Software Development Basics
Understand programming concepts and technical discussions
Who it's for
Written for A2 (elementary) students who manage simple everyday exchanges and need more of them.
English for developers, IT support and anyone who works in tech. More IT & Technology lesson plans
Skills it practises
- Speaking: discussion questionsevery lesson
- Vocabulary: a target word listevery lesson
- Reading: a text or news storyevery lesson
- Controlled practice: gap-fills, matching, sorting and moreevery lesson
- Role-play: a dialogue to act outevery lesson
- An answer framework to structure what they say1 of 8 lessons
Lessons
- What is Programming?Goal: have a real conversation with a developer — ask three good questions about their work and understand the answers.1 hr 7 minFree
- Websites and AppsGoal: explain what happens behind a website — front-end, back-end, database — in simple words, using one everyday example.1 hr 7 minOutline
- Understanding DatabasesGoal: ask for the data you need clearly — what list, which people, which fields — and check it is backed up.1 hr 7 minOutline
- Bugs and UpdatesGoal: report a bug so clearly that support can fix it — what happened, what you expected, and how to see the problem.1 hr 7 minOutline
- Testing SoftwareGoal: talk about test results like a professional — ask what passed, what failed, how serious the bugs are, and agree the next step.1 hr 7 minOutline
- User Interface & DesignGoal: give a designer feedback on an app screen — one good thing, one problem, one suggestion — using the right design words.1 hr 7 minOutline
- Working in a Dev TeamGoal: give your daily standup update in three short sentences — yesterday, today, blockers — and ask for help when you're stuck.1 hr 6 minOutline
- Software ReleasesGoal: answer "Can we release on Friday?" like a professional — status, the bugs, the patch, the version, and the rollback plan.1 hr 7 minOutline
How to use it in a lesson
- Lessons run 66 to 67 minutes, with a timing on every stage, so you can see before you start what fits your slot.
- Start with "What is Programming?": its whole plan is on this site, stage by stage, with the target vocabulary, free to read and to teach from on any video call.
- For a shorter slot, skip a practice stage or cut the discussion short: the stages are a guide, not a script.
Teach Software Development Basics with your student
Lesson 1 of this course is free. A free account opens it in the interactive player, and the rest of the course is included with Starter. Teaching it live with your student in the Tuton classroom starts with a 7-day free trial.
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