comes a time when you need to deviate from the plan, for example, if the student really asked interest Ask about grammar or the text you are working with has affected him and requires discussion.

9) Personalization

Any topic can be made interesting if you connect to it the student’s personal experience, opinion or preferences. For example, if you are studying the Present Perfect topic, ask the student about his or her travel or work experience (e.g. Which cities have you visited? Where have you worked?). The same can be done with any lexical topic.


10) Update

At this point we will talk about how to make the lesson interesting for the teacher. Your lesson can only be interesting for your student if it is interesting for you yourself. With the help of new activities, strategies and methods, the same topic can be taught differently each time.

Interesting lesson = full attention of your student = quick and effective learning of the material = progress and pleasure from learning the language.

Good luck and interesting lessons!



Starting something new is always exciting. The first lesson in a new class brings many pleasant moments to the teacher - new people, the opportunity to apply new teaching methods...

Well, what if this is the very first lesson at the very beginning of your pedagogical journey? Here, excessive excitement can cancel out any positive emotions. To prevent this from happening, you need a plan, a little inspiration and some ideas on how to make your first foreign language lesson useful, interesting and memorable.

The first idea. Shall we meet?

Most teachers in English start their first lesson in the class by getting to know the students. Here you have two options: use the old and proven method (tell a little about yourself, and then ask students for a long time about their hobbies, family composition and daily routine) or organize acquaintance in the form of a game:

Distribute pre-prepared questionnaires. Just without boring questions like “How many brothers or sisters do you have?” Ask students something unusual (based on their level of language proficiency): What kind of chocolate do you prefer? If you had your own plane what color would you choose for it? What do you like more: lying in the sun or surfing?

Collect the questionnaires and distribute them in a different order. Let the students guess which one likes semolina porridge and which one would spend a million on a bicycle.

Let students ask their own questions. But not formal (“Are you married or single?”). Divide the students into groups and give each group a set of cards with random words (Batman, flower pot, cucumber, etc.) Each team should come up with questions for you containing at least one of these words: “Do you usually grow cucumbers in flower pots?

Idea two: “Why is all this?” (setting goals)

Usually the first lesson begins with the question “Why are you learning English?” And it is followed by no less banal and vague answers (“to learn to speak English”, “to improve English”). The question is undoubtedly important, but maybe it’s worth making the goal setting process more productive?

Ask students to answer more specifically. Do they need English for travel? For a promotion in the future? For study? Have them write down the answers to the question on paper.

Now write down each goal in detail. For example, the answer was “For travel.” More specifically? To check in/out of hotels, to ask questions, to order food in restaurants... By the way, on this topic you can simultaneously make up a couple of dialogues and learn a few useful phrases.

Idea three: “My lesson - my rules”

It is necessary to discuss the rules of conduct in an English lesson in advance, especially if we are talking about schoolchildren. But they obviously won’t like it if the teacher starts the lesson by setting the rules. It’s better to start by listing what you will do, and then smoothly move on to how you need to behave.

Ask students to describe an ideal lesson in an ideal classroom. What makes it different from others? There are many options (Students are respectful, they listen to each other carefully, etc.)

Write down all the ideas on the board, forming a set of rules for behavior in the classroom.

Have students write the rules on a piece of paper and sign it. The set of rules should always be in sight.

In the same way, you can come up with systems of punishments and fines.

Idea four: “The ice has broken!”

One of best options To start the lesson, use small games to engage students in the lesson:

Hold a competition for the fastest reading of a tongue twister written on the board.

Repeat the words you studied earlier, making up a short story (maybe meaningless).

To get to know students, ask them to think of words for each letter of their names. At the same time they will repeat the vocabulary.

Idea five: “Don’t worry!”

Whatever you choose for your first English lesson, find a way that is perfect for you and your needs. Relax and have fun with your students! Give them a chance to get to know you and understand that you will do your best to make the lessons both useful and fun. And then your first experience will definitely be successful!


Dear colleague! Teaching was once my favorite job. As in the famous saying, I received little money for my “hobby” and was happy. Just like my students. However, then in Russian system“Perestroika” began in education and enthusiastic teachers were replaced by just teachers. Yes, the salary has increased, but for this money they began to demand from us not just to “teach children”, but to “control” them, and I’m tired! Yes, working in a system where every step you and your student take is under total control is not my thing! But for you, dear colleague, I publish my developments on this site, which now takes up all my time. Today we'll talk about How to make English lessons more interesting using textbook material?

