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1. Adapting a Reading for Advanced Learners to Focus on Vocabulary

   In: Teacher's Corner: Adapting Materials for Students' Levels Format(s): Text

   When adapting materials, some teachers might think only about how to make them more accessible for beginners or lower level students; however, materials can also be adapted to be more challenging to meet the needs of more advanced learners.

2. Over-Tourism

   In: Teacher's Corner: Travel and Tourism Format(s): Text

   This month’s Teacher’s Corner explores the world of travel and tourism. With travel becoming easier and cheaper all around the world, people who live in popular tourist locations have begun to ask if too much tourism can be a problem. In this week’s activity, students will debate the positives and negatives of tourism.

3. Avoiding the Blank Stare: Teacher Training with the Gradual Release of Responsibility in Mind

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

   This author asserts that the Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) model will improve teaching abilities in any setting.

4. Options for Teacher Professional Development

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

   This article addresses the relationship of high-quality teacher characteristics to student learning and then presents eight elements of development and six models of teacher training. The eight elements are: voluntary participation, mutual respect, collaboration, action and reflection, organizational setting, choice and change, motivation, and self-direction. The six models are: conference planning (set goals before going), peer coaching, action research (how to improve one’s own practice), collaborative study groups, individual development plan, and dialogue journals.

5. Observation Web: A Reflection Technique for Observation

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   The author shows how an observation web can be used to track the nature of activities during a lesson so they can be reflected on later. The observer uses a circular chart to mark if action in the classroom is linguistic, pragmatic, informative, teacher-centered, student-centered, individual, and/or interactive. This marking is done every five minutes. The author provides examples of traditionalist, innovative, and balanced teacher observations webs from real observations of Russian teachers. The best lessons came from teachers with more balanced webs.

6. Using Raphael's QARs as Differentiated Instruction with Picture Books

   In: English Teaching Forum 2013, Volume 51, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   A differentiated instruction technique this author uses is Question Answer Relationships (QARs), a strategy to aid reading comprehension. The article describes four QAR types and demonstrates them in differentiated reading and writing lessons, with accompanying worksheets, based on a children’s book, The Carrot Seed.

7. What Happened to Listening? Practical Tips for Increasing Listening Time in Your Classroom

   In: American English Webinars Format(s): MP3, Text, Video

   This webinar explores why listening sometimes gets short shrift in English classes and provides tips for bringing fun, low-preparation listening tasks to your lessons.

8. Poems About Nature

   In: Poetry Format(s): Text

   Read poems that students from around the world wrote about nature. Download these student poems!

9. Week 1 - Phrasal Verb Quiz Game

   In: Teacher's Corner: Phrasal Verbs Format(s): Text

   This week, try our Phrasal Verb Game in your classroom!

10. Week 1 - Unique Jobs

    In: Teacher's Corner: Gerunds and Infinitives Format(s): Text

    This week we begin the month with an activity focused on unique jobs that uses infinitives in the verb phrases like to, want to, need to, and hope to.

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