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1. L1 and L2 Writing Differences: From Understanding to Practice

   In: English Teaching Forum 2020, Volume 58, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This article presents L1 and L2 writing differences in three categories (word-level, sentence-level, and global-level) and provides tips and activities designed to transfer that information into practice.

2. Workshops: An Alternative to Student Writing Conferences

   In: English Teaching Forum 2018, Volume 56, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   This Teaching Technique describes how teachers can use mini-workshops in place of student writing conferences and explains potential benefits of doing so.

3. Coming to Grips with Progress Testing: Some Guidelines for Its Design

   In: English Teaching Forum 2012, Volume 50, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   Progress testing is often neglected in communicative language teaching; yet it has a crucial role. This article, originally published in 1995, offers a rationale for testing and presents guidelines for designing app

4. Module 10: Alternative Assessment

   In: Shaping the Way We Teach English: Successful Practices Around the World Format(s): Text, Video

   This Module of the Shaping the Way we Teach English Series contains a lesson plan and accompanying video that is focused on alternative assessment.

5. Teacher Resources

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

   This section offers brief reviews of two commercial publications. The first is Academic Success for English Language Learners: Strategies for K-12 Mainstream Teachers, a collection of suggestions appropriate for ESL, EFL and mainstream teachers edited by Patricia A. Richard-Amato and Marguerite Ann Snow. The other publication is Making It Happen: From Interactive to Participatory Language Teaching, a book by Patricia A. Richard-Amato with practical ideas for getting students to participate more in the classroom.

6. 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.

7. Instant Feedback for Learner Training: Using Individual Assessment Cards

   In: English Teaching Forum 2002, Volume 40, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   This article presents the idea of using student assessment cards to train students to adopt efficient learning strategies. It discusses how individual assessment cards allow each student to see how well he or she is progressing at any point in the course. The article describes what a student assessment card is and provides detailed guidelines, including descriptions of the content on each side of the card, and about when and how to use these in the language classroom.

8. The Communicative Approach: Addressing Frequent Failure

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

   The author found that student and teacher beliefs about error correction support a teacher-centered classroom environment. However, the notion of interlanguage suggests that language is acquired through trial and error in communicative settings. Too much correction means decreased confidence and less time for students to use the language. The author proposes that teachers reduce the amount of time they talk. Teachers need to learn more about the benefits and techniques of a communicative approach and ways to adapt material.

9. English Proficiency Test: The Oral Component of a Primary School

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

   This article discusses the various problems found when teachers try to design the oral production part of English proficiency tests for young learners. The authors discuss matters such as intimidation or the possibility of relating the test too much to other conventional tests. They offer ways to address these issues, including testing for fluency, using elicitation procedures, and changing the view of the test into a more relaxed game-like scenario. The authors provide examples of where these ideas have been implemented.

10. Finding New Messages in Television Commercials

    In: English Teaching Forum 2002, Volume 40, Number 2 Format(s): Text

    This article discusses the use of television commercials to help build English vocabulary and cultural awareness for students who are preparing for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) in an English as a foreign language (EFL) environment. It presents activities as well as a general outline for teachers to show how these activities can be used.

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