ESL Lesson Plans

Select from 1,461 free downloadable PDF lesson plans, with answers and teachers' notes where needed, for all levels, including exam lessons for ESL/EFL teachers. Use the navigation below to browse our English lesson plans.

A Treasure Trove of ESL Lesson Plans for Teachers

Dive into the vast collection at UsingEnglish.com, where over 1,461 meticulously crafted PDF lesson plans await you. Where necessary, these plans come with answers and teachers' notes, ensuring that you're well-equipped for all levels, including exam lessons. Whether you're teaching beginners or advanced students, this resource promises high-quality content that can make your lesson planning seamless and effective. We provide you with rich and diverse topics, all tailored for the ESL/EFL teaching community.

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Latest Added or Updated Lesson Plans

Superlative Adjectives- Reversi Memory Games

Updated: 17th May. 2024 | A fun superlatives card game based on Othello for memorising adjectives with most and -est by guessing the superlative with the same or opposite meaning on the other side of the card.

Superlative Adjectives- Discuss and Agree

Updated: 17th May. 2024 | Students share opinions with adjectives with most and -est then try to remember and classify the superlative forms.

Subject Question Trivia Quizzes

Updated: 17th May. 2024 | Students make general knowledge questions to test each other with using the given subject question starters.

Subject Questions Quiz - People Related to Crime

Updated: 17th May. 2024 | Defining crime and punishment vocabulary through answering subject questions with "Who...?", with optional subject questions grammar presentation and crime vocabulary further practice.

Subject Questions- Personalised Quizzes

Updated: 17th May. 2024 | Three fun guessing personal information in response to subject questions games - also good for getting to know you/ classroom dynamics.

Subject Questions- Guess The Person Game

Updated: 16th May. 2024 | A guessing game for semi-free practice of subject questions, also good for describing people vocabulary.

Subject Questions- Free Speaking

Updated: 16th May. 2024 | Freer communicative practice of subject questions by asking follow-up questions after mini-presentations on the suggested topics.

Subject Questions Drawing Game with Animal Vocabulary and Clothes Vocabulary

Updated: 16th May. 2024 | Students answer subject questions based on drawings of the answers, with amusing examples like a giraffe's scarf and a kangaroo's shoes - also good for animal and clothes vocabulary.

Subject questions about this class

Updated: 16th May. 2024 | Three easy and fun subject question games based on the classroom and the students in it.

Subject Question Discussion Activities

Updated: 16th May. 2024 | Students give their opinions in answer to conversation questions where the question word is the subject, then analyse the grammar of the questions.

Subject and Object Questions- Speaking Games

Updated: 16th May. 2024 | Two communicative speaking games to practise contrasting subject questions and object questions, with a making new questions challenge and Answer Me.

Superlative Adjectives- Dice Bluffing Game

Updated: 16th May. 2024 | Students choose extreme experiences topics to talk about by rolling a dice and guess if the stories are true or not, then make similar grids to play other dice games with, with a forming superlatives grammar presentation.

Strong and weak opinions on the news and media

Updated: 16th May. 2024 | Current affairs vocabulary and strong opinion and weak opinion phrases presentation and speaking practice, with model opinions to discuss then freer speaking.

Strong and Weak Medical Advice

Updated: 16th May. 2024 | Strong recommendations and weak recommendations with medical vocabulary speaking, with suggested medical problems to discuss and a functional language presentation.

Starting and Ending Conversations- Simplest Responses

Updated: 16th May. 2024 | Beginning and closing conversations phrases review starting with a fun quick reactions game, with students then trying to remember and classifying the start and end of conversations language.

Starting and Ending Conversations- Disappearing Text Memory Game

Updated: 16th May. 2024 | Phrases for beginning and closing conversations review by memorising model conversations with a fun covering the text word by word game.

Starting academic writing- determiners pairwork and useful phrases

Updated: 15th May. 2024 | Articles in academic writing review, starting with a determiners pairwork guessing game and continuing with brainstorming and classifying typical phrases for academic essays and published papers.

Speaking about festivals and celebrations- gerunds practice

Updated: 15th May. 2024 | -ing form and names of festivals and celebrations oral practice with sentence stems for students to share opinions and experiences with together.

Speaker or Listener- Simplest Responses Game

Updated: 15th May. 2024 | Turn taking phrases and active listening phrases presentation and practice, starting with a fun quick reactions game, and continuing with brainstorming and classifying useful language.

Some and Any- things in common speaking

Updated: 15th May. 2024 | Personalised oral practice of some and any by students trying to make sentences that are true for both/ all of them from typical sentence stems, with easy and more tricky uses of some and any.

Social Issues- Discuss and Agree Determiners Practice

Updated: 15th May. 2024 | Definite, indefinite and zero articles practice through giving opinions on society discussion.

Socialising- prepositions and determiners pairwork

Updated: 15th May. 2024 | Grammar words in typical phrases for social situations like restaurants and pubs guessing game then brainstorming useful phrases.

Social English rotating revision board game

Updated: 15th May. 2024 | Fun review of all necessary language for English for social purposes, with students progressing around a board by how well they interact.

Social English Responses- Card Games

Updated: 15th May. 2024 | How to respond in social situations phrases review, starting with matching three typical answers to common social phrases and continuing with brainstorming and other activities.

Small talk on the news

Updated: 15th May. 2024 | Suggested questions and topics to chat about the news, good for Social English and current affairs lessons.

Small talk after not meeting for a while

Updated: 15th May. 2024 | Typical phrases for chatting after weeks or months without seeing someone, and phrases and key words for getting down to business at the end of the small talk.

Singular and Plural Possessives- TPR Miming Game

Updated: 15th May. 2024 | Apostrophe before and after possessive S miming, speaking and spelling TPR games for active practice around the class.

Singular and Plural Mimes

Updated: 15th May. 2024 | Two plural nouns TPR games, with easier plurals, more difficult plurals and words which always take -s like "trousers", with students racting to identify the mime and/ or do suitable actions.

Singular and Plural- Competitions Speaking Game

Updated: 15th May. 2024 | Singular, regular plural and irregular plural practice through a personal questions game, with points for the right answer, including easier and more challenging versions, a grammar presentation, and one more optional game.

Silent Letters- Secret Message Code Game

Updated: 15th May. 2024 | A fun silent letters puzzle in which students identify which letters are not pronounced and put those letters together to reveal hidden messages, with versions at five different levels.

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