This on-line support is provided by the British Council.

We recommend you take a look at the lesson plans below which should give you some new ideas.

Alphabet Games  Knowledge of the alphabet is a cornerstone of literacy for pupils and early mastery of the alphabet in a foreign language is essential for lessons to run smoothly. It also opens up numerous fun teaching possibilities. Here’s how!

Calendar  The following activities will fill several slots depending on the length of your lessons. The aim of this posting is to offer help with teaching techniques at this level via a practical example. In content terms, you will take pupils from knowing the numbers 1 – 12 to being able to talk about their birthday.

Using Games in the classroom Play is a natural way of communication for children and helps motivating even reluctant learners. They provide variety and a change of activity and are fun for teachers as well as pupils.

Grammar Games  Games are an excellent way to motivate pupils at all levels, especially boys. Everyone enjoys having fun and if we can ensure that pupils are having fun and learning, then things are going well.

Gymnastics  As we know, movement can be used to great effect to reinforce language at all levels. At primary level, you can have great fun with parts of the body and instructions to make a very good gymnastics lesson. Here are some elements you could combine to make your own gym lesson!

Simple Texts for Primary Pupils  It is important that children are given opportunities to meet foreign language texts and to develop enjoyment and confidence when faced with them.

Songs for the Younger Learner  Songs and rhymes make an important contribution to language development and children can play with language creatively in a variety of contexts.

Teaching Numbers with Primary Pupils  Counting in the foreign language is extremely popular with younger children and will probably be one of the first areas you tackle.

Weather  Weather is a real topic to teach pupils as it provides a genuine question every new session; the authentic enquiry  ‘What’s the weather like?’

Where I live This theme relates closely to a number of important aspects of the Primary curriculum. Not only is it a context which is meaningful to all children but also allows for links to be made between the children’s language learning and their understanding of other cultures. There are also many opportunities to link this theme with work in other subjects.

Word Families can really help children "crack the code" of language by providing some predictable patterns within words.