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1. Introduction

   In: American Teens Talk! Format(s): E-book, Text

   The interviews in American Teens Talk! give learners a view into the lives of adolescents in the U.S. Through the written and audio format of the interviews, learners are able to increase their vocabulary, practice their reading and listening skills, engage in discussions, and learn more about U.S. culture.

2. A Judicious Lesson: A Whole-learning Reading Activity

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

   This article discusses the use of whole-reading activities in a university level reading and speaking course. The author used a magazine article about a murder and a trial to develop a four-week unit in which students investigated ideas about crime, punishment, rhetorical strategies, idiomatic language, and the United States' judicial system. Through the use of this unit, the author advocates for readings and activities that challenge students to move beyond comprehension of a text.

3. Near-Peer Tutoring in an ESOL Music Project

   In: English Teaching Forum 2004, Volume 42, Issue 2 Format(s): Text

   This article describes how near-peer tutoring was used to foster a supportive, learner-centered environment in an adult ESOL setting. Students from beginning and advanced classes worked together to learn a song to perform at a year-end ceremony. The task involved vocabulary, pronunciation, intonation, and comprehension. Benefits of the music project included building relationships, breaking the routine, and lowering students’ affective filters. The project allowed the adults to be self-directed, empowered them to critique themselves, and gave them a sense of accomplishment.

4. Character Press Conference

   In: English Teaching Forum 2021, Volume 59, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This is a step-by-step guide to helping students conduct a “press conference” in which some students play the role of journalists and others play the roles of characters from a work of fiction in order to give all students a deeper understanding of the characters and the text.

5. Teaching Weak Forms

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

   This article describes a pronunciation concept referred to as the weak form, a compression of sounds used to keep the rhythm of spoken English. The author uses the word “that” as an example. Stressing or not stressing the word “that” when reading aloud the sentence “John thinks that man is evil” changes the meaning. Reading “that” as unstressed is an example of the weak form. The author provides examples of how to teach the weak form to provide students with better spoken English and better comprehension.

6. Poetry Foundation

   Format(s): Website

   Visit the learning lab and learn about historic or contemporary poets or find a poem for almost any special occasion. Discover and celebrate the best poetry at the Poetry Foundation.

7. Story Retelling with a Twist

   In: English Teaching Forum 2020, Volume 58, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   This is a step-by-step guide to carrying out a versatile, well-scaffolded activity that can improve learners’ speaking skills and keep them engaged through the use of stories and jokes with surprising and unexpected endings.

8. Classroom Techniques: - What a Feeling!

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

   This article argues for the use of collaborative writing through poems in the ESL classroom. This activity gives students the motivation to express their creativity while improving teamwork skills that are important outside of the classroom. The author describes how collaborative poetry is introduced and carried out, gives examples of student poems, and suggests how the activity can be used with other genres as well.

9. Hunter

   In: American Teens Talk! Format(s): MP3, Text

   Hunter plays the drums and ukulele, and in this interview, he talks about music and going to Puerto Rico.

10. Teaching ESL Versus EFL

    In: English Teaching Forum 2005, Volume 43, Number 2 Format(s): Text

    The author argues for different teaching approaches in EFL vs. ESL settings. He points out the differences in student motivation and suggests how to select different activities for the two contexts (with examples of relevant activities). He gives guidelines for the appropriate role of L1 in each classroom, and explains how the two classroom cultures differ (for example, in term of the learning styles of the students). He argues that keeping in mind these differences will help educators make more effective decisions for their students.

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