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This content describes an engaging ESL lesson plan called "Classroom Airport" designed to immerse students in real-world English communication by transforming the classroom into an airport simulation.
If I were a jealous person, this would
be the lesson plan that I wouldn't want
to share with anyone because it's just
that good. It's fun. It's engaging.
Students are speaking in English the
whole time. They love it. But I'm not a
terrible person. So, I'm going to share
Hi, my name is Megan. I have been
teaching ESL in China for almost 15
years and I care so much about helping
you become the best teacher so that you
can teach your students to the best of
your abilities. I want students to be
able to use English to speak English and
have a good time while doing it. This
lesson is the perfect example of that.
This is the classroom airport. Let me
show you exactly how to do it, how to
set it up, and how to teach it. First,
let me give you an overview. Then I'll
tell you exactly how to teach it and how
to explain it in class with your
students. Okay. So what is the classroom
airport? Basically you're going to
transform your classroom into an
airport. Different areas of the
classroom are going to be different
places. For example, you have the
check-in counters over here. You have
the cabin over here. You have security
over here. And each student is going to
have a role. So some students will be
security guards. Some students will be
the check-in employees. Some students
are flight attendants. And some students
are passengers. Students will have to go
around the classroom as if they are
really in an airport and they have to
use English the whole time. So when
they're at security, they have to talk
about, you know, opening up their
luggage and do you have any liquids.
When they're at the check-in counter,
they have to check IDs and ask where is
your destination. When they're in the
cabin, they have to figure out window
seat, aisle seat, what would you like to
drink? Students will move around the
classroom as if they are really in an
airport and they have to communicate in
English as if they were really in the
real world. Now, let me tell you how to
set this up. Then we'll talk about why
it works. Now, I'm not sure about your
situation. I think the ideal situation
for this is if you're if you have a
little bit of extra time. For example,
maybe you have a whole week with your
students and you could slowly teach a
different part each time each day that
you have class. For me, I usually only
saw my students once or twice a week.
So, it is also possible to do all of
this in one lesson. It's just a little
bit more difficult. But what are the
steps to teaching your students about
this? First, you're going to need to
equip them with the vocabulary that you
need. So, maybe if you're doing this in
a week, you take Monday and Tuesday, and
we're just talking about vocabulary and
grammar. We're talking about vocabulary
words like boarding pass, passport, ID,
liquids, window, aisle, luggage,
suitcase, overweight, underweight, all
of the vocabulary words that they're
going to need to complete this
assignment. Maybe this is where you're
using your textbook. Maybe you're also
talking about grammatical structures.
Your students will need different things
depending on their age group or their
student level as well. So, first teach
them the information. Give them the
tools that they need to practice with
this and use this later on. Like I said,
this lesson works best if it's really
spread out. Like I said, for example,
maybe Monday and Tuesday you're learning
the vocabulary. Maybe Wednesday and
Thursday you're practicing and then on
Friday is the big day where we actually
all go to the airport together. But like
I said, I have also done this before all
in one lesson. and just the beginning of
the lesson. We're learning the
vocabulary and then we move along. So,
after the students know the vocabulary,
then what do you need to do? Then you're
going to divide the students up into
different groups. You're going to need
to have four different groups. And you
can customize how big these groups are
depending how big your classroom is. My
classrooms in China are massive, usually
around 40 students. But this works for
smaller classrooms as well. So, you need
four different groups. Number one,
you're going to need the checkin
employees, the people that give you your
boarding pass. You're going to need the
security check employees. You'll need
some flight attendants. And then you
will also need passengers. Now, don't
make these groups equal. We don't need
as many security guards as there are
passengers. Your passengers will be the
biggest set. So, look at how many
students are in your class and decide
how many of each character or each role
you're going to need. Now, here's my
tried andrue method for dividing up
students for anything, for exams, for
role plays, for literally anything. Use
playing cards. I will I will go to my
grave swearing by playing cards or poker
cards in the classroom. So, here's what
I usually do is I usually just hand out
a card to every student. That way,
nobody is complaining. No one's like, "I
don't want this one. I don't want this
one." I didn't choose. We let the cards
decide. Luck decided. But also students
think it's really fun too. They like
pulling a card and seeing what they got.
So maybe for example, if you drew a
king, then you are security guard. If
you drew a queen, you're a check-in
employee. If you drew an ace, that means
you're a flight attendant. And maybe if
you just chose a random number like 1
74, that just means you are a passenger.
