{"id":47497,"date":"2018-05-02T13:35:50","date_gmt":"2018-05-02T17:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/?p=47497"},"modified":"2025-05-27T08:30:23","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T12:30:23","slug":"esl-demo-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/educator-english\/esl-demo-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"ESL Demo Lesson Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 [&quot;list&quot;,{},&quot;list_item&quot;,{&quot;indent&quot;:1,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;bulleted&quot;}]\">Often, acing your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/educator-english\/interview-questions-for-english-teachers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ESL teacher interview<\/a> isn\u2019t enough to impress employers. For teachers, landing a job requires more than just good interview skills, as you may also be required to teach a demo class, depending on the employer.<\/p>\n<p>All it takes is the right preparation. Check out the guide below for a much-needed confidence boost and some tips to prepare for your ESL demo lessons.<\/p>\n<p>[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>1. Do Your Research<\/h2>\n<p>Find out as much as you can about the circumstances under which your demo class will take place.<\/p>\n<p>This includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The age group you&#8217;ll be teaching<\/li>\n<li>What their skill level is<\/li>\n<li>How many students will be in the class<\/li>\n<li>How long the class will be<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This information may not be offered to you at first, but don&#8217;t be afraid to ask. After all, most employers are just an email or phone call away.<\/p>\n<h2>2. Plan Your Demo Lesson<\/h2>\n<p>As the old saying goes, &#8220;failing to plan is planning to fail.&#8221; Even if you&#8217;re the sort of teacher who dishes out lessons on the fly, keeping a general lesson structure in mind will help you focus and manage your time on Demo Day.<\/p>\n<p>Below is one way to organize your demo lesson. Of course, you can take the lesson in any direction you want, but this template will help you get started:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong>1. Introduce the basic vocabulary, topic or concept.<\/strong> This can be integrated into an ice-breaker\u00a0or even a short <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/educator-english\/esl-speaking-activities-for-adults\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">discussion activity<\/a>. It&#8217;s a great way to inject energy into the class and make everyone feel at ease.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong>2. Give your students a chance to practice the topic you&#8217;ve just taught them.<\/strong> The easiest way to do this is to hand out a worksheet with questions for them to answer. If they&#8217;re fairly confident already, they can try doing it alone. If not, have them work on it in pairs or small groups.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong>3. Go through the answers with your class.<\/strong> Elicit responses from different students and make corrections where needed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong>4. Provide a short activity that gives students free rein to use what they&#8217;ve learned.<\/strong> This can be a discussion on a given topic\u00a0or a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/educator-english\/fun-esl-games-group-activities\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Combined, these steps will help you create a well-rounded demo class that showcases your abilities as a teacher.<\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, you can watch this video for ideas:<\/p>\n<p><lite-youtube videoid=\"t3QU63x1Nzw\"><\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n<h2>3. Focus on a Central Topic<\/h2>\n<p>Don&#8217;t try and do too much in one class. Otherwise, you&#8217;ll be in danger of looking rushed or disorganized. Instead, focus on one thing and make sure you do it well. Follow a simple structure, with one grammar or vocabulary point at the heart of the class.<\/p>\n<p>This also makes it easier for the person observing you. If they have one topic to look at, they can assess whether or not the students were able to pick it up. This will show them how effective your teaching skills are.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some suggested topics per level:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Young learners or beginners.<\/strong> For them, basic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/educator-english\/esl-vocabulary-games\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">vocabulary games<\/a> or easy concepts like the verb<em>\u00a0<\/em>&#8220;to be&#8221; may suffice.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Intermediate learners. <\/strong>Try teaching them verb tenses.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Advanced\/Business English learners.<\/strong> With these students, you can go through the differences between formal and informal language.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Spend some time explaining your chosen topic and give clear examples. This could involve <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/educator-english\/esl-flashcard-games\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">flashcards<\/a>, a projector or simply writing on the board.<\/p>\n<p>Also, here&#8217;s a nice <a href=\"https:\/\/ellii.com\/sample\/lessons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">place to get sample lessons for all levels<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>4. Bring Materials<\/h2>\n<p>Having materials on hand will show that you&#8217;ve put some effort into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/educator-english\/esl-lesson-plans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">lesson planning<\/a>, which will look great to the interviewer. These materials will also provide a crutch to lean on if you ever get stuck.