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1. Promoting Solidarity in Short Interactions

   In: Teaching Pragmatics Format(s): Text, Video, Website

   This lesson in Teaching Pragmatics aims to raise awareness of and give practice in using strategies of relexicalisation for descriptive accounts and for promoting solidarity in short interactions. A sub-goal is to provide students with interesting and natural vehicles for vocabulary development, recycling and revision.

2. Polite Ways of Correcting or Contradicting our Conversation's Partner's Assumptions

   In: Teaching Pragmatics Format(s): Text, Video, Website

   This lesson aims to raise learners' pragmatic awareness towards an important conversational function and to help them to be aware of the negative impression brought about by the non-use of actually (or other softeners of contradiction or correction) and for students to learn to produce corrections or contradictions prefaced by actually.

3. Are You Listening? (Backchannel Behaviors)

   In: Teaching Pragmatics Format(s): Text, Video, Website

   This lesson aims to promote awareness of short responses during conversations such as uh-huh and yeah known as backchannel behaviors; to increase awareness of cultural differences in backchannel behaviors; to allow students to practice behaviors that indicate active listening.

4. Talking on a Second Channel Using Parentheticals in English Discourse

   In: Teaching Pragmatics Format(s): Text, Video, Website

   This lesson in Teaching Pragmatics aims to help students learn to pronounce a range of parentheticals appropriately.

5. Teaching Refusals in an EFL Setting

   In: Teaching Pragmatics Format(s): Text, Video, Website

   The goals of this lesson in Teaching Pragmatics are: raising awareness that misunderstandings can be caused by differences in performing speech acts between Japanese and Americans; making learners aware of what they know already and encouraging them to use their universal or transferable L1 pragmatic knowledge in L2 contexts; teaching the appropriate linguistic forms that are likely to be encountered in performing speech acts.

6. Classroom Techniques: - English for Fools

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

   This article describes a lesson that can be used on April Fool’s day to bring humor to the classroom. The writer explains how the translation of proverbs about fools can be used for a discussion and offers ideas about the teaching of these proverbs, such as exploring themes or looking at the definition of “fool” in each saying.

7. Teacher Resources

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

   In this special section of Forum, four commercial publications are presented. Topics include techniques to help middle school students with reading, student involvement and choice; an introduction to the concept of genre (of interest to ESL teachers, writing teachers, etc., including genre-based assessment and the importance of audience in writing); the use of literature circles with elementary learners to foster discussion and love of literature; and a book of EFL methodology.

8. The Use of Ethics in the EFL Classroom

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

   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.

9. Save the Lofty Trees

   In: English Teaching Forum 2005, Volume 43, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   This is a script for a play called “Save the Lofty Trees,” intended for students use in ESL classrooms and is intended for young learners. This play gives students a chance to take part in group work by acting out the various scenes of the script. This will provide students with opportunities to use their skills and build fluency.

10. Speaking and Listening Online

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

    This article gives an overview of online technology for developing students’ listening and speaking skills. The author explores websites for both receptive and interactive communication and discusses the benefits and limitations of the technology as well as possible classroom activities. The article argues that the quality of the programs supports their use in the second language classroom.

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