Here are some tips that will help you make English lessons more interesting, using only textbook material (from personal experience).

These exercises contribute to the development of all types of activities, namely writing and oral speech, listening and grammatical skills, and also develop independence in learning. And most importantly, your students will come to your aid!

How to make English lessons... MORE INTERESTING

Working on written speech: punctuation

Exercise 1. Punctuation marks

  1. Type it, removing all commas, periods and, accordingly, capital letters.
  2. Instruct students to copy the text into a notebook, using punctuation marks and capital letters.
  3. Ask them to compare their version with the text in the textbook.
  4. You can arrange a competition between two teams, each of which writes text on different halves of the board.

Development of linguistic conjecture

Exercise 2. Broken sentences

  1. Take a short text from the textbook.
  2. Print it, then cut a strip the width of a ruler and stick it in the center of the text.
  3. Students should read the sentences, inserting possible words into the sentences as they go.

Note. As an option for pair work, you can ask students to simply cover the text with a vertical strip of paper and read the sentences one by one.

Development of listening skills and activation of vocabulary

Exercise 3. Listening to activate the covered topic
(it is advisable to ask homework to repeat the words on this topic)

Option 1.

  1. Before listening, students must write down 5 words in their notebooks that they can hear in the text.
  2. Then have them switch notebooks.
  3. While listening, students cross out the words they hear.

Option 2.

  1. Give students a list of 15 words on the topic(They will hear 10 of them in the recording, and 5 not).
  2. Ask them to choose 5 words related to the topic.
  3. While listening, students cross off the words they hear from the list.
  4. If someone guesses all the words, then he wins (come up with an incentive).

Exercise 4: Engage best students

Texts for audio recordings (appendix to any textbook) are very valuable material. Be sure to use it!

  1. Divide students into small groups (3-4 people).
  2. Instead of an audio recording, have the best students read the text for the rest of the group to complete the listening task.
  3. During the reading process, you are allowed to ask to repeat sentences in English (Can you repeat that, please?, etc.), but only 3 times.
  4. Play the audio recording to review the exercise during your final listening session.

Note. This exercise should be practiced in cycles until everyone in the group acts as a speaker. The composition of the groups needs to be changed: for the second time, for example, you can unite strong children together.
Exercise 5. Repetition

  1. For repetition, use texts that you have already listened to, but in a different form.
  2. Type the text, but remove 10 words from it, leaving gaps.
  3. While listening, students must write the words into the text.

Grammar

Exercise 6. Work in mini-groups with experts

After test work, in a similar way you can organize work on errors.


Tell students that you will need helpers for the next lesson. Those who want to be experts will help you review the grammatical topics you have covered and where you made mistakes. Also ask students who are not very knowledgeable about such topics to raise their hands.
  1. In the next lesson, expert students give a short explanation (presentation of this section) in mini-groups.
  2. Then weak students ask them questions and correct their mistakes.
  3. You oversee the process, adjusting your assistants as needed.
  4. In conclusion, we can suggest doing small test(5 min) on this topic.

Note. For strong classes, you can ask experts to study any grammar section, which is given at the end of the textbook, usually in English or Russian (available on our website). Then they explain this topic to your classmates in mini groups (about 10 minutes).

This practice is very motivating and engaging for children, and also contributes to the development of reflection in the child.


Exercise 7. Completing grammar tasks

Often, when doing exercises from a textbook, one student goes to the board and writes sentences, while the rest simply copy. Divide the board into two parts and call two people to the board. If they have different variants, for example, translating a sentence or using verb tense, then the rest of the students will take an active part in the discussion. And brainstorming will help many people understand the topic!

Development of writing skills

Oh, how tired I am of these template letters to imaginary friends! And ask your students to write a letter to the authors of the textbook! By the way, the address is on the cover. Let them write in a letter what they think about the textbook, which section is the most interesting, which is the least interesting, what topics they would like to see in the next edition of the textbook. By the way, you can ask a few questions to the authors of the textbook.

Anatole France very accurately noted the importance of an unusual presentation educational material, saying: “The knowledge that is absorbed with appetite is better absorbed.” Many experienced and novice teachers wonder how to conduct interesting lesson? Such that the children would be afraid to be late for it, and after the bell would not rush to leave the class.

