TEFL/TESOL Certificate (CELTA) Planning and Resources for Teaching Syllabus

Planning and Resources for Teaching syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Planning and Resources for Teaching in TEFL/TESOL Certificate (CELTA), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Lesson Planning Fundamentals

   4 topics

   • Aims and learning outcomes
     • Writing clear main and subsidiary aims
     • Personal teaching aims
     • Stating learning outcomes
   • The lesson plan document
     • Procedure and staging table
     • Timing, interaction patterns and aims per stage
     • Anticipated problems and solutions
   • Sequencing and staging
     • Logical progression of stages
     • Balance, pace and variety
   • Contingency and flexibility
     • Backup and extension activities
     • Plan B for early finishers or timing issues
2. 2

   Lesson Frameworks

   4 topics

   • Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP)
     • Stages and rationale of PPP
     • Strengths and limitations
   • Test-Teach-Test (TTT)
     • Diagnosing learner knowledge first
     • Targeting teaching to identified gaps
   • Task-Based Learning (TBL)
     • Pre-task, task cycle and language focus
     • Meaning-focused task design
   • Text-based and guided discovery
     • Using texts to present language
     • Guided discovery and inductive approaches
3. 3

   Course and Syllabus Design Awareness

   3 topics

   • Coursebooks and syllabuses
     • Structural, functional and lexical syllabuses
     • Role of the coursebook in a course
   • Planning a sequence of lessons
     • Linking lessons coherently
     • Recycling and building on prior content
   • Assessment and progress in planning
     • Diagnostic, formative and summative assessment
     • Reviewing and revising taught language
4. 4

   Materials and Resources

   4 topics

   • Selecting and evaluating materials
     • Coursebook evaluation criteria
     • Suitability for level and aims
   • Adapting and supplementing materials
     • Grading, simplifying and extending tasks
     • Creating worksheets and handouts
   • Realia, visuals and the board
     • Effective board work and layout
     • Flashcards, realia and visual aids
   • Technology and digital tools
     • Interactive whiteboards and projectors
     • Apps, online resources and learner platforms

Planning and Resources for Teaching flashcards for TEFL/TESOL Certificate (CELTA)

24 of 50 cards from the Planning and Resources for Teaching deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is the difference between a lesson aim and a learning outcome?

   An aim is what the teacher intends to achieve (the teaching purpose, e.g. 'to introduce the present perfect'). A learning outcome describes what learners will be able to do by the end (observable, learner-centred, e.g. 'learners will be able to talk about past experiences using the present perfect').

2. In CELTA terminology, what is the difference between a 'main aim' and a 'subsidiary aim'?

   The main aim is the primary focus of the lesson (the principal new language or skill). Subsidiary aims are secondary goals that support it (e.g. additional skills practice or sub-skills developed along the way).

3. What is a 'personal aim' on a CELTA lesson plan?

   A teaching development goal the trainee sets for themselves to improve their own practice (e.g. 'to reduce teacher talking time' or 'to give clearer instructions'), distinct from learner-focused aims.

4. What are the characteristics of well-written learning outcomes, often summarised as SMART?

   Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. They should be learner-centred, observable and use action verbs describing what learners can do.

5. Why should lesson aims be expressed in terms of learner performance rather than activities?

   Because aims must state what learners will achieve or be able to do, allowing the teacher to assess whether learning happened. Listing activities only describes what is done, not what is learned.

6. What are the typical components included in a CELTA lesson plan document?

   Learner/class profile, main and subsidiary aims, personal aims, assumptions, anticipated problems and solutions (language and classroom), timetable fit, materials/aids, and a staged procedure showing stage names, aims, timing, interaction patterns and teacher/learner activity.

7. On a lesson plan, what is the purpose of stating 'anticipated problems and solutions'?

   To predict difficulties learners may have with language (meaning, form, pronunciation) or with classroom management, and to prepare concrete strategies in advance so the lesson runs smoothly.

8. What are 'interaction patterns' on a lesson plan and how are they commonly abbreviated?

   They show who interacts with whom in each stage. Common abbreviations: T-S (teacher to student), S-S (student to student), T-Ss (teacher to whole class), S-T, and indications of pair work (PW) or group work (GW).

9. What does 'timetable fit' mean on a lesson plan?

   A statement of how the lesson connects to what learners did before and what comes after, showing the lesson's place in the wider course or sequence.

10. What are 'assumptions' on a lesson plan?

    What the teacher believes learners already know or can do that the lesson builds on (e.g. 'learners already know the past simple'), informing the starting point of the lesson.

11. Define 'staging' in lesson planning.

    Staging is dividing a lesson into distinct, logically ordered steps (stages), each with its own aim, so that learning progresses coherently from one part to the next.

12. What is meant by 'sequencing' a lesson and what general principle guides it?

    Sequencing is the order in which stages and activities are arranged. A common guiding principle is moving from controlled/receptive to freer/productive, and from easier to more demanding, so learners build up gradually.

13. What is a 'lead-in' stage and what is its purpose?

    An opening stage that introduces the topic, activates learners' existing knowledge (schemata), generates interest and provides context, preparing learners for the main content.

14. What is the difference between 'controlled practice' and 'freer practice'?

    Controlled practice restricts learners to the target language with low error tolerance (e.g. gap-fills, drills) to build accuracy. Freer practice gives learners choice over what they say (e.g. role-plays, discussions) to develop fluency.

15. Why is a controlled-to-freer progression typically used in practice stages?

    It scaffolds learning: accuracy is built first under support, then learners gradually take more responsibility, transferring the language to more communicative, autonomous use.

16. What is contingency planning in teaching?

    Preparing backup options and alternatives in advance so the teacher can respond to the unexpected (e.g. activities finishing early/late, technology failing, or learners struggling), maintaining effective learning.

17. Give two examples of contingency measures a teacher might prepare for a lesson.

    Examples: a spare/extra activity if learners finish early; a simplified or alternative task if material proves too hard; a non-tech version of an activity in case equipment fails; and flexible grouping in case of low attendance.

18. What does 'flexibility' mean during the delivery of a planned lesson?

    The willingness and ability to deviate from the plan in response to learners' actual needs in the moment, such as spending more time on a difficulty or dropping a stage, rather than rigidly following the plan.

19. What do the three Ps in the PPP model stand for?

    Presentation, Practice, Production.

20. Describe what happens in each stage of the PPP model.

    Presentation: the teacher introduces and clarifies the target language in context (meaning, form, pronunciation). Practice: learners use it in controlled activities for accuracy. Production: learners use it freely in communicative tasks for fluency.

21. For what kind of language is PPP generally considered most suitable?

    Discrete, easily presentable items of new language (e.g. a specific grammar structure or set of vocabulary) where clear up-front clarification is helpful, especially with lower levels.

22. State one strength and one criticism of the PPP approach.

    Strength: clear, structured and easy to plan/manage, giving a logical accuracy-to-fluency progression. Criticism: it is teacher-centred and assumes language is learned linearly; learners may not transfer presented language to genuine spontaneous use.

23. What do the three stages of Test-Teach-Test (TTT) involve?

    Test 1: learners attempt a task using the target language to reveal what they already know/can do. Teach: the teacher clarifies the gaps exposed. Test 2: learners do a similar task to apply what was taught and show improvement.

24. What is the main advantage of TTT over PPP?

    The first 'test' diagnoses learners' actual knowledge, so the teacher focuses teaching only on what learners need rather than presenting language some may already know; it is more learner-responsive.

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