In Harmer's ARC model, what are the three stages in the correct order?

In Harmer's ARC model, what are the three stages in the correct order?

• A. Engage, Study, Activate
• B. Engage, Activate, Study
• C. Study, Engage, Activate
• D. Activate, Engage, Study

Answer: (A)

The three stages build a lesson from motivation to understanding to use. First, Engage grabs students’ attention, activates prior knowledge, and sets up a purpose for learning—think warm-up prompts, interesting visuals, or a quick discussion that taps into learners’ interests. Next comes Study, where learners focus on the language itself—noticing features, analyzing forms, and practicing targeted aspects through guided input and controlled tasks so they can internalize how the language works. Finally, Activate gives learners a chance to use what they’ve learned in meaningful, real-world-style tasks, like role-plays or problem-solving activities, where fluency and meaning take precedence. Skipping Engage can leave learners unmotivated, skipping Study can leave them with gaps in form, and placing Activate before Study makes production occur without the necessary linguistic support. So the sequence Engage, Study, Activate is the intended order.