Lesson Plan
Topic: Figurative language
Time:
80 minutes
Site:
University, institute
Content Objectives: SWBAT
- understand what figurative language
is;
- identify different types of figurative
language within texts;
- use different figures of speech in their
writing.
Cultural Objectives: SWBAT
- identify cross cultural differences in
the use of figures of speech;
- analyze and compare various stylistic
devices in L1 and L2.
Materials:
projector, handouts, stickers, laptop,
markers, flashcards, papers, PPT,
blackboard
Target Vocabulary:
Idioms, phrases, literary terms
Procedure of the lesson
Target learners:
Adult EFL learners
Level:
Upper intermediate, B2
Language Objectives: SWBAT
- develop communicative skills;
- improve expressiveness of language
use.
Pragmatic Objectives: SWBAT
- become natural in communication
through stylistic devices;
- Elicit emotions and feelings
effectively.
Mode of Interaction:
individual, group-work, pair work
Target Grammar:
Adjectives of comparison, “like”,
“as…as”
 I. Warm-up activity (Engage): Individual work (5 min)
Directions: Before explaining new topic, the teacher organizes a warm-up activity

called “Telephone charades”. A group of five or six students stay in a line looking

at same direction, Teacher shows a sheet of paper with clues written on it to the

last student. He/she acts out a charade only for the next person in the line, who in

turn acts out for the next person. The first person standing in line attempts to guess

what the original clue was.

II. Formal instruction (Vocabulary, linguistic devices) (15 min)

This lesson plan focuses on giving the students an understanding of figurative

language, classification of different types of figures of speech, use stylistic devices

creatively to convey a certain message. By understanding figurative language,

students can better interpret texts and analyze them on a deeper level. This

helps them enhance reading comprehension because such figures of speech

are found in all types of writing, especially poetry. They can understand the

author’s choices and the overall purpose of a story or poem. This is useful in

daily life, in class, and on important standardized assessments.

Through the authentic materials used in the classroom, students can understand

the stylistic devices and visualize ideas and concepts easier, bringing clarity to

abstract ideas, concepts, and feelings in every day conversations. Through the

activities properly selected according to their level of language, learners will also

enhance communicative language skills in an integrated way, increasing the

effectiveness of the lesson.

 Directions: In order to brainstorm, teacher demonstrates several pictures on the

screen before explaining new topic and asks their meaning in order to identify the

students’ background knowledge on that topic. Students say what they understand

based on the illustrations provided by the teacher. Then, teacher introduces the new

theme: Figurative language. While explaining the figurative language, ask each

student to take notes into their notebooks.

TYPES OF
FIGURATIVE DEFINITION
LANGUAGE
A simile compares two
Simile things using like or as
A metaphor compares two
Metaphor things without using like or
as
Personification is when
non-human things are given
Personification human qualities or
characteristics
Onomatopoeia makes
Onomatopoeia words from sounds
Alliteration is the repetition
of the same beginning
Alliteration sound in a series of words
Hyperbole is an
Hyperbole exaggeration for effect
A phrase that has a different
meaning than what it says.
Idiom
EXAMPLE
Ripley is as lazy as sloth.
The clouds were cotton
balls in the sky.
The snowfalls danced on
the ground.
Hisss! Ughhhhhh!
Sally sells seashells by
the seashore.
My homework took me 8
million years to finish.
The test was a piece of
cake.
The test wasn’t really a
 piece of cake, but instead
means it was easy.

III. Structured Practice Activity

Activity 1. Individual work (20 min)

Teacher’s instructions: Teacher explains the directions of the activity. Then

distributes pair work handouts and asks students to match the given words with

their definitions and examples. (Handout 1). Then corrects their mistakes.

Learners’ interactions: Learners should listen to the instructions and complete the

task in a correctly. They should match the terms with their correct definitions and

appropriate examples.

IV. Communicative Activity

Activity 2. Pair work (15 min)

Teacher’s instructions: Teacher explains the directions of the activity, divides

learners into pairs and asks each pair to choose one of flashcards. (handout 2)

Learners’ interactions: Learners should work in pairs and find literary devices

from the short story given in the flashcards by analyzing their meaning. Then

students should explain what types of figurative language have been used.

Activity 3. Group work (25 min)

Teacher’s instructions: Teacher divides the students into small groups of 4-5

people and explains the instructions of the activity. Then provides handouts to
learners and asks learners to read the examples of stylistic devices and try to find

their equivalents in Karakalpak language. (Handout 3).

Learners’ interactions: Learners should work in groups and listen to the teacher’s

instructions attentively to complete the task. They should discuss the examples and

tell appropriate translation in their mother tongue.

Handout 4. (Evaluation worksheet)

Criteria “3” “4” “5”

Aspects
 Formality Poorly behaves in a Appropriately confidently
social situation behaves in a social behaves in a

Pragmatic and linguistic

situation social situation

aspects

Fillers Rare idea Adequately Skillfully

development, answers develops ideas with develops ideas
only on a limited scale supporting with supporting
sentences, with sentences
some inappropriate
ideas
appropriate grammar produces basic uses a limited range uses a range of
sentence forms and of more complex complex
some correct simple structures, but structures with
sentences but these usually some flexibility
subordinate structures contain errors and
are rare may cause some
comprehension
problems
comprehend the lexis is able to talk about has a wide enough uses a wide
familiar topics but can vocabulary to vocabulary
only convey basic discuss topics at resource readily
meaning on unfamiliar length and make and flexibly to
topics and makes meaning clear in convey precise
frequent errors in spite of meaning
word choice inappropriacies
Fluency cannot respond uses a range of speaks fluently
without noticeable connectives and with only
Language

pauses and may speak discourse markers occasional

slowly, with frequent with some flexibility repetition or self-
repetition and self- correction;
correction hesitation is
usually content-
related and only
rarely to search
for language
Accuracy attempts basic produces a majority produces
sentence forms but of error-free consistently
with limited success, sentences with only accurate
or relies on apparently very structures apart
memorised utterances from ‘slips’
characteristic of
native speaker
speech
Pronunciation Speech is often uses a limited range uses a wide
unintelligble of pronunciation range of
features pronunciation
features