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A Paradigm Shift: From Paper-and-Pencil Tests to Performance-Based Assessment

In: English Teaching Forum 2007, Volume 45, Number 4 Format(s): Text

This article describes how The Language Center at the Espirito Santo Federal University changed from using traditional pencil-and-paper tests to performance testing, based on authentic tasks. The change was prompted because people thought that their testing did not reflect a communicative approach to language teaching. The Assessment Project lasted for two years; the author discusses its participants, goals, stages (including pilot testing), and results. Content and construct validity improved, leading to positive washback. Learning objectives and criteria for passing were clarified.

SWELL: A Writing Method to Help English Language Learners

In: English Teaching Forum 2007, Volume 45, Number 4 Format(s): Text

Social-interactive Writing for English Language Learners (SWELL) is collaborative writing based on Topping’s Paired Writing Method. The method was changed to meet the needs of English language learners. In both methods, pairs are formed according to proficiency, pairing a more advanced student (a Helper) with a less advanced one (a Writer). The author describes the steps of generating ideas, drafting, reading, editing, best copy, and evaluating. Features of SWELL include using students’ linguistic knowledge (L1), balancing fluency with mechanics, and promoting explicit teacher instruction.

The Intercultural Approach to EFL Teaching and Learning

In: English Teaching Forum 2008, Volume 46, Number 4 Format(s): Text

This article discusses the teaching of intercultural awareness together with language in foreign contexts. Following a brief discussion of what culture means, the author presents a three-stage intercultural approach for teaching EFL students. For each stage, the author explains the goals and provides five activities as examples. As a follow-up, the author shares challenges for this approach and possible solutions.

Cooperative Listening as a Means to Promote Strategic Listening Comprehension

In: English Teaching Forum 2006, Volume 44, Number 3 Format(s): Text

This article argues for the use of a cooperative listening technique and describes the steps involved in using this approach. The author describes a five-step procedure for teaching listening strategies, and then uses his own experience to show how this approach can help learners develop listening comprehension. The author also discusses his perspectives on potential issues of this cooperative listening approach.

Alternatives to Current Pedagogy for Teaching the Present Perfect Progressive

In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 1 Format(s): Text

These researchers collected 250 samples of spoken and written American English from high-level communicators and analyzed the use of the present perfect progressive tense. They compared these samples to five leading ESL and EFL grammar textbooks. This article reviews the research and findings. The five leading textbooks provided good overall structure for teaching the present perfect progressive tense, but the use of the tense was critically influenced by broad context, adverbs, temporal context and the uses of other tenses including the present and present perfect tense.

Why and How to Teach Collocations

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

One of the key developments in vocabulary teaching stems from Michael Lewis’s Lexical Approach, which considers language as chunks of words combined for meaning. These frequently occurring word combinations are called collocations. This article points out a number of problems that result from learning words in isolation. Work with meaningful phrases can help improve students’ comprehension and comprehensibility. The article includes reading and listening activities to raise awareness of collocations as well as writing and speaking activities.

Create to Communicate: Mixed Media

In: Create to Communicate: Art Activities for the EFL Classroom Format(s): Text

Mixed media, an art technique that combines two or more art media, can provide students with many avenues for expression, exploration, and experimentation while using English.

Building Vocabulary and Improving Writing while Developing a Tourist Brochure

In: English Teaching Forum 2008, Volume 46, Number 2 Format(s): Text

This article describes how creating a tourist brochure can help students improve their vocabulary and writing skills. The author describes how to plan writing lessons based on the creation of a brochure: viewing videos, planning the brochure, writing the brochure, getting feedback and rewriting, and displaying the brochure. In the conclusion, the author highlights the benefits of the activity as providing opportunities for contextualized writing and vocabulary learning.

Using Practice Posters to Address EFL Challenges

In: English Teaching Forum 2007, Volume 45, Number 3 Format(s): Text

Practice posters, with pictures and captions, are useful for controlled practice of vocabulary and structures in an EFL context. The author has found many advantages of using posters with beginners in a high school setting. Student led review gets students active, increases autonomy and improves confidence. The use of small groups is effective with multi-language classes and frees the teacher to monitor interactions. Other benefits include increasing English use, limiting mistakes, decreasing discipline issues, helping with pronunciation and appealing to a variety of learning styles.

Create to Communicate: Sculpture