All this is is just to divide up the
students and let them know what their
role is going to be. After students know
what their role is, give them a little
bit of time to prepare and practice. The
conversations that the flight attendants
will have with the passengers is going
to be very different from the
conversations that the check-in
employees are going to have with their
passengers. So, just give them a little
bit of time to prepare. Like I said,
this could be, you know, two full days.
You could have Wednesday and Thursday be
preparation time where they're searching
words or maybe they're practicing
pronouncing these words. Maybe they're
doing practices with their partner
before they go for the real thing. Or if
you're doing this all in the same day,
then maybe they just have a little bit
of time to practice in class. I have
also done this before where I've done
this over two lessons. For example, one
semester I had the classes on Monday and
then again on Friday. So on Monday, we
learned the vocabulary and I assigned
their roles and then their homework was
to prepare and they practiced in their
own time to get ready for our big
activity on Friday. You could also make
this a homework activity that they
prepare in their own time and then
they're ready to go when we actually
have the airport in the classroom. Now,
if you are doing this all at the same
time, all on the same day, this is a
good time to set up the classroom. Maybe
you need to move some things around,
move some desks around. So, while the
students are working, of course, you can
help them and of course keep an eye on
them, but maybe you can rearrange the
classroom during this time if that's a
necessity for you. Something else that
can be really helpful is to give them a
handout or give them a cheat sheet so
that they know really what to focus on
and they know what to expect. If you
just ask the students to, "Hey, you're
going to be a check-in employee. Figure
out what you're going to say." I found
that students don't even know what
they're supposed to think about. Maybe
some of your students have never flown
before or maybe they haven't flown
enough or maybe they're just having a
brain freeze moment and they're like,
"Uh, I am not sure what I'm supposed to
do or what I'm supposed to say." So,
include that in the teaching portion as
well. What do we do when we walk up to a
check-in counter? They're going to ask
for your ID, your passport or your ID.
They're going to ask where you're going.
They're going to ask if you have any
luggage. They're going to weigh your
luggage. They're going to give you your
boarding pass. We run through those
things with them. When you go to
security, they're going to ask you, "Do
you have a laptop in your bag? Do you
have any liquids in your bag? Do you
have a power bank in your bag?" And then
they'll put you through the scanner. And
then if you beep, they'll say, "Okay,
please go back through. Please take off
your belt. Please take off your ring."
They'll talk through those things. When
you get on the plane, the flight
attendant might help you find your seat.
Is it a window or is it an aisle? What
would you like to drink? Please put your
seat belt on. All of those things are
going to happen, but you might need to
run through it with the students to kind
of jog their memory or give them the
vocabulary that they need in order to
smoothly go through that process. I've
also found that this checklist is really
helpful for the passengers because
actually in all four of these roles, the
passengers have the most difficult role
because it's the passengers who are
going to have to talk to the check-in
workers, talk to the security guards,
talk to the flight attendants. The
passengers have to talk to everybody.
They have a lot to prepare. There's a
lot they need to be familiar with. They
have to be able to recognize a lot of
different vocabulary words. So having a
handout or a cheat sheet of all the
questions that they could possibly be
asked is really helpful for the
passengers to prepare for the questions
and the interactions that they might
have. If you'd like to use the same one
that I use, I'll link it down below.
I've used it for years. I made it myself
just from listening to what the students
would talk about. I've used it for years
and it works really, really well. So if
you'd like that, it's linked down below.
Okay, so let's review. We've given them
the tools that they need. They've
learned the vocabulary and grammar that
they need. We've divided the class into
different roles. And we've given them
some time to practice their roles. Do we
now just jump into the airport? No. No.
No. No. This is going to be a little bit
chaotic. Okay? You're going to have
people moving around and we want to make
sure that everyone is clear on the
process. So before you start, make sure
everyone is crystal clear about what
they are, what their role is, and what
they're supposed to be doing. Show
everyone where the locations are going
to be in the classroom. Here's a couple
of suggestions that I usually do. Now,
every semester I'm in different styles
of classrooms, but I found that no
matter the style of classroom, I'm able
to customize this pretty easily. For the
check-in counters, I usually will have
people sit in the front row of desks or
if my desks are able to be moved around
if they're disconnected, I'll just pull
a couple of desks to the front of the
room. That way, the passengers can walk
up to the desk and they can communicate
that way. For security, it's really fun
if it's possible to have the students
line up outside the classroom and have
the door to the classroom be like the
metal detector. Students always love
this so much. They get so excited about
standing outside the classroom and then
they walk into the door as if the door
is the metal detector. Some students
will really get into it, too. And the
security guards will make the noise
themselves and go beep and it's like,
"Hey, I think there's something in your
bag. Please open your bag. We need to
search your bag." And it's just fun.
