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

Jeremy Harmer.

Engage: The point (activities) in a teaching sequence where Ts 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 Ss 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 Ss 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 Ss 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 LP =

variety of LP

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.

Method Activity Resources Reason Time

Engage

Study

Activate
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

Method Activity Resources Reason Time

Engage

Activate

Study

Activate