October–December 2025 – Planning lessons and courses

What's happening in October, November and December 2025?

This page gives you an overview of all the activity happening across our TeachingEnglish channels in October, November and December.

For teachers, we'll be focusing on the theme of Planning lessons and courses. For teacher educators, the focus is Supporting ongoing teacher professional development. On this page, you'll find free online training courses, live webinars and other online events, podcast episodes and research – all related to the three-month themes. You'll also find training and resources related to our evergreen themes throughout the year. Learn more about our themes for 2025–2026 by downloading our theme calendar.

In addition to our themed events and content, we also have hundreds of lesson plans and classroom resources. Below we've selected some lesson plans to help you engage learners with topical issues and special United Nations days in October, November and December.

Teacher pathways

Choose from three learning pathways designed to help you take charge of your professional development and advance your career as an English teacher. 

Getting started with planning lessons and courses

Get started with this ready-made pathway of free tools and resources to help you:

• define learning aims and outcomes that meet learners' needs
• select and use motivating activities, resources and materials to achieve course and lesson aims with groups of diverse learners
• plan coherent lesson stages, including recycling previous learning, different interaction patterns, feedback and differentiated learning.

Teacher pathways: Getting started with planning lessons and courses

Going further with planning lessons and courses

If you want to go further with your professional development, this workbook will help you take your skills to the next level. It's designed to help you create a regular learning habit and apply what you've learned in the classroom. You'll find an overview of the theme and recommended learning materials. You'll also find support to reflect on and personalise your learning. You can use the workbook in different ways – do what works for you! We hope you find it beneficial.

Teacher pathways: Going further with planning lessons and courses

Working on planning lessons and courses with others

This group study guide for teachers and teacher educators looks at planning lessons and courses. It forms part of a series of group learning booklets in which teachers and teacher educators will find useful theory and practice for teaching English effectively, including short case studies and professional development activities to do with others.

Planning lessons and courses group study guide

Online training courses

We have a range of courses running connected to the theme of Planning lessons and courses and our evergreen themes. Live events and discussions related to these courses are hosted in our Courses for teachers community on Facebook and on YouTube. Learn more about our courses for 2025–2026 by downloading our courses calendar. Find answers to our most frequently asked questions about training courses.

Courses connected to planning lessons and courses

Planning lessons – enrol before 24 December

Learn how to plan engaging language and topic-based lessons by identifying and applying commonly used lesson models. Explore techniques for introducing new language, writing achievable learning outcomes and planning warmers and lead-ins.

Find out more and enrol on this free course

Download the free Planning lessons workbook

Planning courses – enrol before 24 December

Discover how to plan learner-centred courses based on your learners, their context and curriculum requirements. Explore techniques for analysing learner needs and involving learners as active participants in the assessment process.

Find out more and enrol on this free course

Download the free Planning courses workbook

Managing learning – enrol before 24 December (new course)

Learn how to evaluate and write engaging lesson plans, and explore techniques for effective transitions, signalling, task-setting and checking instructions.

Find out more and enrol on this free course

Download the free Managing learning workbook

Courses for teacher educators

Helping teachers to learn – enrol before 23 December

Discover how to support teachers in their professional development by planning and delivering effective training. Find out how to set up and support communities of practice to facilitate collaboration, and learn how to encourage all types of self-directed learning.

Find out more and enrol on this free course

Download the free Helping teachers to learn workbook

Courses connected to evergreen themes

English in the multilingual classroom – enrol before 24 March 2026

This course will introduce you to multilingualism and what it means. Learn how to make your classroom and teaching multilingual so that your learners can learn to celebrate and use many languages in the real world.

Find out more and enrol on this free course

Download the free English in the multilingual classroom workbook

Digital competences for teaching English – enrol before 24 March 2026 (new course)

Discover how to integrate digital tools to support language learning, collaboration, formative assessment and effective feedback. Improve your digital communication skills and teamwork in your professional context and learn about online continuing professional development.

Find out more and enrol on this free course

Download the free Digital competences for teaching English workbook

Climate action in language education – enrol before 24 March 2026

Learn to integrate environmental issues into English language teaching and develop the skills you need to take and sustain meaningful and impactful action to protect the environment in your local context.

Find out more and enrol on this free course

Download the free Climate action in language education workbook

How to teach writing – enrol before 24 March 2026

Improve your learners' writing skills by exploring the subskills that make good writers, and ways of developing them in the classroom.

