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1. Towards Better Group Work: Seeing the Difference between Cooperation and Collaboration

   In: English Teaching Forum 2010, Volume 48, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   The author explains the difference between cooperation and collaboration in the classroom. Cooperation is students working together (each with individual tasks) for an end product, while collaboration is students interacting to create knowledge. The author discusses the strengths of collaboration and the teacher’s role. Also provided are guidelines for successful collaboration, sample activities, and frequently asked questions, such as what to do when students have emotional reactions to the group work.

2. In the Mood: Introducing Pragmatic Awareness at Low Levels

   In: Teaching Pragmatics Format(s): Text, Website

   This lesson in Teaching Pragmatics focuses on raising pragmatic awareness in students using the concept of "mood."

3. Why and How to Teach Collocations

   In: English Teaching Forum 2004, Volume 42, Issue 2 Format(s): Text

   One of the key developments in vocabulary teaching stems from Michael Lewis’s Lexical Approach, which considers language as chunks of words combined for meaning. These frequently occurring word combinations are called collocations. This article points out a number of problems that result from learning words in isolation. Work with meaningful phrases can help improve students’ comprehension and comprehensibility. The article includes reading and listening activities to raise awareness of collocations as well as writing and speaking activities.

4. Listen Actively! You can Keep that Conversation Going!

   In: Teaching Pragmatics Format(s): Text, Video, Website

   This lesson aims to help students learn to respond appropriately to maintain a conversation.

5. Are You Listening? (Backchannel Behaviors)

   In: Teaching Pragmatics Format(s): Text, Video, Website

   This lesson aims to promote awareness of short responses during conversations such as uh-huh and yeah known as backchannel behaviors; to increase awareness of cultural differences in backchannel behaviors; to allow students to practice behaviors that indicate active listening.

6. Talking on a Second Channel Using Parentheticals in English Discourse

   In: Teaching Pragmatics Format(s): Text, Video, Website

   This lesson in Teaching Pragmatics aims to help students learn to pronounce a range of parentheticals appropriately.

7. Hello, I must be going!

   In: Teaching Pragmatics Format(s): Text, Video, Website

   This lesson aims for students to become more fluent in using and understanding basic greetings and leave-takings in brief "small talk" encounters.

8. How Do You Say Good-Bye?

   In: Teaching Pragmatics Format(s): Text, Video, Website

   This lesson aims to help students gain confidence in conducting interactional conversations, with emphasis on conversational closings.

9. Telephone Conversation Openings

   In: Teaching Pragmatics Format(s): Text, Video, Website

   This lesson aims to develop awareness and understanding of the nature of telephone conversation openings from a social, interactional perspective.

10. Softening Short Requests

    In: Teaching Pragmatics Format(s): Text, Video, Website

    This lesson aims to introduce students to a range of different ways in which native speakers soften their requests and to develop their awareness of how these are used by different speakers and in different situations within the speech community.

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