It's always the student's favorite part
is a security check. And then I will
usually have the cabin, like the regular
airplane, be the main part of the
classroom. That one aisle that you
probably have in your classroom or you
could make in your classroom is like the
aisle of a plane. So I have the flight
attendants standing in the aisle and
they will greet people as they enter the
aisle, enter the plane, say, "Oh, can I
help you find your seat? What would you
like to drink? We have a complimentary
drink. Would you like Coca-Cola or water
or coffee or tea?" And they're able to
chat. And so I walk through the room and
I show the students where everything is
and how it's going to go down. I make
sure students are crystal clear about
what is going to happen. Now, here's
something else I do to make it go really
smoothly because I have 40 students in
my class. Usually that's a lot. Maybe
you won't have that many students. But
there is a slight problem to this
because let's let's walk through it in
our head. Let's imagine we have all the passengers
passengers
going to the check-in counter and all
the passengers are lined up for the two
or three people who are doing the
check-in counter. That's a lot of dead
time. That's a lot of time that students
are just waiting in the line. Security
guards aren't doing anything. Flight
attendants aren't doing anything. And we
all know when students aren't doing
anything in a class, that's when the
problems arise. So I tell the students
that our classroom is a little bit
different. Our airport is a little bit
special. Now if you remember earlier I
said to use playing cards, use poker
cards for the passengers. I also pay
attention to the color of the card. I
will equally divide the red poker cards
and the black poker cards. And by the
way, if you're teaching in a country
that maybe poker cards or playing cards
is frowned upon, you can do this with
any card game set. I do this with Uno a
lot as well. And instead of having red
and black, then I just have, you know,
green or blue or red and yellow. It's a
really easy substitute if that's
something that might be a little bit
sensitive where you're teaching. But
what I will do is I will tell the
students, you know, okay, everyone look
at your card. All the passengers look at
your card. If you have a black number,
you know, a black three, a black four, a
black five, that means you will go to
the check-in counter, then security,
then you will board the plane. But if
you have a red card, if you have a red
two, a red three, a red four, our
airport's a little bit special, we will
have you go to security first, then
check in, then board the plane. near the
end of the class once everyone has
finished then yeah eventually there will
be some people who are a little bit
bored but usually it's only the security
guards and the check-in counters and
that's only for a minute or two max as
they just wait for everyone to board the
plane it might sound more chaotic but
actually it cuts down on the amount of
chaos because everyone is doing
something they have a role at some point
so I tell the students very clearly what
they are supposed to be doing what their
role is and I and I just explain to them
I don't want you to be bored. So that's
why we are having a special airport
system. You can also tell students that
once they sit down, once passengers are
actually seated on the plane, they're
supposed to make small talk with the
people next to them. And that's a fun
way to keep them engaged and keep them
speaking English the whole time. We've
learned vocabulary, we've practiced
getting ready for our roles, and
everyone is clear about what they're
supposed to be doing. Now I tell
everybody to go to their positions, go
to their spots. Flight attendants be
standing in the aisle. Security guards
go to the door. Check-in counter people
get ready. And all the passengers should
line up in their respective spots. I get
everybody into the right position before
we begin. Cuz my goodness, the first
time I did this, I did not do that. And
I don't wish that level of chaos on
anyone. So get everybody lined up.
everyone knows where they're supposed to
be going and then tell everybody that
they can begin. Let me give you some
tips for helping this go a little bit
smoother as well. Your job as a teacher
is to be controlling the classroom, is
to be monitoring. So, I'm walking
around. I'm making sure everything's
okay. But I'm not jumping in if people
get stuck. If people get stuck and
aren't sure what to say, I usually let
them let them go for a little bit
because we want to mirror realworld
experiences. I'm there to make sure
everyone knows what they're doing, knows
where they're going. If one student gets
lost, I'm like, "Show me your card. What
card do you have?" "Okay, you need to go
to security now." "Okay, you're ready to
board the plane." I also let the
students, especially lower level
students, bring their papers. I find
that a lot of students will get really
nervous about this. Maybe they're
speaking to somebody they don't know
that well, or they just feel they feel
on the spot. They have to look at
somebody and speak in English. That's a
little bit nerve-wracking for a lot of
students. So, I will usually allow them
to bring their papers and they can ask
questions, of course. So, I'm just
monitoring while all of this is going
on. I'm helping direct people to go to
the right place. I'm reminding them of
their tasks. If I see a bunch of
students who have already boarded the
plane and they're just sitting there
staring out the window, I'm going over
there and be like, "Hey, don't forget
you're supposed to be making small
talk." And I'm just helping everything
go smoothly during that time. You can
also encourage them to be more
authentic. You know, have them pull out
their student ID cards if they're
checking IDs. You know, have the
security guard stop and say, "Hey, let
me search your bags." And let the
students bring their backpacks as
they're standing in line for security.
