ESP LESSON STRUCTURE AND PLANNING CHALLANGES IN TERTIARY EDUCATION

The basic components of a lesson plan are reviewed in the article. Key terms utilised to define structural elements of a lesson plan used in the British TEFL and American TESOL methodology were analysed and compared. It was confirmed that despite some differences in names, the basic components of a lesson plan in both methodologies are aimed at activating prior students’ knowledge, equipping students with valid contact and examples, and ensuring their controlled and free practice. Using this model, a sample lesson plan for students studying English for academic purposes on the topic “Starting your PhD” was developed and critically analysed in the discussion section. Keeping lesson objectives communicative was one of the problems noticed as teachers often choose technical meta-linguistic objectives focusing on particular grammar components instead of communicative ones. Focusing on form was identified as a common dilemma in lesson plans and instructions. On one side it contradicts the communicative approach while on the other hand avoiding it is quite challenging in tertiary education where formal assessment is required. Another problem is providing students with good lead-in contexts relevant to lesson objectives. Additional challenges were related to the principle of active students’ engagement and teaching in mixed-ability classes. It is impossible to highlight all these cases in the lesson plan and provide teachers with all possible solutions. Another challenge observed was the perception of plans by other teachers. In most cases, lesson plans are developed by teachers for particular institutions, student levels, and specialities. Understanding all procedures of the lesson including proper instructions to be followed can be challenging for other teachers. As a prospect of this research, technological progress in lesson planning should be studied, in particular, the analysis of AI-generated lesson plans in terms of their relevance, possible adaptation and improvement.