By Gav & Em
When time is running out in an English lesson, give learners one last chance to do what you set out to teach and save a minute or two for feedback. Cut optional extras, shorten the practice that still serves the aim, and carry over work that deserves a proper go next lesson.
Use the decision guide · See an eight-minute example · Open the teacher checklist
Decide what to cut, shorten or carry over
Finish this sentence in your head: “By the end, learners should be able to ___.” Use a verb you can see or hear, such as ask for a different appointment time or identify the reason an appointment changed. Those two aims need different endings.
| Decision | When to make it | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Cut | It repeats practice learners have already had, or serves an optional aim. | Skip the whole-class round of reports. Listen to pairs as they work. |
| Shorten | It helps learners meet the aim and still works on a smaller scale. | Give each pair one realistic situation and time for both learners to take a turn. |
| Carry over | It still serves the course and needs more time or support to be useful. | Start next class with a quick recall prompt and the unfinished task. Tell learners what they’ll do with it. |
| Keep | It gives learners a chance to demonstrate the aim, or helps them see how to improve. | Save time for one attempt, one piece of feedback and a chance to use it. |
If there’s too little time for a meaningful attempt, check the part learners have reached. Tell them where you’ll pick up next time and start there. An exit response can show whether learners can form a request, for example, even if there’s no time left for a full phone call.
Eight minutes left in an A2–B1 lesson
Lesson aim: Learners can ask to move an appointment and agree a new time. The model dialogue took longer than planned. You still have three role-plays and a round of class reports on your plan.
Minute 52–53 of the lesson (1 minute) · Set up one call. Skip the reports. Put two lines on the board: “Could we move it to …?” and “I can’t do then. How about …?” Tell everyone Tuesday at 3 is cancelled. Give callers and receptionists different times, privately if you can. The caller can do Thursday at 10 or Friday at 2. The receptionist can offer Friday at 2 or Friday at 4. Ask the caller to try Thursday first.
Minutes 53–58 (5 minutes) · Give both learners a turn. Pairs agree a time. Then swap roles and change the slots. Ask the new caller to try Monday first: the caller can do Monday at 11 or Wednesday at 4, and the receptionist can offer Wednesday at 4 or Thursday at 9. Listen for a clear request and a confirmed time.
Minutes 58–60 (2 minutes) · Give feedback and check it landed. Share one useful phrase you heard and model one improvement. If pairs agreed a time without confirming the day, prompt “So that’s Wednesday at four?” Ask each learner to say their own confirmation to their partner. If several pairs still mix up the details, carry over one unused role-play as next lesson’s starter and give everyone another chance to confirm the day and time.
With a listening aim, use the same last two minutes to ask each learner why the appointment moved and which detail in the recording gave them the answer. Briefly confirm that detail. The phone call can become a speaking task next time.
Hear Gav and Em on the discussion that had to wait
In S05E14, Gav asks what a discussion adds after a listening task. Hear why Em wanted her learners to have that time.
Read the clip transcript
Gav: Em, what exactly do you mean by, you didn’t have time to chat after a listening task? Why do you need to chat after a listening task?
Em: So students can use the language, so they can discuss what was talked about in the listening. So I did everything really brilliantly, checked all the boxes for the lead-in, pre-taught the vocab, did the first gist listening, did the second detailed listening. It was going great. And then I ran out of time to actually talk about it. And it was a really interesting topic.
Read the full episode transcript · Listen to the complete show
Teacher checklist for the final few minutes
☐ Name the one thing learners should be able to do.
☐ Cut a repeat or optional extension.
☐ Give everyone a short turn that still serves the aim.
☐ Use the last minute or two for feedback and one quick check.
☐ If an important stage needs more time, name the task you’ll start with next lesson.
Download LSP1: Listening — A Change of Plan (PDF) to practise choosing which listening questions and speaking tasks to keep.
What to do when an English lesson goes off plan. Find quick ways to rescue a lesson when learners finish early, lose the audio or get stuck on the instructions.