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Having learned how to perform assessments of student levels and analyzed the needs of the students, the instructor of an English course may put together a syllabus and start writing the individual lesson plans for each class. Lesson plans are a useful tool in that they can guide the flow of the lesson and keep the instructor on-topic. They are also useful historical documents of a course's progression. Like other classroom materials, they are a means to an end but not an end in themselves. Student comprehension of the material is most important and instructors should avoid strict adherence to the written plan. Classroom materials fall into two categories: authentic and non-authentic. Authentic materials often come from real-life, but they do not necessarily have to do with business. They lend authenticity to lessons, hence the name. They can also help students to learn about different cultures. Examples of authentic materials include print materials like company brochures and annual reports. Instructors may also use electronic media like e-mails, transcriptions of meeting minutes, and radio and TV advertising. Instructors must take care when selecting authentic materials; because they may not always be culturally appropriate. More often than not, these materials are not suitable for different levels of proficiency. Consequently, the instructor may have to edit such materials to accommodate learners who are at a lower level. Inauthentic materials are created specifically for educational use. They can include textbooks, recorded speaking and listening examples, teacher-created worksheets, and other activities like games. At one time, there was not as much inauthentic material available as there is today. Nevertheless, instructors should be prepared to create their own materials in situations where budgets are small and textbooks are unavailable. In this unit, there were example lesson plans using the ESA methodology: Engage, Study, and Activate. The Engage Stage is used to help get the students thinking and talking in English. The activities in this stage can take the form of fun games or just simple Q&A sessions to help elicit target language. The Engage Stage does not necessarily have to be connected to the lesson, in terms of topic, but keeping all the stages related certainly helps to facilitate easier learning. The Study Stage is where students learn new vocabulary and grammatical forms related to different business situations. An ESA lesson can have one or two Study Stages; depending on the material taught. Materials include worksheets and flashcards, as well as audio-visual material. During the Study Stage, it is important to explain and demonstrate procedures for completing worksheets and doing other activities. It is also important to gauge student comprehension; not by asking whether or not they understand, but by asking them to describe how they would approach a given task. In the final Activate Stage, students have an opportunity to work with the language they have just learned and to use it with previously-learned concepts. Activate Stage activities can include writing and presenting original role-plays and creating flow charts.