Find out more and enrol on this free course

Download the free How to teach writing workbook

How to teach vocabulary – enrol before 24 March 2026

Help your learners notice, record, recycle and use new vocabulary more confidently with engaging classroom activities.

Find out more and enrol on this free course

Download the free How to teach vocabulary workbook

Teaching English to refugees and displaced learners – enrol before 24 March 2026

Make your classroom a trauma-sensitive learning environment. Help your learners to shine by working creatively with limited resources and by managing challenging behaviour positively.

Find out more and enrol on this free course

Download the free Teaching English to refugees and displaced learners workbook

Online events and webinars

See our free online events and webinars for teachers and teacher educators below. Download our webinar calendar for 2025–2026 here.

World Teachers' Day 2025 day 1 – four webinars (9 October)

Join us on Thursday 9 October 2025 for the opening of our three-day World Teachers' Day conference. Cecilia Nobre's plenary will explore how teachers can connect, reflect and grow, followed by interactive and inspiring webinars on the themes of CPD and digital technology. 

Find out more and register for this online event.

You can also join the events on Facebook. No registration is necessary to watch on Facebook.

World Teachers' Day 2025 day 2 – four webinars (10 October)

Join us on Friday 10 October 2025 for the second day of our World Teachers' Day conference. Join our panel of experts for a live discussion of multilingual approaches in the language classroom and watch practical webinars on the themes of multilingualism and 21st-century skills.

Find out more and register for this online event.

You can also join the events on Facebook. No registration is necessary to watch on Facebook.

World Teachers' Day 2025 day 3 – four webinars (11 October)

Join us on Saturday 11 October 2025 for the final day of our World Teachers' Day conference. Christopher Graham will inspire you to teach for a world that cares for the environment and society, and expert teachers from around the world will focus on two themes: climate action and how to improve your learners' speaking and vocabulary skills.

Find out more and register for this online event.

You can also join the events on Facebook. No registration is necessary to watch on Facebook.

Becoming an e-moderator: Skills for the future – Teacher educator webinar (21 October)

Please note that the content of this webinar is tailored for teacher educators and teachers who are engaged in facilitating the professional development of others.

In today's digital learning landscapes, skilled e-moderation is essential for teacher engagement and supporting teachers in their professional learning journey. This webinar introduces key facilitation strategies and practical frameworks, including Gilly Salmon's Five-Stage Model, to help you design inclusive and motivating online learning environments for teachers. We'll explore the role and tasks of an e-moderator and how they resemble those in online training contexts, focusing on how e-moderators balance structured support with autonomy. The session will also look at how AI can support your role, allowing you to focus on meaningful teacher interaction.

12.00–13.15 (UK time)

Find out more and register for this online event.

Creative lesson planning – three webinars (14 November)

How can we keep our learners inspired? This event will explore how to plan creative classes that capture learners' imaginations and channel their creativity. Our first session focuses on integrating climate themes into classes using the arts – visual, songs, poetry and dance. You will explore practical activities that promote awareness of the current climate crisis and inspire learners to take action. In our next session, you will learn how the power of storytelling can inspire creativity and support language learning. Finally, you will hear from expert teachers from around the world, sharing their ideas for how to make your English classes more creative.

Find out more and register for this online event.

You can also join the events on Facebook. No registration is necessary to watch on Facebook.

Bringing today's world into the classroom – Teacher educator webinar (18 November)

Please note that the content of this webinar is tailored for teacher educators and teachers who are engaged in facilitating the professional development of others.

This session looks at how teacher educators can work with teachers to make their classrooms more relevant to today's world. Drawing from research where children aged 8–14 were positioned as researchers of their own gaming practices, Annamaria Pinter and Helen Sherwin highlight the benefits and challenges of drawing on gaming for educational purposes, such as improving language skills, teamwork, and problem solving. Teacher educators will learn how to help teachers adapt classroom activities to reflect learners' digital realities and integrate gaming strategies into pedagogy. The session also explores how involving children as researchers can enrich classroom practices, fostering collaboration and making lessons more engaging and aligned with real-world experiences. Practical gamification ideas are included.

12.00–13.15 (UK time)

Find out more and register for this online event.

