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Realizing the goals of a lesson, should be the target of every ESL teacher. Working abroad as an ESL teacher can be a little challenging for new teachers but very fulfilling as time is taken to improve and also ensure the target is being met. ESA, according to TEFL certification course, is a common methodology that teachers use when teaching students another language. Here, the importance of an ESA plan citing the straight arrow ESA plan as an example. ESA stands for engage, study and activate. The three main types include; the straight arrow-ESA lesson plan, the boomerang and the patchwork. As the name of the first one stipulates, it is very straight forward and easy to follow and involves three main phases which includes, engaging phase, study phase and the activate phase. Secondly, we have the boomerang which includes, the engage, activate, study and a second activate stage. The third is the patchwork, and as its name depicts, it can have as many study and activate stages as long as it begins with engage and ends with activate. An ESA lesson plan is very profitable with all levels of learners. Some of its importance is as follows. First and foremost, it helps the teacher to come prepared and therefore take control of the class and also not worry about not finishing the target lesson on time. It’s common to see unprepared teachers run out of what to say and this could really be embarrassing and even lead to the students losing interest in the class or losing confidence in the teacher. Secondly, it can help the teacher stick to the language point and not wander from the topic at hand. Thirdly, the engaging stage which is usually filled with games and other fun activities greatly motivates the learners and catches their interest thereby increasing rapport between the students and also betters the rapport between the students and their teacher. Personally, a straight arrow ESA lesson plan has always been my most used plan. The engaging stage allows we the teachers introduce ourselves ; know the students by name if it’s a newly opened class. For kindergartens, starting off with a dance-able song gets them very active and puts them in the right frame of mind. I strongly believe this phase can greatly determine the outcome of the class. Another very important point about this phase is that it enables teachers to be able to assess what the students already know. The first thing that’s always on my mind is to get them talking immediately I get into a classroom using different techniques based on their levels and even age. Age becomes a factor because, while pre-scholars have no problem dancing and singing, teenagers find it uncomfortable. It’s important to note what activity could be a turn off to the students. It should attract the attention and interest of the learners. The study stage is also very important and is the phase for eliciting vocabulary and putting on the board. It also contains the drilling process in which the learners get to learn new grammar, their spellings, pronunciation and their order in a sentence. Gap –fill exercise is also a good idea here. The activate stage is last and very important too. It permits the learners to reproduce what they have learnt through role plays, debates and other group activities. This is when the students get to practice what they learnt and are assessed and given feedback. In conclusion, ESA plans really help in organizing the work of a teacher. The teacher could later use this plan as a reference to see what has been covered and what still need to be covered. It can also help for teacher’s own self-evaluation which can lead to adjusting previous approaches which did not turn out too well. I always say, “A teacher without a plan is the bravest person in the world.” . I say this because of the so many things that could go wrong in the absence of a plan especially for new teachers.As English teachers, our main goal remains to get the best results with every available method we can use. This starts with being disciplined enough to make even the easiest lesson plan, the straight arrow ESA.