<\/p>\n<p>Whether it&#8217;s worksheets, flashcards, videos or games, have some materials ready. Don&#8217;t show up empty-handed.<\/p>\n<p>One piece of technology that may impress your demo class is <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/schools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FluentU<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"><p><strong>FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p> \r\n<p>You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/fluentu-learn-language-videos\/id917892175\">the iOS app<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.fluentflix.fluentu&amp;hl=en&amp;gl=US\">Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p><i><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/may-sale-6908\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\r\n  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/SimpleText.jpg\" alt=\"FluentU Ad\" \/>\r\n  <p style=\"text-align: center\">\r\n    <button class=\"btn-blue\" style=\"border: none;font-size: 18px;text-align: center;padding: 0.75rem 1.5rem;cursor: pointer\">\r\n      Try FluentU for FREE!\r\n    <\/button>\r\n  <\/p>\r\n<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\n<p>By using this language learning platform in your demo lesson, you&#8217;ll keep students engaged and make your class a success.<\/p>\n<h2>5. Arrive Early<\/h2>\n<p>It&#8217;s always good to be on time for an ESL demo class. That way, you can gauge the situation by taking a look at the room, the students and the equipment you&#8217;ll be working with.<\/p>\n<p>If anything doesn&#8217;t quite fit with what you&#8217;ve prepared, this gives you time to make some adjustments before your students and the evaluators arrive.<\/p>\n<h2>6. Be (or Appear) Confident<\/h2>\n<p>It&#8217;s normal to be a nervous wreck when teaching your first class, but try not to let it show. Your prospective employers need to know that you can handle a class without getting lost or overwhelmed.<\/p>\n<p>Some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inc.com\/jayson-demers\/7-ways-to-appear-confident-when-you-re-really-not.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tricks for looking confident<\/a> while teaching include making eye contact with students, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/educator-english\/esl-gestures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">using lots of gestures<\/a>, standing up straight and projecting your voice clearly.<\/p>\n<p>Teaching is often about improvisation. Even if things aren&#8217;t going to plan, or you&#8217;ve completely forgotten what the next activity is supposed to be, no one else needs to know that. If you keep your cool and think on your feet, you can carry your class through to the end without a hitch.<\/p>\n<h2>7. Manage Your Time Well<\/h2>\n<p>Keep an eye on the clock throughout your class. When preparing your lesson, write down the maximum time you can allot to any part of the class. When teaching, stick to your time limits!<\/p>\n<p>If you let one activity run for too long, you might find that you&#8217;ve run out of time before you can teach everything you&#8217;ve planned. That means you won&#8217;t be able to showcase your true teaching skills. It could also be the difference between being offered a job and getting rejected.<\/p>\n<h2>8. Don\u2019t Lecture<\/h2>\n<p>Whatever you do, don&#8217;t just stand in front of the class and talk at your students. It will put them, as well as the person observing you, to sleep. Lecturing is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/content\/article\/lectures-arent-just-boring-theyre-ineffective-too-study-finds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">boring, ineffective way to teach<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Schools want to see that you can be dynamic and entertaining. They want someone who will teach engaging classes that students will love. Besides, anyone can read from a PowerPoint presentation, but not everyone can make that presentation feel like an accessory to an awesome class rather than its central showpiece.<\/p>\n<p>Make your class interactive and get the students involved as much as possible. Whenever you can, take the opportunity to get them moving around and doing hands-on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/educator-english\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">physical activities<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>9. Let Your Personality Shine Through<\/h2>\n<p>Whether it&#8217;s expertise in a certain subject, excellent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/educator-english\/esl-classroom-management\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">classroom management skills<\/a>\u00a0or a bubbly, active personality, make sure you project that in your demo class.<\/p>\n<p>Prospective employers don&#8217;t want to see the same old standard lesson. They could hire almost anyone for that. They want to see something different.<\/p>\n<p>Identify some of your strengths and see how you can showcase them in your class.<\/p>\n<h2>10. Have Fun with it<\/h2>\n<p>Being observed is always uncomfortable, but it&#8217;s even more unnerving when there&#8217;s a job at stake. Don&#8217;t let that worry you: try to forget about whoever&#8217;s watching and just have fun.<\/p>\n<p>If both you and your students enjoy the class, you&#8217;re bound to make a great impression.<\/p>\n<h2>11. Ask for Feedback Afterward<\/h2>\n<p>After the demo class, ask the interviewer what they thought about your teaching methods and how you could improve. That way, no matter how your lesson went, you&#8217;ll be able to learn from it.<\/p>\n<p>The feedback and the process of doing a demo lesson will help you become a better teacher in the long run!