•
Elicit/feed marker sentence
Using the picture as prompt, the teacher tries to elicit the marker sentence, through asking questions and asking for descriptions, for example. If the students do not produce the marker sentence then the teacher supplies it.
•
Check understanding
Using concept questions the teacher checks that the students understand the meaning of the structure.
•
Model and drill marker sentence
The students get controlled practice of the pronunciation of the form. Notice that drilling is usually done before the students have seen the written form.
•
Write up and focus on form
Now the teacher writes the marker sentence on the board and highlights the form. The lesson now progresses to controlled and less controlled practice exercises.
Here’s an example of a picture presentation showing how the different stages fit into the E.S.A. (Engage, Study, Acti vate) model. Look at the following pictures. What structure do you think the teacher is trying to present?
A
B
Pictures like these could be used in a presentation for the present perfect continuous.
Lead-in (Engage) The teacher leads in to the subject by telling an (imaginary) anecdote about his or her terrible journey to school that day. He asks the students about their journeys to school and other places. It’s possible here to do some vocabulary, maybe on different kinds of transport - ‘by bus’, ‘a bus stop’, ‘by train’, ‘car’, ‘on foot’ and so on. Elicitation (Activate) The teacher shows picture A to the students and asks them to describe what they can see. This will establish the context. Then the first picture is taken away and the second is shown. The students are asked to describe picture B in the same way. The teacher then puts both pictures on the board and asks the students if they can think of a sentence to link the two pictures. It may be possible for the teacher to elicit, ‘She’s been waiting for 25 minutes’. If not, the teacher provides it.
