One-to-one lesson plan template (copy it)
Copy the template into a document or your notes, fill in the brackets and make one plan per lesson. It works for any language and any level.
Write the goal first. Everything else on the plan is there to help the student reach it in this lesson.
One-to-one lesson plan
Student: [name] Date and length: [date], [60 / 45 / 30] minutes Level: [A1-C2] Lesson goal: By the end, [name] can [one thing they can do]. From last lesson: [2-3 words, structures or errors to recycle] 1. Warm-up ([5] min): [question or quick game] 2. Review ([5] min): [homework check, recall] 3. New language ([15] min): [text, dialogue or examples] 4. Controlled practice ([13] min): [exercise] 5. Freer practice ([14] min): [role play, discussion or real task] 6. Feedback ([5] min): [errors to go over] 7. Wrap-up ([3] min): [summary and next goal] Materials: [links, pages, files] Plan B: [activity in case the lesson goes faster or the connection fails] Homework: [task, about 15 minutes] Notes for next lesson: [what worked, what to repeat]
Need ideas for the warm-up or the freer practice? Pick one of our ESL games for one student.
How to time a 60, 45 or 30-minute one-to-one lesson
Keep the same seven stages at every length and shorten each one. Freer practice gets the most time, because in a one-to-one lesson the student is the only one who can speak.
Use the minutes as a guide. If the new language needs longer, take the time from the warm-up or the review, never from the feedback.
| Stage | 60 min | 45 min | 30 min | What you do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 0-5 | 0-4 | 0-3 | Chat about their week or play a quick game with last lesson's language. |
| Review | 5-10 | 4-8 | 3-5 | Check the homework and ask for three words or structures from last time. |
| New language | 10-25 | 8-18 | 5-12 | Present one new thing: a short text, a dialogue or examples they find the rule in. |
| Controlled practice | 25-38 | 18-28 | 12-18 | Short exercises with one right answer: gap-fills, transformations, reading aloud. |
| Freer practice | 38-52 | 28-39 | 18-25 | A role play, a discussion or a real task from their life, using the new language. |
| Feedback | 52-57 | 39-43 | 25-28 | Go through the errors you noted, each with a better version. |
| Wrap-up | 57-60 | 43-45 | 28-30 | Sum up, set homework and agree on the next lesson's goal. |
These timings come from our own one-to-one teaching, not a fixed method. The British Council recommends linked stages with realistic timings: adjust them to your student after the first few lessons.
Example: a filled-in plan for a B1 adult
Here is the template filled in for Ana, a B1 student who needs English for work calls. One goal, one structure, one real task.
Lesson plan: Ana, B1, 60 minutes
Student: Ana Date and length: Tuesday, 60 minutes Level: B1 Lesson goal: By the end, Ana can set and move a meeting time on the phone. From last lesson: "I'm calling about...", days and times, "Could you...?" 1. Warm-up (5 min): How was your week? Any calls in English? 2. Review (5 min): check the email homework, recall 3 phrases from last lesson. 3. New language (15 min): listen to a short call where two people move a meeting. Ana finds the phrases for suggesting, accepting and saying no. 4. Controlled practice (13 min): put a jumbled call in order, then complete the phrases. 5. Freer practice (14 min): role play two calls with a client. In the second one, the client can't make any time Ana suggests. 6. Feedback (5 min): 3 errors from the role play, each with a better version. 7. Wrap-up (3 min): summary, homework and next goal. Materials: the audio, the jumbled call, 2 role cards. Plan B: if the role play is too hard, write the call first, then say it. Homework: write an email to move a meeting (about 15 minutes). Notes for next lesson: [after the lesson]
What changes when you plan for one student
One student means one set of goals. They can set the pace and the topics, so plan around what they need, not a coursebook unit, and leave room to change course.
- Let the student shape the plan. In one-to-one lessons the learner often decides the aims, the pace and the material, so ask what they need before you plan the next lesson.
- Use their real material: the email they have to answer, next week's presentation, the series they're watching.
- Always have a plan B. With one student, a stage can take half the time you planned, or they can arrive with a different need.
- Explain why you do each activity. Adults especially work harder when they know what a game or an exercise is for.
- Watch the chat: a friendly chat is a good warm-up, but one-to-one lessons drift easily. Bring the student back to the goal and give feedback on what they said.
- Set homework that saves class time: writing, reading and controlled exercises fit better at home, so the lesson stays for speaking.
After the lesson: three lines that plan the next one
Write three lines of notes right after the lesson, while you still remember. They are the first draft of the next plan.
- 1
Write three lines
What went well, which errors repeated and what the student asked for.
- 2
Fill in "From last lesson"
Copy two or three of those words, structures or errors into the next plan to recycle them.
- 3
Pick the next goal
Take it from their needs analysis or from what you heard today.
- 4
Check the plan every month
Every four lessons or so, look at the goals again with the student and adjust them.
For the whole planning process, read how to plan a language lesson step by step. For the very first lesson with a new student, use our first lesson plan for A1, B1 and C1.
Last lesson's notes, ready for the next plan
Write your lesson notes in SmartCookie and see them before every class, next to each student's packs, payments and booking link.