February and March 2025 – Planning lessons and courses

Find out what's happening across our TeachingEnglish channels in February and March 2025. We'll be focusing on the theme of Planning lessons and courses. For teacher educators, the focus is Planning teacher learning.

Black female teacher standing at the front of a class, smiling at the camera

What's happening in February and March 2025?

This page gives you an overview of all the activity happening across our TeachingEnglish channels in February and March.

For teachers, we'll be focusing on the theme of Planning lessons and courses. For teacher educators, the focus is Planning teacher learning. Below you'll find free online training courses, live webinars and other online events, podcast episodes and research – all related to the bimonthly themes. You'll also find training and resources related to our evergreen themes of Gender, Inclusion, Climate and Assessment throughout the year.

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 February and March.


icon representing taking responsibility for professional developmentTeacher pathways

Choose below 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 and course objectives, and that develop in a logical sequence to build upon previous learning
  • consider how to select and use motivating activities, resources and materials to achieve course and lesson aims, while engaging your learners and taking into account their diversity
  • develop your planning of coherent lesson stages and including recycling previous learning, different interaction patterns, understanding checks, inclusive classroom language, assessment, feedback and differentiated learning. Anticipate and respond to problems and take on learner feedback.

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 is 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 will 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 learning booklet


AwardOnline 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. Find out more about all courses running in February and March below, including our new course Planning courses.

Planning courses – enrol before 24 March

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

In this free online course, you will learn about the following:

- Integrating syllabus design and schemes of work
- Engaging with learner needs
- Engaging with learner progress.

Find out more and enrol on this free course

Download the free Planning courses workbook

How to teach reading – enrol before 24 March

Boost your learners' reading skills by learning what effective readers do, and develop these skills with engaging classroom activities.

In this free online course, you will learn about the following:

- Understanding reading
- Understanding teaching reading
- Engaging with reading skills.

Find out more and enrol on this free course

Download the free How to teach reading workbook

Assessing learning – enrol before 24 March

Help all your learners benefit from and get actively involved in assessment in the language classroom.

In this free online course, you will learn about the following:

- Inclusive assessment approaches
- Engaging with assessment for learning
- Understanding teaching for tests.

Find out more and enrol on this free course

Download the Assessing learning workbook

Climate action in language education – enrol before 24 March

Learn to integrate environmental issues in 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.

In this free online course, you will learn about the following:

- Introducing environmental issues
- Lessons with a sustainability focus
- Making sustainability part of your learners' lives.

Find out more and enrol on this free course

Download the Climate action in language education workbook

Find answers to our most frequently asked questions about training courses.


Dialogue iconOnline events and webinars

See our free online events and webinars for teachers and teacher educators below.

Planning for every learner mini-event (12 February)

This event will explore how different people learn and how we can use this knowledge when planning our classes. Our speakers will share teaching tips and techniques for lesson plans that meet the needs of all our learners. You will find out about how drawing content summaries can make lessons more accessible and how to focus on learners' needs when planning to make your classes more learning-centred. 

Schedule and speakers

15.00–18.30 (UK time)

15.00–16.00: Accessibility in the multi-level classroom (Emily Bryson)
16.15–17.15: Planning for learning (not teaching) (Gabriel Díaz Maggioli)
17.30–18.30: Panel discussion: How do we use differentiation in our classes?

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.

Effective prompts for AI tools – Facebook live (15 February)

In this live and interactive conversation with English language teachers from around the world, we'll be exploring how to get the best out of artificial intelligence with effective prompts with Mary Rose Banaag.

Join us live or watch on demand for some helpful advice on creating the best commands for AI tools.

12.00–12.30 (UK time)

Find out more about the event.

Teaching teachers: What we know from 20 years of research – Teacher educator webinar (18 February)

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.