<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What to Expect at Your ESL Demo Lesson<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Different employers approach demo classes in different ways. For example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>In some cases, you&#8217;ll be assigned a topic.<\/strong> This could be something academic like story writing, error correction or verb tenses. It may also involve a broader concept like food or traveling. If you&#8217;re <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/educator-english\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">teaching via Skype<\/a> for an agency, you may be given a full set of materials to use. However, plenty of schools will leave it entirely in your hands.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Find out what you&#8217;re expected to teach before you turn up.<\/strong> If anything is unclear, feel free to send an email to check.<\/li>\n<li><strong>At your demo class, you may not be teaching actual students.<\/strong> Sometimes, staff members will pretend to be students in a &#8220;mock class.&#8221; If that&#8217;s the case, don&#8217;t let it distract you: treat them as if they were your students.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>See? ESL demo lessons are much easier than they look! Once you get the hang of it, nailing those teaching jobs will be a cakewalk.<\/p>\n<p><br \/>\n<h2>And One More Thing...<\/h2>\r\n<p>\r\nIf you like learning English through movies and online media, you should also check out FluentU. <a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/may-sale-6908\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials<\/a>, as you can see here:\r\n<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_1990\" style=\"width: 317px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/may-sale-6908\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1990\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1990\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/English-5.png\" alt=\"learn-english-with-videos\" width=\"307\" height=\"546\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1990\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">If you want to watch it, the FluentU app has probably got it.<\/p><\/div>\r\n<p>\r\nThe FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and useful examples.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_1991\" style=\"width: 317px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/may-sale-6908\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1991\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1991\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/English-2.png\" alt=\"learn-english-with-subtitled-television-show-clips\" width=\"307\" height=\"546\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1991\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.<\/p><\/div>\r\n<p>\r\nFor example, when you tap on the word \"searching,\" you see this:\r\n<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_1959\" style=\"width: 317px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/may-sale-6908\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1959\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1959 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/English-6.png\" alt=\"learn-conversational-english-with-interactive-captioned-dialogue\" width=\"307\" height=\"546\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1959\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">FluentU lets you tap to look up any word.<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p>\r\nLearn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you\u2019re learning.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_1996\" style=\"width: 317px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/may-sale-6908\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1996\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1996 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/English-7.png\" alt=\"practice-english-with-adaptive-quizzes\" width=\"307\" height=\"546\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1996\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. <a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/may-sale-6908\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Learn more.<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n<p>\r\nThe best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary that you\u2019re learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words\u2014and reminds you when it\u2019s time to review what you\u2019ve learned. You have a truly personalized experience.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nStart using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. <a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/may-sale-6908\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a>\r\n<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Often, acing your ESL teacher interview isn\u2019t enough to impress employers. For teachers, landing a job requires more than just good interview skills, as you may also be required to&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":251956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"ESL Demo Lesson Tips - FluentU","description":"Often, acing your ESL teacher interview isn\u2019t enough to impress employers. For teachers, landing a job requires more than just good interview skills, as you may"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[246,251],"tags":[],"coauthors":[346],"class_list":["post-47497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-educator-english","category-english-teaching-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/565"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47497"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":253936,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47497\/revisions\/253936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47497"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=47497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}