Rethinking global issues: AI, equity and climate – two webinars (5 December)

In these two webinars, our expert teachers from sub-Saharan Africa will help you rethink two global issues in English language education: artificial intelligence and climate action. In our first session, you will learn how AI can be a force for justice, allowing you to create inclusive learning spaces that allow all your English language learners to thrive. In our second session, our speakers share how they have used indigenous knowledge and set up research projects to help learners find solutions to climate issues where they live, developing their English language skills through practical, real-life projects.

Find out more and register for this online event.

You can also join the events on Facebook. No registration is necessary to watch on Facebook.

Mentoring and professional development – Teacher educator webinar (9 December)

Please note that the content of this webinar is tailored for teacher educators and teachers who are engaged in facilitating the professional development of others.

Whether you're new to mentoring teacher educators, beginning your own journey as a teacher educator or guiding teachers directly, this webinar will help you reflect on and strengthen your mentoring practice. Join Nelson Arditto, teacher educator, e-moderator and instructional designer, to explore assessment and reflective development mentor talk, directive and collaborative feedback, and other key strategies for effective mentoring.

12.00–13.15 (UK time)

Find out more and register for this online event.

Facebook, Instagram and YouTube live events in October, November and December 2025

Join our online community of more than four million teachers worldwide. We will be hosting weekly events throughout October, November and December via our Facebook, Instagram and YouTube channels.

These 30-minute live sessions are a great opportunity for you to join teachers from around the world.

Engage with English language teaching experts and community members on a range of topics and themes to help you develop your teaching skills, and share ideas and questions with a vibrant global online community.

See what's happening in our community on Facebook
See what's happening in our community on Instagram
See what's happening in our community on YouTube

For the classroom

See a selection of lesson plans below that you can use to focus on United Nations special days in October, November and December in your language teaching classrooms.

World Space Week (4 October)

Title of lesson plan: Space

Age group: Primary

Level: A2 and above

In this lesson, learners will look at the planets in the solar system and features of planets. They will listen to and sing a song, then watch a story about features of different planets. They will practise describing planets using 'there is/are', and as an extension activity can work together to invent their own planet.

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Title of lesson plan: Space – the sun, moon, stars and planets

Age group: Primary

Level: A2 and above

In this lesson, children play a game using vocabulary about space, sing a song about travelling to the sun and listen to and read a story about a fictional planet. They then design and draw their own story with support from a structured template.

World Teachers' Day (5 October)

Title of lesson plan: My ideal teacher

Age group: Primary

Level: A2 and above

In this lesson primary learners do a series of simple and supported vocabulary and grammar activities that lead to them writing about their ideal teacher. At the end of the lesson they can make a classroom display of their texts.

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Title of lesson plan: My AI teacher

Age group: Secondary

Level: A1 and above

This lesson is designed to enable learners to use two AI prompts. One will enable an AI chatbot to become their English-speaking friend. It will ask them questions appropriate to their age and level and help them if they get stuck. The second prompt will enable the chatbot to create activities based around their level and the topic of their choice.

Note: Before using this lesson plan, make sure the relevant people – learners, parents and school communities – are informed about what data will be collected and shared while using AI tools. Ensure that you get consent when needed. ChatGPT requires that children aged 13 to 18 obtain parental consent before using it.

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Title of lesson plan: The perfect teacher

Age group: Secondary

Level: B1 and above

This activity is designed to be used with pre-intermediate/intermediate level learners. It could be used as part of an introduction lesson and/or to negotiate classroom behaviour contracts between teacher and learners.

World Food Day (16 October)

Title of lesson plan: My healthy lunch

Age group: Primary

Level: A2 and above

In this lesson children draw a lunch setting and then play a dice game to decide what to eat from a selection of foods, which include many healthy choices. This game can be played as part of World Food Day, which is celebrated on 16 October each year, or whenever you cover the topic of food with your young learners.

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Title of lesson plan: Food I like/don't like

Age group: Primary

Level: A2 and above

This lesson starts with a review of food vocabulary, which can be adapted, and then learners will practise using the structure 'I like/don't like'. Learners then complete a simple survey by asking their classmates about their own food likes and dislikes. There are also several suggestions for follow-up or homework activities.

