Teach English in Hongshui Zhen - Zhangye Shi

Theories, Methods, and Techniques Units three begins with the introduction of methodologies and techniques used when teaching a foreign language, it also shows how teaching methodologies have evolved over time and the pros and cons of each. The following are the mythologies used when teaching a new language. 1. Grammar ? Translation 2. Audio Lingualism 3. Presentation, Practice, and production 4. Task Based Learning 5. Communicative language Teaching 6. Community Language Learning 7. The Silent Way 8. Suggestopaedia 9. The Lexical Approach Deciding which of the listed methods is the best is dependent on the teacher?s personality, the culture where they are teaching and the students need. All the methods have the pros and cons, the important things to keep in mind is that the students need as much exposure to the language as possible, students should be encouraged to discover the language on their own, The comfort of the students during the lesson is very important therefore anxiety needs to be low, and last but not least the students always need some input from the teacher. Aside from the methods listed above, there is a method developed by Jeremy Harmer called the ESA method, where each alphabet stands a stage in the teaching method. E ? Engage: This is the stage where the teacher motivates the learners before the lesson and most importantly gets them speaking and thinking in English. This can be achieved by using the techniques below. 1. Introduction prompts 2. Alphabet relay 3. Anagrams 4. Word linking 5. Consequences S - Study: during the study phase the students focus on the information presented to them and how it is constructed. This stage usually begins with elicitation where the teacher tries to get as much information from the students as possible which will form the basis of her board work. The following are the techniques that can be used during the stage of the lesson. 1. Hangman 2. Gap fill 3. Word searches 4. Tong twisters 5. Unscrambling juggled sentences A ? Activate: This is the final stage in the ESA method and it is at this stage that the students get the chance to use all the language they have learned so far even from the previous lessons, they should be encouraged to use all the language they know. The focus is more in fluency than the accuracy while using the language. Below are the activities that can be utilized during this stage. 1. Surveys 2. Debates 3. Role play 4. Communication games 5. Story building The activities used in each phase of the ESA method depend on the level of the class being taught. All stages should be included during the ESA lesson to ensure a balanced and effective lesson. A lesson can consist of more than one of each of the stages and can be repeated as many times as the teacher likes. The ESA method should always begin with the Engage stage and end with the Activate stage even and the sequence in between does not matter. There are three types of ESA lessons, the straight row lesson which takes the lesson in the ESA order, Engage> Study > Activate. Then we have the Boomerang ESA lesson which gives the teacher more flexibility while still incorporating ESA, an example is Engage> Activate 1 > Study > Activate 2. Lastly, we have the Patchwork ESA lesson which consists of mini-sequences building to a whole. E.g. Engage> Activate > Activate > Study > Activate > Engage > Study. In conclusion, it is important for the teacher to give feedback during and after the lesson and to correct errors at the right time during the lesson.