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This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned:
Engage, Study, Activate
In recent times, the devotion to particular methodologies and absolutism in terms of practice and following lesson plans exactly have been challenged by those who prefer flexibility due to the realities of the classroom, personalities of the teachers and the students, as well as learning types and circumstances of the learners. There has been a shift, perhaps, to a more dynamic understanding of teaching to utilize combinations of techniques, methodologies, and procedures in developing lesson plans. Presentation, Practice and Production describes lesson plan procedures that teachers still use today. However, Lewis criticized PPP calling it “nonsense” since it failed to address the basics for language learning and what language is. In response to similar complaints about PPP, Harmer purposed the Engage, Study, Activate (ESA) method. Harman expressed concern when higher-level students “already know a lot of language, and therefore don’t need the same kind of marked presentation.” He aims to maximize appropriateness, student motivation, balance, flexibility, student practice time, and feedback. About learners he writes, “they will need to be motivated, be exposed to language, and given chances to use it.” Harmer’s answer to PPP’s lack of concern for how language is learned is ESA. Task-based activities, communicative activities, allowing students to discover language, and a balance of the four skills, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation are possible with ESA. Harmer also considers the need for balance in teaching the skills required in learning, classroom management, objectives for learning, timing, and the basic nature of activities to balance student production and teacher support. ESA as a straight arrow method involves engaging the students and getting all students to talk through activities like games, music, and discussions. This increases student motivation and gets them interested in using the language. This stage is meant to lower students’ inhibitions and get them to have an emotional response to the language. Jumping straight to the study stage as in PPP does not allow students to feel like thinking for themselves, participating, or to have emotional interest in the class. The study stage in ESA presents time to explain structures. Harman writes that the focus is on the “construction of language.” Exactly how the study stage could be executed can also be tailored to a teacher’s preferred style and to the learning styles or needs of the students. Accuracy is focused on in this stage. Finally, in the activate stage, students are given an opportunity to use everything they know in order to achieve a goal “as freely and ‘communicatively’ as they can”. Fluency is the goal of the stage as students are encouraged without interruption. ESA is a tool in a dynamic classroom. Harman created different formulas of ESA to be adapted to different needs in the classroom. The boomerang format is EASA. This procedure is sensitive to the needs of the students as only the language students’ need is taught. Students can freely use the language they know to accomplish the task, the teacher can observe, determine what points students could benefit in studying or refining, and respond to the real needs of the students after learning what they do and do not know in a study stage. Finally, students will further their production of language building on any refinements made during the study stage in another task aimed at using language that they have learned. However, the patchwork approach to ESA offers the most flexibility as engage, study and activate stage can be weaved freely to structure a lesson based on the objectives, respond to the needs of the students, layered activities or tasks to add more practice or context to learning. Harman is not suggesting the exact “right” way to teach in a classroom. It does not simply dismiss the methodologies before or after it, although this method does have its own ideas about the balance between teachers and students, skills, how to motivate students, and the value of both accuracy and fluency. Rather, Harman offers insights into how teachers use a variety of ideas from different sources and accept the sensitivity that teachers should have to the realities they face in the classroom and views other methods as tools that can be used within the framework of ESA.
In recent times, the devotion to particular methodologies and absolutism in terms of practice and following lesson plans exactly have been challenged by those who prefer flexibility due to the realities of the classroom, personalities of the teachers and the students, as well as learning types and circumstances of the learners. There has been a shift, perhaps, to a more dynamic understanding of teaching to utilize combinations of techniques, methodologies, and procedures in developing lesson plans. Presentation, Practice and Production describes lesson plan procedures that teachers still use today. However, Lewis criticized PPP calling it “nonsense” since it failed to address the basics for language learning and what language is. In response to similar complaints about PPP, Harmer purposed the Engage, Study, Activate (ESA) method. Harman expressed concern when higher-level students “already know a lot of language, and therefore don’t need the same kind of marked presentation.” He aims to maximize appropriateness, student motivation, balance, flexibility, student practice time, and feedback. About learners he writes, “they will need to be motivated, be exposed to language, and given chances to use it.” Harmer’s answer to PPP’s lack of concern for how language is learned is ESA. Task-based activities, communicative activities, allowing students to discover language, and a balance of the four skills, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation are possible with ESA. Harmer also considers the need for balance in teaching the skills required in learning, classroom management, objectives for learning, timing, and the basic nature of activities to balance student production and teacher support. ESA as a straight arrow method involves engaging the students and getting all students to talk through activities like games, music, and discussions. This increases student motivation and gets them interested in using the language. This stage is meant to lower students’ inhibitions and get them to have an emotional response to the language. Jumping straight to the study stage as in PPP does not allow students to feel like thinking for themselves, participating, or to have emotional interest in the class. The study stage in ESA presents time to explain structures. Harman writes that the focus is on the “construction of language.” Exactly how the study stage could be executed can also be tailored to a teacher’s preferred style and to the learning styles or needs of the students. Accuracy is focused on in this stage. Finally, in the activate stage, students are given an opportunity to use everything they know in order to achieve a goal “as freely and ‘communicatively’ as they can”. Fluency is the goal of the stage as students are encouraged without interruption. ESA is a tool in a dynamic classroom. Harman created different formulas of ESA to be adapted to different needs in the classroom. The boomerang format is EASA. This procedure is sensitive to the needs of the students as only the language students’ need is taught. Students can freely use the language they know to accomplish the task, the teacher can observe, determine what points students could benefit in studying or refining, and respond to the real needs of the students after learning what they do and do not know in a study stage. Finally, students will further their production of language building on any refinements made during the study stage in another task aimed at using language that they have learned. However, the patchwork approach to ESA offers the most flexibility as engage, study and activate stage can be weaved freely to structure a lesson based on the objectives, respond to the needs of the students, layered activities or tasks to add more practice or context to learning. Harman is not suggesting the exact “right” way to teach in a classroom. It does not simply dismiss the methodologies before or after it, although this method does have its own ideas about the balance between teachers and students, skills, how to motivate students, and the value of both accuracy and fluency. Rather, Harman offers insights into how teachers use a variety of ideas from different sources and accept the sensitivity that teachers should have to the realities they face in the classroom and views other methods as tools that can be used within the framework of ESA.
