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1. The Intercultural Approach to EFL Teaching and Learning

   In: English Teaching Forum 2008, Volume 46, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   This article discusses the teaching of intercultural awareness together with language in foreign contexts. Following a brief discussion of what culture means, the author presents a three-stage intercultural approach for teaching EFL students. For each stage, the author explains the goals and provides five activities as examples. As a follow-up, the author shares challenges for this approach and possible solutions.

2. Implementing Humor Instruction in English Language Teaching

   In: English Teaching Forum 2021, Volume 59, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   The authors demonstrate the importance of understanding kinds of humor that differ across cultures and offer clear suggestions for teaching three kinds—verbal irony, memes, and satirical news—with examples that can help students develop humor competency and enhance their twenty-first-century skills, including digital and media literacy.

3. Finding New Messages in Television Commercials

   In: English Teaching Forum 2002, Volume 40, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   This article discusses the use of television commercials to help build English vocabulary and cultural awareness for students who are preparing for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) in an English as a foreign language (EFL) environment. It presents activities as well as a general outline for teachers to show how these activities can be used.

4. Great Nicknames of Jazz

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   The last of a three-piece article describes many of the nicknames that leading American Jazz musicians had. A nickname is a name that a person earns in addition to their given name. For example, Edward Ellington was called “Duke” by his friends and family when he was a child because he acted like a member of a royal family. Musicians like Lady Day, Duke Ellington, and Dizzy Gillespie were leaders in the Jazz music culture.

5. Helping Metaphors Take Root in the EFL Classroom

   In: English Teaching Forum 2013, Volume 51, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   This article explores why metaphors challenge learners and presents ways to incorporate metaphors into EFL instruction to help learners understand figurative speech.

6. Horses—Haulers, Racers, and Healers

   In: English Teaching Forum 2014, Volume 52, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   This feature article looks at the history of horses in North America and showcases American breeds of horses.

7. Authentic Video in the Beginning ESOL Classroom: Using a Full-Length Feature Film for Listening and Speaking Strategy Practice

   In: English Teaching Forum 2004, Volume 42, Issue 1 Format(s): Text

   Using film in the classroom can be effective with beginning English learners. A full-length film offers continuous context to discuss humor, culture, and language functions, real-life communication with images and non-verbal cues, increased retention due to activating the right hemisphere of the brain, and the lowering of students’ affective filters. The authors include a lesson based on their experience teaching listening and speaking skills using the movie “What about Bob.” Assessment techniques and potential problems are considered.

8. The Psychic Rewards of Teaching: An Interview with James E. Alatis

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

   Dr. James Alatis answers questions about teaching English as a profession, establishing the international association TESOL, and his strong belief that linguistics and language teaching will change the world. The son of Greek immigrants, Alatis shares how his early interest in languages led him to study linguistics. Regarded as "the father of TESOL," Alatis believes the best linguistics is interdisciplinary. According to Alatis, the future of TESOL will involve more audiovisual and online material, all subjects taught by ESL teachers, and more concern for cultures of other countries.

9. An Integrated Skills Lesson Plan for "Just Off Main Street" by Elmaz Abinader

   In: English Teaching Forum 2004, Volume 42, Issue 3 Format(s): Text

   This lesson plan is designed for high intermediate to advanced English language learners. Based on an authentic, contemporary essay by an accomplished American writer, the lesson plan includes tasks and activities designed to improve students’ English language skills as well as increase their understanding of American culture. The lesson includes pre-, during, and post reading activities to improve comprehension, learn new vocabulary, and make connections beyond the text. Websites of interest and useful questions for discussion or writing are included.

10. For Life's Sake

    In: English Teaching Forum 2004, Volume 42, Issue 4 Format(s): Text

    In “For Life’s Sake,” author Linda Hogan provides the reader with a view of the cultural influences that have made her into the poet, essayist, and storyteller she is today. She describes how her ancestors and the beliefs she inherited as a Native American have inspired her choice of topics and shaped her writing into its unique style. Her love of trees is woven through the article. Hogan’s essay gives students a chance to understand and appreciate the life of a writer from another America. It includes her poem, “Affinity,” on the topic of horses, as well as a glossary of terms.

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