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Title of lesson plan: Green fingers

Age group: Secondary

Level: B1 and above

This lesson offers a variety of activities based on growing or gathering your own food. The warmer introduces the topic of gardens. There is a picture dictation that builds on garden vocabulary. Then learners read about current British gardening and food-foraging trends and give their opinion on these trends. The optional extension activities are a role play about allotments and a question-writing and discussion activity. There are differentiation opportunities throughout the plan, including a text at two different levels. This is a low-print lesson. 

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (17 October)

Title of lesson plan: Ending poverty

Age group: Primary

Level: B1 and above

Use this lesson in face-to-face or online lessons with your primary learners to discuss the concept of poverty.

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Title of lesson plan: What is enough?

Age group: Secondary

Level: B1 and above

Use this lesson in face-to-face or online lessons with your teenage learners to discuss the concept of poverty.

International Day Against Violence and Bullying at School Including Cyberbullying (7 November)

Title of lesson plan: Is it because?

Age group: Primary

Level: A2 and above

This is a series of activities and related worksheets for you to download and use with the storybook Is it because? Learners will make an anti-bullying poster and give a presentation of the story. It forms part of the Promoting diversity through children's literature series, produced by the British Council Teaching Centre in Paris.

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Title of lesson plan: Anti-bullying

Age group: Secondary

Level: B1 and above

In this lesson, students will learn about the problem of bullies and how to behave if you are a bystander. Note that there is no emphasis on victims of bullying, because you may have victims in your own class and it is important to be sensitive about this. The aim is not to point the finger at anyone but instead to discuss and question our beliefs about what bullying is and how it can be dealt with.

International Day for Tolerance (16 November)

Title of lesson plan: Othello

Age group: Secondary

Level: C1 and above

This lesson uses Shakespeare's play Othello to explore early modern and contemporary attitudes to race, and gives learners supported practice in analysing and interpreting extracts of the play. Learners will be introduced to four key characters, will engage in role play and will have the opportunity to use persuasive language to act out a mock court case. 

World Children's Day (20 November)

Title of lesson plan: Young market traders

Age group: Secondary

Level: B2 and above

Young market traders is a complete set of teaching resources designed around interesting and unusual photographs, with activities to activate your learners' higher-level critical-thinking skills. This pack deals with the topics of travel, lifestyle, childhood and child labour and practises both listening and speaking skills.

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery (2 December)

Title of lesson plan: Is slavery a thing of the past?

Age group: Older teenagers and adults

Level: B1 and above 

Designed to raise awareness of the UN's World Day against Trafficking in Persons, this lesson begins by asking learners to consider what they know about the issue, then takes them through a process of learning more, before concluding by asking them about what they have learned and how their understanding might have changed. The lesson involves plenty of speaking, a vocabulary focus, which pre-teaches topic-related vocabulary later found in the text, a jigsaw reading and a focus on passives.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 December)

Title of lesson plan: Susan Laughs

Age group: Primary (9 to 10 years old)

Level: A1 and above

This is a series of activities and related worksheets for you to download and use with the storybook Susan Laughs. Learners will make a personalised or class book based on the story and give a presentation.

International Migrants Day (18 December)

Title of lesson plan: Inside lives

Age group: Secondary/adults

Level: B1 and above

This activity practises learners' listening and speaking skills. They first listen to a description of two images and then they analyse the language used and try to use it to describe some different pictures. The activity takes a similar format to that used in many speaking exams. The images used are those of Viennese migrants, all of whom run specialist businesses. The activity is based on themes and images from the OPENCities project.

 

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Title of lesson plan: Choose a city

Age group: Secondary/adults

Level: B2 and above

In this speaking activity, learners think about and discuss a city they would like to live in for a year. The activity is based on themes from the British Council OPENCities project.

 

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Title of lesson plan: The challenges of being a migrant

Age group: Secondary/adults

Level: C1 and above

This is a speaking and listening activity that involves learners in thinking about the kinds of problems and challenges they might face as a migrant going to Belfast. They then listen to the true stories of five migrants talking about the challenges they have faced in moving to Belfast. The activity is based on themes and images from the OPENCities project.

 

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Title of lesson plan: Other cultures

Age group: Secondary/adults

Level: C1 and above

One of the good things about migration is the opportunities it brings for learning about other cultures. In this speaking and discussion activity, learners will be able to share their views and knowledge of other cultures. The activity is based on themes from the British Council OPENCities project.

 

Podcast episodes

See podcasts connected to the themes below.