How to awaken students’ “appetite” for new knowledge? How to make each lesson interesting and unusual? How to correctly use well-known pedagogical techniques and techniques to teach memorable lessons? Our material is devoted to this topic.

Secrets of preparing and conducting an interesting lesson

So, every lesson should arouse the child’s interest. Yes, yes, exactly everyone. History and English lessons should be interesting, open lesson and traditional. In this case, the effectiveness of school teaching increases noticeably, and new material is easily absorbed. We will tell you how to prepare and conduct productive and fun lessons.

  • Plan your lesson taking into account age characteristics students, their emotional state, inclination to work individually or to study in a group. The concept of every interesting activity should have a creative beginning.
  • Put yourself in the place of a child, do not limit the flight of your imagination - and non-standard solutions will definitely come up. And impeccable mastery of the material and pedagogical improvisation will allow you to conduct the prepared lesson in an interesting way.
  • Always remember that a great start to a lesson is the key to success! Start the lesson actively (maybe with a little surprise!), clearly formulate its objectives, check your homework using.
  • An interesting lesson is always divided into clear fragments with logical bridges between them. For example, do not dump a portion of new knowledge on students, but smoothly and logically move from one stage of the lesson to another. Each individual part of the lesson should not be lengthy (on average, up to 12 minutes, with the exception of explanations of new material).
  • Use a variety of techniques to create an engaging lesson. Using a computer or electronic projector, you can simply and easily make both open and traditional lessons in any discipline interesting. Yes, presentation on the big screen significant event or watching war newsreels will help the teacher teach an interesting history lesson.
  • Be flexible! Equipment breakdown, student fatigue or unexpected questions- these are situations from which the teacher must be able to quickly and competently find a way out. For example, in order to relieve tension in the classroom, you need to have simple and fun tasks on the topic (preferably in a playful form).
  • How to conduct interesting lessons for high school students? Don't be afraid to break stereotypes! Don't be afraid to experiment and improvise! Avoid templates! After all, the lack of interest in the lesson is most often due to the fact that students know all its stages in advance. This chain, which is pretty boring for the guys, can and should be broken.
  • Don't do all the work for students to avoid silence and help them! Encourage constant student activity. Give children simple and logical instructions for completing tasks of any complexity. Make the most of every task.
  • Use group work: such activities are not only interesting, but also teach children to make collective decisions and develop a sense of partnership. This form of work is often used to conduct an interesting open lesson.
  • To teach interesting lessons, constantly search and find unusual and amazing facts for each topic that are not in the textbook. Surprise your students and never cease to be surprised with them!
  • Create and constantly update your own methodical piggy bank the most successful, interesting and exciting tasks and forms of work, use entertaining material at every lesson.
  • Thematic games will make lessons interesting in any classroom. The game creates a relaxed and relaxed atmosphere in the lesson, in which new knowledge is well absorbed. For example, by passing a small ball along the rows, you can arrange an active blitz poll. And role-playing games will help you conduct an interesting English lesson.

The focus is on the personality of the teacher

It is no secret that children often develop an interest in a subject thanks to the bright personality of the teacher who teaches it. What does that require?

  • Leave your fatigue, worries, and troubles outside the school door! Open up to communication with students! Children really appreciate appropriate and accessible humor in the classroom and dialogue on equal terms.
  • Behave outside the box! Go beyond the usual boundaries, because the personality and behavior of the teacher in the classroom are extremely important. Do you traditionally wear a business suit? Wear a bright sweater to your next lesson! Is energy always in full swing? Conduct the lesson in a calm manner. Do you prefer to explain new material while standing at the board? Try talking about a new topic while sitting at the table. As a result, children will follow the teacher with interest, subconsciously expecting something new and unusual from each lesson.
  • Bring more interesting examples from personal experience, because a teacher, first of all, is creative person and an extraordinary personality. Bright life examples are remembered much better than fictional ones.

We hope that our recommendations will help teachers in preparing and conducting new, fun lessons. Remember that the desire for personal and professional self-improvement is the basis for successful and effective pedagogical activity, a guarantee that everyone new lesson will be interesting.