Wei Liao, associate professor at the Center for Teacher Education Research at the Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, and co-authors Xiaoyan Li (Beijing Normal University), Qiujin Dong (Xinjiang Normal University), Zhaoxuan Wang (University of Macau) share insight from their seminal systematic review of non-university-based teacher educators' professional learning. They discuss what we know globally about career structures and learning pathways for teacher educators, the aims and content of professional development provision for teacher educators and how practically teacher educators working in school-based settings in their various training, facilitating and mentoring roles can best be supported.

12.00–13.15 (UK time)

Find out more and register for this online event.

Teacher educator webinar series review 2024–2025 – Teacher educator webinar (11 March)

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.

Join us for an interactive review of the themes and key messages from series three of our monthly webinar programme. We will discuss and reflect on some of the most important current issues in teacher education – practitioner research, teacher qualities, language and inclusion, social media and AI in teacher education, the place of English in a multilingual world, supporting teacher well-being, and many more.

12.00–13.15 (UK time)

Find out more and register for this online event.

Creating lessons that work – mini-event (20 March)

In these practical sessions, our speakers share tools, tips and strategies to help you plan effective lessons and write classroom materials. You will learn how to define and deliver learning outcomes that meet learners’ needs and discover the secrets to writing excellent lesson materials.

Schedule and speakers

10.00–13.30 (UK time)

10.00-11.00: How to write great learning outcomes (Robert Martinez)
11.15-12.15: 7 simple secrets for writing super classroom materials (John Hughes and Katherine Bilsborough)
12.30-13.30: Panel discussion: How to create lessons that work

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.

Facebook and Instagram Live events in February and March 2025

Join our online community of more than four million teachers worldwide. We will be hosting weekly events throughout February and March via our Facebook and Instagram 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


Teaching iconFor the classroom

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

International Day of Women and Girls in Science (11 February)

Title of lesson plan: Women and girls in science

Age group: Secondary

Level: B2 and above

February 11 is International Day of Women and Girls in Science. In this lesson, learners read an article about some of the reasons why there are fewer girls and women interested in working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and what's happening to encourage equality in these fields. Learners will have a chance to evaluate ways of doing this, as well as reading about alternative approaches. There are optional extension tasks at the end of the lesson.

World Day of Social Justice (20 February)

Title of lesson plan: Young people and politics

Age group: Secondary

Level: B1 and above

In this lesson, learners will discuss how young people can get involved in political issues. They will read an article about political activism and successful campaigns created by young people. There is a focus on vocabulary, and finally learners will plan their own campaign to raise awareness about a political or social issue.

International Mother Language Day (21 February)

Title of lesson plan: Benefits of being bilingual

Age group: Secondary

Level: B2 and above

This lesson was devised to celebrate International Mother Language Day on 21 February, which exists to promote awareness of linguistic diversity and multilingualism. The lesson begins with a few statements about bilingualism. The learners decide if these are true or false and then read a text to check their ideas. Having discussed the topic of the text, the learners move on to look at impersonal report structures.

World Wildlife Day (3 March)

Title of lesson plan: My sea creature

Age group: Primary

Level: A2 and above 

Use this lesson in face-to-face or online teaching to explore life under the sea with your primary learners.


Title of lesson plan: A new logo for the World Wildlife Fund

Age group: Primary

Level: A2 and above

Use this lesson plan with your primary learners to consider the importance of safeguarding all kinds of animals.

International Women's Day (8 March)

Title of lesson plan: She's a policeman

Age group: Primary

Level: A2 and above

This lesson asks primary learners to consider their perceptions of gender roles in jobs.


Title of lesson plan: Taking liberties

Age group: Secondary

Level: B1 and above

This lesson plan for learners aged 13–17 and adult learners looks at the theme of gender stereotypes and equality.


Title of lesson plan: Unsung heroes

Age group: Secondary

Level: B1 and above

This lesson plan for learners aged 13–17 and adult learners looks at the theme of gender stereotypes and equality.

