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1. Encouraging Learners to Create Language-Learning Materials

   In: English Teaching Forum 2015, Volume 53, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   Student-produced materials are a powerful tool for promoting learner autonomy.

2. My Classroom: Mexico (Online Only)

   In: English Teaching Forum 2018, Volume 56, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   Fabiola Cruz Arellano is the only English teacher at the Profesor Carlos Hank González Elementary School in Toluca, where each week she teaches 850 students in the first through sixth grades. Ms. Cruz provides one 50-minute English lesson each week to 22 groups of students, with 40 to 55 students in each classroom.

3. What is English for Specific Purposes?

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

   This article gives examples of the lessons the author learned from years of teaching ESP. She learned to investigate authentic material thoroughly before making assumptions about learner needs. She tells of occasions on which she relied on the input from textbook writers and job supervisors who made errors in analyzing what students most needed in their language classes. She discussed a learner-focused style, which follows the theory that career development and language development follow the same path, from specific and technical to context- and experience-based.

4. A Rough Guide to Language Awareness

   In: English Teaching Forum 2008, Volume 46, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   This article discusses the need to focus on form while learning language in context, and names this method of teaching grammar as “language awareness.” It connects this method of learning grammar with the concept of input processing, searching for examples of grammar in context, noticing the linguistic features and themes, deducing a rule, testing it against further data, and finally producing it in short tasks. The article provides teachers with practical techniques on how to teach grammar in a communicative lesson.

5. Introduction to Teaching Pragmatics (Reprinted from the online book Teaching Pragmatics, published by the Office of English Language Programs)

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

   Second and foreign language learners use English differently than native speakers do, especially in regard to greetings, closings, and managing conversations. Pragmatics does not receive the attention it should even though mistakes can be interpreted on a social and personal level. This article introduces a rationale for teaching pragmatics and discusses the goals. Teaching materials should include authentic language, and input should precede interpretation or production. Instructors may decide to use the L1 for raising awareness since these types of lessons are useful even for beginners.

6. Techniques for Students New to the Language Lab

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

   This article presents techniques that can be used in the university language lab to improve listening and speaking skills. The article describes several tasks for pairs and groups. Lessons begin with a popular English song and a warm up activity. Materials expose students to the formal and informal language of native speakers and fluent non-native speakers. Drills, stories, songs, and conversations make the language lab a beneficial resource. An initial session highlights the unique aspects of spoken language.

7. Perspectives on Professional Growth: A Study on the Diaries of Undergraduate ELT Students

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

   This article reports on the author's observations of undergraduate ELT students who kept diaries about their professional development during their teaching practicum. The author analyzed these diaries at two stages and categorized the entries into two categories: a concern for the needs of the children of the information age, and a desire for self-improvement and professional growth. The author decided to develop lessons on Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) into future semesters of the course based on the student diaries.

8. Teaching English for Science and Technology: An Approach for Reading with Engineering English

   In: English Teaching Forum 2013, Volume 51, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   Recognizing the relevance of English for Specific Purposes, this article outlines an approach for using authentic readings in a course in Engineering English. The article describes the importance of needs analysis, rhetorical focus, and reading for content; it suggests content for 15 lessons and provides a sample worksheet and other suggestions for assessment.

9. English for Specific Purposes: Negotiating Needs, Possibilities, and Promises

   In: English Teaching Forum 2013, Volume 51, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   The authors espouse the need for negotiation in designing and delivering English for Specific Purposes (ESP) programs. Such negotiations take into account learners’ needs as well as structural limitations of the context and candid assessment of ESP providers. The article explores lessons from the field and the importance of needs analysis.

10. My Classroom: Senegal

    In: English Teaching Forum 2024, Volume 62, Number 4 Format(s): Text

    Author Dawn Rogier describes how Cheikh Amadou Tidiane Niang incorporates the local culture into his lessons at the remote CEM Gaoudé Boffé school and in activities by the English club he has started. The article gives insights into efforts by the school and the students to increase awareness of the value of education for both males and females.

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