TeachingEnglish podcast: How can we teach vocabulary and grammar more communicatively?

In this episode, we talk to Jo Cummins, freelance ELT teacher, trainer and materials writer. Jo shares some ideas for communicative activities in the classroom that can help learners move from passive grammar and vocabulary knowledge to active use of language for communication. We also look at how classrooms can become a 'safe space' for learners to make errors, so that they can become more confident speakers outside the classroom. Later, we are joined by Luis Carabantes from Queen Mary University of London, who talks to us about communicative language teaching (CLT). We also discuss the importance of providing learners with authentic language and tasks, and of questioning the reasons for teaching what we teach.

Listen to the episode and download the show notes.

TeachingEnglish podcast: How can we use play to teach English?

In this episode, we ask the question: How can we use play to teach English? First, Chris talks about how he has used play in his teaching, and introduces We'am to a game from his childhood days. Then they talk to Elly Setterfield, a young learner ELT specialist. Elly discusses The Lego Foundation's definition of play and how it can be incorporated into English language teaching. Next, Chris and We'am interview Wei Mao, a PhD researcher on play in ELT. Wei talks about the spectrum of play and the practicalities of how different types of play can be used strategically in the classroom.

Listen to the episode and download the show notes.

Education in focus 6: Educational planning

Planning underpins any educational system, and our guests in this episode – Dr Rukmini Banerji, CEO of Pratham Education Foundation, and Dr Martin Wedell, University of Leeds – draw on their extensive experience to talk about planning cycles, frameworks and lessons that can be learned from research in this critical area.

Listen to Educational planning

Publications, research and insight

See publications related to the themes below.

Climate action in language education: Activities for low resource contexts

This publication provides teachers with a bank of 30 activities, based on ten climate change themes, with step-by-step guidance for each activity. They are an ideal starting point to help to address issues of sustainability in the classroom. The activities cover a range of levels and age groups, and each explores climate change through one of ten topics, from sports to storms and from farming to fashion. They are designed with flexibility in mind, can be integrated within existing curricula and are all designed for contexts without access to audio equipment, printing or photocopying facilities.

Climate action in language education: Activities for low resource contexts

Widening Participation: English as a subject in primary school – Lessons from Bangladesh, Malawi, Mexico and Uzbekistan

Led by an international team of researchers, the study explores effective strategies for teaching English in schools with limited resources. It addresses challenges such as large class sizes, insufficient materials and varying levels of teacher language proficiency. Drawing on classroom observations, focus groups and interviews, the report offers valuable guidance for educators, policy makers and researchers.

Widening Participation: English as a subject in primary school – Lessons from Bangladesh, Malawi, Mexico and Uzbekistan

Reading for comprehension in primary school children in India: A teacher training programme

Indian classrooms are always multilingual, yet learners' language skills are not fully used to help learning. In many English-medium schools (EMI), there is a gap between the language used in class and the learners’ home languages due to an English-only approach. The MultiLiLa project (2016–2020) showed that children from low socio-economic backgrounds face academic challenges when their home languages are not used at school. It recommended that teachers be trained in multilingual methods. Lightfoot et al. (2022) found that translanguaging, where more than one language is used in the classroom, can support learning English as a second language.

Reading for comprehension in primary school children in India: A teacher training programme

Reflective practice for language teachers

Written with language educators in mind, the book gives you a straightforward framework designed to help you engage easily in reflective practice. At each step, you will find an example of an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher following this framework and demonstrating how reflection can be a powerful tool for refining and developing your teaching approaches.

Reflective practice for language teachers

Gender-ing English language classes across the globe: Practical lessons for teachers

This book contains 40 lessons that show how English language teachers working in different environments have included a range of gender topics in their teaching practice. All the lessons can be adapted easily to different contexts.

Gender-ing English language classes across the globe: Practical lessons for teachers

Remote teaching tips

This publication offers a range of practical tips and advice for remote teaching in all contexts.

Remote teaching tips

Creating and running successful online groups for teacher development

Use this step-by-step evidence-based toolkit if you want to start up and run a successful online group for teachers.

Creating and running successful online groups for teacher development

Language learning 'in the wild': Children playing online games in English

This study sets out to explore how primary school children between the ages of eight and fourteen engage in L2 English online/digital gaming in their own time.

Language learning 'in the wild': Children playing online games in English

Download the infographic below and pin it in your staffroom.