Description
Articles by contributors discuss teaching the native English speaker how to teach English as a foreign language, integrating language skills through a dictogloss procedure, mingle activities, and teacher training using the Gradual Release of Responsibility.
Hardcopy Information
International Subscriptions: English Teaching Forum is distributed through U.S. embassies. If you would like to subscribe to the print version of English Teaching Forum, please contact the Public Affairs or Cultural Affairs section of the U.S. Embassy in your country.
U.S. Subscriptions: English Teaching Forum is exempted from the Congressional restriction on distribution of Department of State-produced materials in the United States. U.S. residents who want to order the printed edition can order from the U.S. Superintendent of Documents.
This article offers guidelines for non-native-speaker teachers of English sharing teaching contexts with native speakers of English who have no teaching experience. The latter require cultural development—including instruction in the culture and functions of English in the country in which they are teaching—and educational development, which involves learning to apply former learning experiences to their teaching practice and creating learning objectives appropriate for the teaching context.
Format: Text
Text (PDF)The co-authors of this article present interactive and student-centered dictogloss activities as alternatives to dictation exercises. The dictogloss activities are flexible enough to appeal to learners with different needs and interests and will encourage students to be active and reflective and to integrate reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills through social interaction.
Format: Text
Mingles allow a student to speak to several classmates in succession, giving participating students practice in speaking and listening as they work to fill a gap in information, experience, opinion, or knowledge. This article outlines procedures for mingles and provides detailed information on specific mingles tasks.
Format: Text
This author asserts that the Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) model will improve teaching abilities in any setting. She explains the four stages of GRR—focus lesson, guided instruction, collaborative learning, and independent practice—and illustrates them with charts and scenarios and applies them through model lessons.
Format: Text
This feature article looks at the history of horses in North America and showcases American breeds of horses. Discussion of Americans’ interactions with horses includes trail rides and horse shows, horse therapy, the traditions of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, and horses in popular culture.
Format: Text
This section presents three stand-alone English language-learning activities related to horses.
1. “H-O-R-S-E,” for beginner through advanced students, will allow students to practice spelling in a fun and interactive way.
2. “Horse Play,” for intermediate to advanced students, teaches idioms related to horses and has students create and perform a skit using the idioms.
3. “Hall of Heroes: Stories of Perseverance,” for intermediate to advanced students, introduces the concepts of heroes and perseverance and gives students a chance to write and share their work and write comments and questions about stories written by classmates.
Format: Text
This puzzle invites students to make use of animal vocabulary and use letter clues to create words for the sounds that animals make.