Key takeaways
- Smart Lesson Generator is an AI-powered tool that helps English language teachers create tailored lessons in minutes.
- Co-innovated with AWS, it combines AI with trusted learning content and expertise.
- Teachers report saving up to 45 minutes on every lesson plan, freeing them up for more face-to-face student time.
Teachers spend hours every week planning their lessons — precious time that could be used to give students more feedback, communicate with parents, or just regain some work-life balance.
Pearson’s Smart Lesson Generator is an AI-powered lesson planning tool that helps give English language teachers those hours back.
Powered by our expertise in English language learning and developed in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), it can generate classroom lesson activities in just minutes based on simple teacher prompts. The lessons are tailored to students’ proficiency levels and learning needs and match the textbooks and curriculum teachers are using.
“It is saving a lot of time, especially with preparing the classes. When I started using Smart Lesson Generator, I could tell that I could save one and a half, maybe two hours of preparing the material,” says Chrystian Mauricio Perez Serna, an English teacher in Colombia.
Why English language teachers spend “too much” time not teaching
Teachers spend five hours a week, or more, planning lessons, according to a 2022 survey of U.S. teachers conducted by the EdWeek Research Center. In another study, published in 2023 by the British government, more than half of teachers reported spending “too much” time on lesson planning and other administrative tasks.
But lesson planning is still critical. Engaging and relevant lessons drive learning and, ultimately, student achievement.
When learning a language, students must master vocabulary, grammar, writing, speaking, and listening. Well-crafted lessons help students practice those skills.
What makes an effective English language lesson?
Effective English language lessons must meet two criteria:
- Student proficiency: Pearson’s Global Scale of English enables teachers to pinpoint students’ skill levels and craft lessons at exactly the right level.
- Curriculum material alignment: Repetition is critical. Classroom lessons should match textbooks and other materials students are using.
So how do teachers create effective lessons without giving up too much of their own time?
Some teachers are using commonly available AI tools that aren’t expressly built for educators, may not generate materials that match the curriculum or proficiency levels, and raise questions about privacy and accuracy.
Our approach is different. We build AI backed by deep learning science, use trusted content, and keep teachers in control.
How Pearson’s Smart Lesson Generator helps English creates tailored English lessons in minutes
Pearson’s Smart Lesson Generator understands the Global Scale of English and can pull from the textbooks and course materials students and teachers are already using.
Teachers can quickly generate lessons to re-teach material that students are struggling with, help them review for a test, or challenge them with more advanced topics. And they save hours each week while generating warm-ups, hooks, assessments, and more.
Pearson and AWS are co-innovating to support English language teachers
Since its launch earlier this year, teachers using the tool have reported saving up to 45 minutes on each lesson plan.
Pearson is adding additional English language learning courses and materials and expanding the types of activities it produces. This ensures the application is available to a growing number of teachers and their students.
Smart Lesson Generator is one of the many ways Pearson and AWS are co-innovating to support teachers and improve outcomes for learners. By combining AWS cutting-edge AI and cloud capabilities with Pearson’s learning expertise, we’re developing products and services that offer personalised, accessible, and adaptive learning experiences for millions of people worldwide.
Download a case study to see how English language teachers are saving time with AI-powered lesson planning, and what they have to say about Smart Lesson Generator. Check out our webpage to find out more about the product.