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1. From Passive Participant to Active Thinker

   In: English Teaching Forum 2005, Volume 43, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This article discusses how, through materials development, teachers can help students think critically and feel comfortable enough to be active participants in class. The author suggests adapting materials to be more relevant to the interests and needs of students in a particular context. Another suggestion is to create materials that help students connect their thoughts and feelings to the language they are learning. The author includes techniques to promote critical thinking and learner autonomy.

2. "Imported" Communicative Language Teaching: Implications for Local Teachers

   In: English Teaching Forum 2005, Volume 43, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   This article criticizes the rejection of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in non-Western contexts. Teachers sometimes avoid CLT because it includes ideas (such as autonomy and choice) that do not always fit with the educational, social, and cultural perspectives of their areas. The author defines CLT, considers the issues that come with importing this teaching method, and offers suggestions to help EFL teachers adapt CLT to their contexts to create genuine communication.

3. Climbing Grammar Mountain: An Interactive Learning Experience

   In: English Teaching Forum 2005, Volume 43, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   This article describes a grammar game that is an enjoyable way for students to correct sentences. In Climbing Grammar Mountain, best suited for secondary and university students, learners compete in teams to “climb” a game board. They earn needed equipment in the form of sentences. If a student can correctly state whether a sentence is grammatical, s/he is able to proceed, with bonus points for correcting an incorrect sentence. The game board, sample sentences, and instructions for teachers and students are included along with suggestions for adaptations.

4. Using Comic Strips in Language Classes

   In: English Teaching Forum 2006, Volume 44, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   The author believes that using comic strips in language-learning classes has three main benefits. First, comic strips motivate younger learners. Second, they provide a context and logically connected sentences to help language learning. Third, their visual information is helpful for comprehension. The author argues that comic strips can be used in exercises of reading and other skills areas. The author provides four activities that use comic strips.

5. Classroom Techniques: Using Radio Programs in the EFL Classroom

   In: English Teaching Forum 2006, Volume 44, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   The article describes how to use Voice of America (VOA) radio programs to teach English to students studying in EFL contexts. A major reason why the author believes VOA programs are a good source for English learning is because they allow the teacher to teach English through content. At the same time, VOA programs provide authentic language-learning materials. The author describes four listening activities (before listening, while listening, and after listening) using VOA radio programs.

6. Channelling Children's Energy Through Vocabulary Activities

   In: English Teaching Forum 2006, Volume 44, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   In this article, the author shares vocabulary development activities for young learners. These activities channel students' energy and make learning more effective and fun. The author stresses the importance of giving young learners a good language-learning experience, and the challenges of teaching young learners who are not literate in their L1. The author describes six activities that allow learners to laugh, to move, and to make noise while learning vocabulary.

7. Classroom Techniques: Communicative Activities for Middle School Classrooms

   In: English Teaching Forum 2006, Volume 44, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   The author states that communicative activities, known to help language learning, can be difficult to use with middle school students. The author offers four suggestions for carrying out communicative activities and presents two activities that are designed to motivate students to use English to express their views.

8. Using Favorite Songs and Poems with Young Learners

   In: English Teaching Forum 2006, Volume 44, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   In this article, the author discusses the benefits of using songs and poems to teach young learners. The author explains how songs and poems can be used in English class and what their benefits are. The author explains how teachers can use actions or puppets to accompany the selected songs or poems, or allow young learners to create ideas themselves. Each suggestion includes an activity. The author also offers an example of a song chart.

9. 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.

10. An American Poetry Project for Low Intermediate ESL Adults

    In: English Teaching Forum 2001, Volume 39, Number 4 Format(s): Text

    This article discusses the author’s poetry unit, developed to expose her ESL students to American literature. Students wrote journals about poems they read and were assigned a poem about which to write a composition. The author required her students to memorize and perform one poem. While teaching the unit, the author and a colleague kept a dialog journal of their experience and insights. Both the student reactions and their dialog journals yielded positive results, allowing the author to make several recommendations for using poetry in the ESL classroom.

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