Teach English in Kaizha Zhen - Luliang Shi

ESA is a teaching methodology commonly used in English as a foreign language classrooms. The acronym stands for Engage, Study, Activate, which serve as the three phases of the lesson plan. ESA provides a structured framework for lesson planning and teaching, but also allows for flexibility as teachers can weave those phases in and out of the lesson as long as the class begins with an engage and ends with an activate phase. This is known as a patchwork lesson, and a simple engage, followed by study, ending with activate phase is called a straight arrow lesson. A third type exists, known as a boomerang lesson, in which the plan goes engage, study, activate, study, activate. ESA emphasizes the use of student talk time, especially in the activate phase, because getting the students to use the language versus being lectured at, is vital for language acquisition. Overall, ESA is an easy to learn and implement methodology for teaching English, especially for new teachers, and keeps students interested throughout an interactive lesson. The first phase of the ESA method is engage which at is core is a way to get students thinking and speaking in English at the start of the lesson. Engage phase could be thought of as a warm-up, but really it can serve to set up the theme of the lesson as well. An example of an engage phase activity would be asking the students what their favorite foods are. The teacher could then board all of the answers and save them for further vocabulary teaching in the study phase. Additionally, this question could help the teacher set up for instruction on the present simple tense. It is important that the engage phase consists mostly of student talk time and not too much teacher correction. Engage phase benefits students by encouraging them to be comfortable speaking in the classroom. Once the students are thinking, speaking, and listening in English and the theme of the lesson, the study phase can begin. The second phase of the ESA method is the study phase, which is the time in the lesson dedicated to teacher instruction and then student practice of a particular language point. Study phase activities include teacher board work, worksheets, and pronunciation drilling. During the study phase, there will be more teacher talk time than in the engage phase, but it is important to still have student talk time. Students should be encouraged to elicit answers during board work such as fill in the blank exercises, and then within pairs or groups when completing the practice assignments without the teacher. It is important that understanding checks are included in the study phase, as this is where teachers should make corrections and further explanation because teacher talk time is not part of the activate phase. When students feel understand and feel comfortable using the lesson’s language point, it is time to begin the active phase. Activate is the final phase of the ESA style lesson. Students participate in a game, role play or writing and sharing assignment featuring the lesson’s language point. The activate stage is a free flowing, language use time, where the teacher’s role is only to facilitate or set up an activity, but not to correct or participate. Activate activities should mimic real life scenarios, so the students can feel comfortable using English into a realistic context. An example of a role-play would be having students pair up and take turns making a telephone call to schedule an appointment. One student would play the dentist office assistant and the other would be the patient; the students would then switch roles. It is important to encourage the students to work through any difficulties on their own as it is acceptable to make mistakes. The main goal of activate is to use the language as fluently as possible without correction and to practice English in a real life situation and may help reduce anxiety when speaking English outside of the classroom. The ESA method has a clear structure that ensures plenty of student talk time, yet provides many opportunities to create engaging lessons suited to all levels of students. The method makes lesson planning simple, for the framework is literally part of the name of the method. All teachers must do is select activities to fit the language point for that lesson. The method builds confidence in students as it has them practicing in both guided and free form activities. Additionally, ESA encourages the use of games and interactive classroom activities which means a lesson is never the same or boring. For an easy to learn and implement methodology that also highly engages students, ESA is a natural choice of for TEFL teachers and classrooms.