The first step of preparation is to plan your lesson. Once you have decided what to teach and how to teach it, look at your lesson and think about ways to expand it, and make note of what else needs to be done before your class. What can you bring to add interest? What will you photocopy and how many copies will you need? If you copy double-sided and have an odd number of pages, is there something fun like a cartoon or tongue twister you can put on the last blank side?

In addition to preparing a specific lesson every day or week, it's helpful to build yourself a collection of potential ESL resources to draw on as needed. Think about upcoming holidays or future themes in your textbook. Create an organized storage system from the beginning or you may find your growing collection of pictures, handouts, and games becoming unmanageable. Label all important personal items with your name. Here are some ideas for lesson preparation:

Gather Basic Teaching Items
These will make planning and teaching easier.
- Good textbook or lesson (perhaps from the Internet)
- Small white board with pens, if you don't have access to a classroom board
- Blank paper (a student may ask for some)
- Regular or picture dictionary
- List of extra activities to fill leftover time (see the Activities section of this guide)
Collect Useful Materials
Be sure to protect your materials because they may be handled many times. Slip paper materials into page protectors or magnetic photo album pages, glue them onto card stock, or laminate them.
- Cut out magazine pictures
- Select photographs of a vacation, family members, etc.
- Collect travel brochures and public service pamphlets
- Save interesting newspaper or magazine articles
- Save cartoons or humorous drawings
- Borrow library books with pictures, such as children's stories or travel guides
- Collect blank note cards or postcards for students to write on
- Consider board or card games
- Bring children's building blocks or legos
- Bring objects like clothing, fruits, a clock, canned food, etc.
- Find relevant handouts on the internet (see the Lesson Materials section of this guide)
Make Your Own ESL Materials
Creativity helps, but you don't need to be a creative genius to make useful materials to accompany your lessons.
- Write simple quizzes
- Write dialogs and role plays
- Write tongue twisters to focus on a problem sound
- Create crossword puzzles using vocabulary words
- Make alphabet or vocabulary flash cards
- Create games, drawings, posters, etc.
- Use a craft with your lesson, such as cutting snow flakes or decorating Easter eggs
Use Available Technology
If you have access to a TV and VCR, cassette/CD player, overhead projector, or even a computer, use them to bring variety to your lessons. Always be prepared with a non-technical backup activity should your equipment unexpectedly fail.
- Videotape TV commercials or news clips, or borrow a library video
- Copy outlines, diagrams, cartoons, etc. onto overhead transparencies
- Tape record a few minutes of radio talk
- Choose a popular song to play and make a worksheet of the song lyrics with missing word blanks; if you use a cassette, record the song 2-3 times for easy playback
- Play background (instrumental) music while students work on an activity
- Find a website your students can use for ESL activities (see the Further Resources section of this guide)