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Integrating Authentic Materials and Language Skills in English for Science and Technology Instruction

In: English Teaching Forum 2001, Volume 39, Number 2 Format(s): Text

This article describes how a unit in an English for Science and Technology (EST) course integrated three learning materials: a research article from a scientific journal, an article from a magazine that reports on the scientific journal article, and an instructional video with its script. Instruction was focused on both content and rhetorical functions. The author shows how the language skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening were used for each of the three materials.

Smithsonian Folkways: Tools for Teaching

Format(s): Website

Looking for more ways to use music to teach? Check out the Smithsonian Folkways website that has a section called “Tools for Teaching” with free lessons and activities for the classroom.

One of These Does Not Belong: Creating Interesting Multiple-Choice Questions for Teaching and Testing

In: English Teaching Forum 2021, Volume 59, Number 1 Format(s): Text

The author presents a simple, clever way to make all kinds of multiple-choice questions more interesting and more challenging for learners. Teachers can use the technique with both online and face-to-face instruction.

Ten Great Low-Cost Teaching Tools

In: English Teaching Forum 2010, Volume 48, Number 4 Format(s): Text

Teachers are asked to do a lot with few resources. Some teachers must move quickly from school to school throughout the day. This article describes the teaching bag, which is made to help teachers be effective and save money. The author's teaching tools are lightweight, affordable, and multi-purposed. They include the expected (e.g., scissors and scratch paper, colored markers) as well as the more unique (e.g., sticky putty, pizza box lids).

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.

Establishing Textual Authority and Separating Voices: A New Approach to Teaching Referencing

In: English Teaching Forum 2011, Volume 49, Number 2 Format(s): Text

This article provides practical reasoning and tools for the ESOL teacher to better teach source referencing. The author argues that students from around the world are taught different concepts for using sources. Students often assume texts present truths that do not require analysis. Many cultures teach students to memorize texts and repeat them to show mastery and shared knowledge. The author addresses plagiarism and provides classroom exercises.

Task-Based Language Teaching for Designing Grammar-Focused Communicative Activities

In: American English Webinars Format(s): Text, Video

This session, "Task-Based Language Teaching for Designing Grammar-Focused Communicative Activities," examines how task-based language teaching (TBLT) creates opportunities for students to use and develop language skills in the course of authentic communication.

Using Teacher-Developed Corpora in the CBI classroom

In: English Teaching Forum 2008, Volume 46, Number 2 Format(s): Text

This article argues for the use of teacher-generated corpora in content-based courses. Using a content course for engineering and architecture students as an example, the article explains how a corpus consisting of texts from textbooks and journal articles helped students learn grammar, vocabulary, and writing. The article explains how the corpus was compiled and presents examples of how students learned to analyze language use using corpus tools and dictionaries. The article ends by emphasizing the advantages of corpus analysis for self-directed learning.

Adapting Textbook Activities for Communicative Teaching and Cooperative Learning

In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 3 Format(s): Text

This article discusses how textbooks can be adapted to include more communicative and cooperative activities in language classes, especially for teachers who are cautious about using Communicative Language Teaching and cooperative learning. It describes how small modifications can be made with minimal extra preparation, with results that help change textbook exercises into more communicative, authentic activities.

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