Recently, on one forum, I came across a discussion among teachers about the problems of teaching English: “...We are deceiving both parents and students. In reality, under existing conditions, it is hardly possible to teach a foreign language. This largely explains the decline in interest in learning the language among the majority of students in high school... Indeed, it is difficult to love a subject that is impossible to learn. communication techniques and so on. remains only talk..."

Criticism continued to develop in this direction. At the end, the teachers exchanged views on textbooks"Happy English", Starkov, etc. Most teachers complained that these aids were impractical. Yes, however, this is not the most optimal solution, so you can understand these teachers. But the main thing is that having discovered the shortcomings of one or another technique, do not stop there, but look for alternatives and approach your work with love and creativity.

From my own experience, I know that the problem is not only in textbooks, but also in teaching methods. You can start by formulating questions.

  • Why is interest in learning a language falling among most students?
  • Why are they so difficult to train?
  • Why, unlike other subjects, do students have more and more difficulties with the English language (especially with pronunciation, colloquial speech and memorizing words)?

This is not a complete list of problems. You can probably guess what the reason is? Students lack incentive and motivation! As an experienced person, I know what these two things mean for students and students. Stimulus and motivation are very powerful tools in effective teaching foreign languages, and not only for children, but also for adults. Alas, we often forget about this important fact and begin to criticize all kinds of aids or students’ abilities.

How can we find a way out of this situation?

Many will immediately answer that it is necessary to undergo an internship abroad. Yes, this is the perfect solution. But what if your financial situation does not allow it? Then you need to choose optimal way. Let's define the stages of this path.

  1. Find out the student's goal. It is imperative to find out for what purpose he wants to learn the language. If the student has not yet decided on the answer to this question, you need to help him clarify his goal. It is this first step that greatly influences the learning outcomes. So, based on the specific intention and desire that the student strives for, it is necessary to effectively plan the training program and, accordingly, create powerful motivation. Weak and incapable beginning students especially need this.
  2. Each person receives an individual creative approach, i.e. right choice methods and manuals. Some tutors, especially novice teachers or students giving lessons, work on the principle of “one manual and one method.” As a result, classes turn out to be routine and boring, and therefore ineffective. How to solve this difficult problem with a wide range of different textbooks these days? Based on my experience, I will try to help you useful tips in choosing not only benefits, but also modern techniques and various resources on the Internet.

And to test their knowledge, I recommend Nelson’s book to my students English Language Tests. With this book it is very convenient to determine the initial level and direction of further advancement of students. These tests are especially effective when reviewing everything you have learned. I always use it. And, by the way, according to my method, knowledge testing occurs after every fifth lesson. This is much more effective than reviewing at the end of the course.

How can a novice tutor create his own methodology?

So, we have already chosen a textbook, and now let's find out how you can create a unique technique by creatively using simple textbooks and different programs. For example, how I do it.

  1. I plan an interesting lesson in advance.
  2. I successfully combine the topic I chose for the lesson (for example, from Headway) with audio materials on the same topic, for example from the website.
  3. We are not in a hurry to write down new words on paper right away. First I conduct a dialogue using these words. Thus, new words are memorized instantly and firmly in the student’s memory. And then he himself, without looking in the dictionary, writes down the words in his notebook. I strongly recommend that you do the same, and see for yourself the effectiveness of the technique.
  4. Then, to fully consolidate the learned words, I test the student using the Lingvo Tutor program in ABBYY Lingvo 11. Using this program, I compile a dictionary of new words in advance.
  5. After explaining the grammar, I write sentences in which I use fresh grammar, both in the correct form and with errors. And the student corrects mistakes and, as a result, clearly remembers the correct use of the rules.

How to successfully deal with a disobedient or incapable student?

  1. I try to be creative with everyone and try a variety of fun and interesting ideas. Among them are my own and those that I take from different sites. Here is one of them.
    For tutors who are not yet familiar with this site, I highly recommend visiting it. There you will find a lot of useful and interesting things. I think it wouldn’t hurt you to learn about the interesting experiences of teachers and tutors from different countries.
  2. I use different programs for teaching foreign languages. I don’t have a single lesson without a computer and, accordingly, without these programs. Moreover, I use programs both online and offline. There is one of my favorite American programs for teaching foreign languages ​​(I will talk about it in the next article), thanks to which I have noticeably improved the quality of my classes, and, accordingly, my financial situation. Since after using this special course, the students began to highly appreciate my work, for which I am very grateful to them.

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