Using the ESA Method in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
ESA stands for Engage, Study, and Activate. It is an effective and logical method used to teach new Language (Jeremy Harmer).
By using ESA, it gives teachers the flexibility to conduct a classroom in an organized and productive way. ESA is extremely important when it comes to teaching, in the sense that it keeps the students interested, motivated and eager to learn more. ESA is particularly appropriate for trainees and new teachers, hence the course is based around.
This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Evelyn S.
The Engage Stage
This is the first phase/ stage that teachers should always start the lesson with. In the engage stage, the teacher tries to arouse the students' interest and gets them to involve in the lesson. Activities and materials which can be used to engage the students include music, games, interesting pictures, stories, discussions with the whole class, realia, miming and acting, prompting the students to answer and using questions to get the students thinking and speaking in English. The aim of the engage stage is to get the students attention and to elicit the meaning of words or topics that will be covered in the lesson. The engage stage is highly important because it gives the teacher the opportunity to include almost all the students in the activity. The engage stage also helps the students feel comfortable and ready to learn.
The Study Stage
After the teacher has engaged the students, they then move on to the study stage. The study stage consists of activities that help students focus on the language and its usage. Activities such as studying from text and dialogues, example sentences, crosswords, gap-fill exercises, words searches, matching, games, and drilling. The main reasons for the study stage are; for the teacher to teach the students new language items or topics and show them the right way of using them. Also, any errors made are corrected and further discussions are made. During this stage, the teacher can help the students to understand the structure used better.
Also read: Getting Student Placement Right - The Best Desk Arrangements for EFL Students
The Activate Stage
This is the final stage of the ESA method in teaching English as a second language. In this stage, the teacher concludes his or her lesson with activities such as discussions that are for the whole class, small groups or even pairs, role-plays, story building tasks such as posters or advertisements, simulation, and debates. This is the stage where the students are encouraged to use any or all of the language they know at the study stage. This stage helps the teacher to know how well the students have understood the new language item that was taught in the class.
Advantages Of Using The ESA Method In Teaching English As Second Language
In the nutshell, it is of great value for the teacher to learn the ESA method of teaching English as a second language. By so doing, it will help the teacher to have control over the subject matter in an organized manner. It will also help the students to learn through a fun and productive way. Students participation is very high and effective because the engage stage helps them to learn and the activate stage helps them to put what they have learned into practice.
ESA is structured in any way to suit the teacher and the topics to be taught. The most common structure of ESA is the straight arrow method, which starts with an engaging stage fellow by the study stage and ends with activate stage. Apart from the straight arrow structure, there are boomerang and patchwork structures. The teacher can use any of these without having difficulties. The most important thing is that the teacher starts by engaging the students and ends with activating the students.
Also read: 7 Amazing Winter and Christmas ESL Activities Your Students Will Love
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In summary, using the ESA method of teaching makes teachers more equipped and at the end produces students who have control over the English language.
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