Field notes · Lesson planning

3 Preply trial lesson templates for 2026 (copy and adapt)

A good trial makes the learner’s goal visible and gives them a useful experience of your teaching.

Use the same five-part structure

  1. Welcome and purpose: confirm audio, name, pronouns if volunteered, and the learner’s reason for studying.
  2. Short diagnostic: use a task linked to that reason, rather than a generic test.
  3. Teach one useful point: model, practise, and check understanding.
  4. Reflect: identify one strength and one next focus with the learner.
  5. Close: propose a realistic next lesson plan and explain how the learner can decide.

Template 1: general conversation

Opening: “What would you most like to be able to do in English in the next few months?”

Task: ask the learner to describe a recent plan or opinion. Note one grammar pattern, one vocabulary gap, and one communication strength.

Mini lesson: choose one phrase set for giving reasons, asking follow-up questions, or clarifying meaning. Practise it in a second short conversation.

Close: “Today you already made your point clearly. Next we could work on follow-up questions and more precise linking phrases. Does that match your goal?”

Template 2: workplace communication

Opening: “Which work situation is most urgent: meetings, presentations, emails, interviews, or customer conversations?”

Task: role-play a two-minute version of that situation using fictional details.

Mini lesson: improve one move, such as signalling an agenda, asking for clarification, or summarising an action point.

Close: agree on a practical document, phrase bank, or role play for the next lesson. Do not claim industry expertise you do not have.

Template 3: exam preparation

Opening: ask which exam, date, score goal, and skill concern apply.

Task: use a short representative prompt that you are permitted to use. Time it only if timing is part of the learner’s concern.

Mini lesson: show one assessment-relevant improvement, then let the learner try it again.

Close: explain the evidence you would need to build a study plan. Do not promise a score or present yourself as an examiner unless that is accurate.

After the lesson

Send a concise, factual note through the platform: thank the learner, name one strength, name one focus, and offer a next step. Follow the platform’s current messaging, trial, payment, and off-platform contact rules. Keep learner information in the platform or in your permitted teaching records.

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