International Day of Happiness (20 March)

Title of lesson plan: Happiness is a snip away

Age group: Secondary

Level: A2 and above

In the lesson, learners start by discussing their own jobs and categorising a variety of others. They then identify and exchange information through a jigsaw reading activity and discuss which given jobs were considered happy or unhappy ones. Finally, they share their own ideas and opinions on the topic.

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March)

Title of lesson plan: Tusk Tusk

Age group: Primary

Level: A1 and above

This lesson plan for A1-level primary learners aged 9 to 10 years old explores racism, prejudice and tolerance.


Title of lesson plan: The school that tried to end racism

Age group: Secondary

Level: B2 and above

Use this lesson to explore race equality and unconscious bias with your secondary and adult learners at CEFR B2 and above.

World Water Day (22 March)

Title of lesson plan: Water for all

Age group: Secondary and adults

Level: B1 and above

Use this lesson with secondary learners and adult learners to look at the global water crisis.

International Day of Zero Waste (30 March)

Title of lesson plan: Upcycling

Age group: Secondary

Level: B1 and above

This lesson is part of our series of Climate action in language education teaching materials. There are 12 lesson plans in the series, available for teachers of primary, secondary and adult learners of English. See the full list of lesson plans in this series.


Podcast iconPodcast episodes

See all our podcast episodes connected to February and March's themes below.

TeachingEnglish podcast: How can we achieve gender equity in the classroom?

In this special episode for International Women's Day, We'am and Chris talk to guests Aisling O'Boyle, Araceli Salas and Grazzia Mendoza about how we can achieve gender equity in the classroom. 

Listen to the episode and download the show notes.

Teaching English podcast: How can I make my teaching gender fair?

Although classrooms are becoming increasingly gender fair, the educational impacts of Covid-19 have affected females more than males. Now more than ever, teachers need to continue to make their classrooms gender-fair places.

Listen to the episode and download the show notes.


Read iconPublications, research and insight

See publications related to February and March's themes below.

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

This book contains 40 lessons that show how English language teachers have included a range of gender topics in their pedagogical practice. Examples of such topics include gender and the workplace, gender and education, gender stereotypes and gender (in)equality. Collectively, the lessons showcase how teachers working in different environments have taken the time to embed a social agenda in their pedagogical practice.

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

Gender equality in English language teaching practice: A resource book for teacher education

The book contains 30 reflective essays written by future or current English language teachers, who discuss whether their ELT practice should contribute to gender equality.

Gender equality in English language teaching practice: A resource book for teacher education

ACCESS to gender balance – a toolkit for teachers

The ACCESS to gender balance toolkit is designed for educators who would like to improve their awareness of issues connected to gender bias and gender representation in English language learning materials. It explains some key concepts and then demonstrates problem areas where gender bias and gender representation might appear.

ACCESS to gender balance - a toolkit for teachers

Picturebook lesson series: Exploring social issues

Download this practical resource book with four picturebook-based lessons, each of which addresses the theme of hardship and resilience.

Picturebook lesson series: Exploring social issues

Teacher education planning handbook

This handbook provides practical advice and strategies for planning, managing and evaluating large-scale teacher education programmes. How can we best approach the design and implementation of teacher education programmes? How can we ensure that we're considering what teachers need and align the programme to our vision for improved classroom practice? How do we do this effectively at scale, when hundreds or even thousands of teachers will participate in the programme?

The Teacher education planning handbook seeks to answer these questions, providing a variety of input in the form of case studies, tasks and tools. Edited by Dr Martin Wedell, Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Leeds, the handbook discusses the principles of change and the need for these to be taken into consideration when planning and implementing a teacher education initiative.

Teacher education planning handbook

Reflective practice for language teachers

This practical step-by-step book is written specifically for language teachers by Thomas SC Farrell, a leading expert on reflective practice.

Reflective practice for language teachers.

Download the infographic below and pin it in your staffroom.

Research and insight

Browse fascinating case studies, research papers, publications and books by researchers and ELT experts from around the world.

See our publications, research and insight