Try to make the experience as authentic
as possible. And that will definitely be
a benefit for them. And then when
everyone has finished, when everyone has
boarded the plane, that's when I get up
at the front again and I say, "Okay,
we're done. Congratulations.
If you want, you can add in extra
homework assignments that you know,
maybe students have to reflect on what
was difficult or they have to reflect on
how it went or what things did they not
understand or how could they have done
better. That could be a really helpful
activity for them. But let's now talk
about the last part. Let's talk about
why this works and why this is such not
to toot my own horn, but why this is
such an exceptional lesson for students
to experience. In the world of language
learning, too often people can become
quite obsessed or focused on just the
textbook. Students spend hours studying
vocabulary words, studying grammar,
completing grammar exercises, A, B, C,
or D. Find the mistake in the sentence.
true, false, and they spend a lot of
time focused on these tiny nuances or
focused on right, wrong, textbook,
rather than on using the language in a
natural setting as much as possible, as
much as possible. We as teachers want to
bring authentic learning experiences
into the classroom. We can't always go
outside. We can't always take our
students to an airport and have them
board a flight. But if they're going to
be traveling in English, then they're
going to be expected to do that. We
can't always bring students to a coffee
shop and have them order in English. We
can't always bring students into a board
meeting and have them discuss with
future bosses and future co-workers
about what moves they should make in the
business. We can't always do that. But
what we can do is bring authentic
learning experiences into the classroom.
And this is a really great way to do
that. Without these authentic learning
experiences, students are learning
English in a vacuum. And if they are not
faced with this pressure of, oh, someone
is looking at me, I have to communicate
what I need. I have to communicate what
I think. I have to communicate in order
to accomplish this task to get through
security to board the plane. Without
that added pressure and without that
context, it can be really difficult for
students to take what they're learning
in a textbook and apply it to realworld
situations. Not to go too deep into
educational theory because we can do
that in another video. But one of the
core ideas of education is John Dwiey's
motto of learning by doing. When
students do it, they are learning. And
you can learn hypothetically and
students can study vocabulary and think,
"Oh, your suitcase is overweight. Your
suitcase is overweight." But when
they're actually in that real world
situation, are those vocabulary words,
is that grammar going to come to them in
the situation where they're facing a
high pressure context? and when they
need to communicate in order to
accomplish a goal. This is also related
to the idea of experiential learning
theory which is the belief that students
should practice, they should try, they
should make mistakes, they should
reflect on the experience so that when
they come back for a secondary practice
experience, now they have a little bit
more context. Now they know where their
weak points are. Now they know where
their strengths are and they're able to
refocus, adjust, so that way they can
improve in the future. This exercise is
so helpful for students because it
really helps them understand what do
they know, what do they not know, what
are their strengths, what are their
weaknesses, and it helps to remind them
too that language is for use. Language
is for communication. Language is used
as a tool to communicate with others.
It's not just something that's used to
get an A on an exam, to answer true
instead of false, to answer A instead of
B. I think it helps pull them out of the
idea of exam, textbook, exam, correct
answer, wrong answer, teacher, student,
and helps them focus on can you actually
use the language in the real world? Can
you communicate with someone? Can you
share your ideas? Because those are the
true goals of language learning. Anyway,
if you have any questions, leave them in
the comments down below. If you'd like
me to make more videos on a specific
topic, definitely leave that down below
and I can work on it. If you'd like to
check out more videos about how to
become a better teacher, how to improve
your teaching ability, how to make
lessons more actionable for students,
how to control the classroom, you can
definitely check out more videos on the
channel. We have tons of lesson plan
ideas that I think would be really
helpful for you. But thank you so much
for watching. I appreciate you and I
hope you have a great rest of your day.
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