Advanced Search: Resources

If students are not meeting their goals, it may be that the reason is non-linguistic. Motivation is an important factor that teachers need to consider. The writer argues that carefully chosen ethics cases can motivate timid students to speak out by removing their fear of making mistakes and by encouraging them to talk about heart-felt beliefs. Since ethics cases may not have clear right and wrong answers, this sets them apart from other discussion topics. Debate will foster critical thinking skills.

This article describes a task-based writing project. High-school students in Zambia wrote a proposal to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in their community. By writing on a topic related to their lives, students were motivated and empowered to use their English skills for positive change. The project was an interactive workshop that invited a community leader to help with brainstorming, the setting of ground rules, and understanding of the issue. Students worked together on their responses and drafted and revised a proposal that was based on a model from UNICEF.

The lesson plan, “Going Green,” allows students to develop research and problem-solving skills on the theme of environmental conservation. The lesson includes a glossary of environmental terms. It uses a learner-centered approach as learners work in groups to determine their topic, the vocabulary they want to learn, how to collect information, how to report it (qualitatively or quantitatively), and what action to take based on the results. Students report their findings and action plan in a poster presentation. Creative writing, a debate, or a "green fair" are optional extensions.

PBS LearningMedia™ is the go-to destination for instant access to tens of thousands of classroom-ready, digital resources including videos, games, audio clips, photos, lesson plans, and more!

This session, "Unleashing Your True Teaching Power: Interaction in Online Learning Environments," demonstrates how to engage learners in online environments by transforming traditional classroom tools.

This session, "Climate Change Communication and English Language Teaching," explores climate change vocabulary and vocabulary teaching tips, shares activity ideas, and introduces skills that will help learners analyze and communicate about climate change facts versus opinions.

This session, "Save the Planet and Cultural Traditions While Teaching English," examines how environmental education can be integrated in ELT, explores TESOL educators’ readiness to teach this topic, and shares strategies to help students identify meaningful local environmental issues.