Element of Successful languagelearning (ESA)

Element of Successful language learning (ESA)

Engage, Study, Activate (ESA) Lesson Plan taken from “How to Teach English” by Jeremy Harmer.

Engage: The point (activities) in a teaching sequence where Teachers try to arouse Ss’ interest by involving their emotions. Some activities are:

games, music, challenging discussions, stimulating pictures, dramatic stories, and anecdotes.

Study: The point (activities) in a teaching sequence where students are asked to focus in on language/information and how it is constructed.

The range from macro to micro concentrations:

Macro studying a transcript for spoken style.
Micro studying a specific verb tense. It includes a variety of study styles:

explanations, discovery through evidence, groups, whole-class, pairs, and individual. The main focus is the construction of language.

Activate: The point (activities) in a teaching sequence where students are meant to use the language as freely and communicatively as possible. The focus is not on construction, or practicing specific bits of language, it is for students to use all and any language appropriate for a given situation. Some activities are: role-plays, advertisement design, debate, discussions, describe and draw, story and poem writing/ reading/telling, and group writing.

*If students do not have a chance to Activate their knowledge in the safety of a classroom, they may find transferring language acquisition and study into language use in the real world far more problematic.*

*Lesson Planning is offering Learning Patterns for the students.*

Variety of LESSON PLANNING:

Straight line ESA:

Engage Study Activate

This procedure may work at lower levels for straightforward language, but it might not be appropriate for more advanced learners.

Boomerang EASA:

Engage Activate Study Activate

Engage: discussion about topic and what language to use.
Activate: role-play with teacher logging mistakes.
Study: error reflection/discourse analysis.
Activate: Role-play integrating study aspects.

This sequence answers the needs of the students. They are not taught language until and unless they have shown a need for it. The connection between what they need to learn and what they are taught is more transparent.

*-- Many lessons aren’t quite as clear-cut as those above. They tend to be a mixture of procedures, mini-procedures, and short episodes building into a whole lesson a patchwork lesson. Patchwork lessons reflect the way we learn (rather chaotically), and they provide an appealing balance between Study and Activate (language
and topic).

Straight line ESA:

Engage Study Activate

This procedure may work at lower levels for straightforward language, but it might not be appropriate for more advanced learners.

Boomerang EASA:

Engage Activate Study Activate

Engage: discussion about topic and what language to use.
Activate: role-play with teacher logging mistakes.
Study: error reflection/discourse analysis.
Activate: Role-play integrating study aspects.