HOW TO DESCRIBE LEARNING AND TEACHING
All
children who are in contact with a language will in normal circumstances learn
it. They do this unconsciously.
Most
adults can learn a language without studying it when they are in contact with a
language. However, not all adults who are in contact with a foreign language
learn it, and they may have more trouble with the pronunciation and grammar
than younger learners, although they may be able to communicate fluently.
The
language learners need to be motivated, be exposed to language, and given
chances to use it. Therefore there are three elements need to be present in a
language classroom to help students learn effectively:
Engage: This is the point in a teaching
sequence where teachers try to arouse the students’ interest, thus involving
their emotions.
Children
need to be amused, moved, stimulated and challenged with the activities
prepared by the teacher. When students are Engaged, they learn better than when
they are partly or wholly disengaged.
Study: Study activities are those where the students are asked to focus in
on language (or information) and how it is constructed.
Students
can study in a variety of different styles: the teacher can explain grammar,
they can study language evidence to discover grammar for themselves, they can
work in groups studying a reading text or vocabulary, but whatever the style, study means any stage at which the
construction of language is the main focus.
Activate: this element describes exercises
and activities which are designed to get students using language as freely and
communicatively as they can.
The
objective for the students is not to focus on language construction and/or
practice specific bits of language (grammar patterns, particular vocabulary
items or functions) but for them to use all and any language which may be
appropriate for a given situation or topic. Thus, Activate exercises offer students a chance to try out real language
use with little or no restriction- a kind of rehearsal for the real world.
Typical Activate exercises include role-plays
(where students act out, as realistically as possible, an exchange between a
travel agent and a client, for example), advertisement design, debates and
discussions.
These ESA
elements need to be present in most lessons or teaching sequences, but this
does not mean they always have to take place in the same order. The last thing
we want to do is bore our students by constantly offering them the same
predictable learning patterns, is our responsibility to vary the sequences and
content of our lessons.
One type
of teaching sequence takes students in a straight line “Straight Arrows” : first
the teacher gets the class interested and Engaged,
then they Study something and they
then try to Activate it by putting it
into production.
Straight
Arrows can be used in the lower levels for straightforward language, but it
might not be so appropriate for more advanced learners with more complex
language.
Another
type of teaching sequence of the ESA elements is a “Boomerang’ procedure”: In this sequence the teacher is answering
the needs of the students.
Boomerang
procedure may be more appropriate for students at intermediate and advanced
levels since they have quite a lot of language available for them ate the Activate stage.
In
straight arrows sequences the teacher knows what the students need and takes
them logically to the point where they can Activate
the knowledge which he or she has helped them to acquire. For the boomerang
sequence, however, the teacher selects the task the students need to perform,
but then waits for the boomerang to come back before deciding what they need to
Study.
ACTIVITY
1
Reflection
about a lesson plan
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B8CI22jdT8ghdzQwSGNKWmg5dGM
