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It is without doubt that the most efficient way to learn a language is to be completely immersed in an environment where the desired language is native. However, the classroom setting does not allow this and it is impossible to simulate. Despite this, methodologies have been developed to bring the student as close to an immersed environment as possible. Methodologies such as Grammar-translation, Task-Based Learning, and many others are commonly used, but above all, our unit considers the ESA methodology to be more effective for English teaching. ESA stands for the three elements, Engage, Study, and Activate. These were designed to capture the student's interest and motivate them to want to learn their new language. The Engage element focuses on capturing the students interest through the medium of games, stories, pictues, etc. It is considered a warm-up in which getting the students to speak is prioritized and \"teaching and correcting\" is not technically being done. The teaching part comes in the Study element. Here, the students participate in activities that introduce them to new words and phrases for them to learn. It is crucial that in this phase corrections are made and praise is given when necessary. Before starting any exercises, one technique that is commonly used to start this phase is elicitation. In short, it is a technique used to ask questions to inform the teacher what the students already know. Getting the students to respond is important. The Final element, Activate, is the part that allows students to simulate the trial and error aspect of immersion, where the students freely use the newly learned language and focus more on fluency rather than accuracy. Activities done in this phase usually involve role play and discussion. When implementing these elements into a lesson plan, multiple structures can be used to better suit the classes needs. The most simple structure is the \"ESA arrow,\" a simple order of going from Engage to Study and then to Activate. Depending on the topic you are teaching, the \"Boomerang\" lesson may be a better fit. This involves having the students go straight to the activate stage first after the engage phase, then going into the study phase, finally returning back to the activity stage to test out their refined study. One other structure is the \"Patchwork\" form. This involved a pseudo-random order of all three phases (after initially starting with the engage phase) that suit the intended topic best as judged by the teacher. Overall, I have learned a great deal of tools and ideas for each of these phases, ranging from word linking games to roles play. Knowing when to correct is also just as important as teaching and the teaching itself. I have considered this unit so far to be the most practical one and one that I will draw info from throughout my teaching career.
