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1. VOA Podcast: 1890’s Gold Rush!

   In: VOA Podcasts: Shows in Special English Format(s): Website

   Listen to Voice of America (VOA) Podcast: 1890's Gold Rush! Podcast from VOA Learning English: Explorations in Special English. Stories are written at the intermediate and upper-beginner level and are read one-third slower than regular VOA English.

2. VOA Podcast: The State of Vermont - Fertile Farmland, Green Mountains and Revolutionary History

   In: VOA Podcasts: Shows in Special English Format(s): Website

   Listen online or download the podcast. Stories are written at the intermediate and upper-beginner level and are read one-third slower than regular VOA English.

3. VOA Podcast: Words and Their Stories - Down to Earth

   In: VOA Podcasts: Shows in Special English Format(s): Website

   Listen online or download the podcast. Stories are written at the intermediate and upper-beginner level and are read one-third slower than regular VOA English.

4. VOA Podcast: Music Would Not Be The Same Without the Guitar

   In: VOA Podcasts: Shows in Special English Format(s): MP3, Text

   From Voice of America Podcasts in Special English. Learn how guitar just may be the most popular instrument in the world! Download the MP3 or listen online.

5. VOA Podcast: Making of a Nation: The Heart of the Constitution

   In: VOA Podcasts: Shows in Special English Format(s): MP3, Text

   From Voice of America Podcasts in Special English. Take a look at the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Download the MP3 or listen online.

6. Creative Classroom Activities

   Format(s): Text

   Creative Classroom Activities is the second of a two-volume anthology of articles published between 1989 and 1993 in English Teaching Forum. Download the e-book or PDF.

7. An Integrated Skills Lesson Plan for "A Postcard from America" by Robert Olen Butler

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

   This lesson plan is based on the feature article, “Postcards from America” by Robert Olen Butler. It is appropriate for high intermediate to advanced students. The lesson integrates the four skills and has five parts: Preparing to Read, Reading the Text, Understanding the Text, Making Connections Beyond the Text, and Integrating Language Skills. The lesson includes group discussion of comprehension questions, scanning for vocabulary, and using the dictionary.

8. Western Culture and the Teaching of English as an International Language

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

   This article considers the role of culture in the teaching of English as an International Language. There are differing views on whether to include cultural topics in the teaching of English. Educational leaders in some countries have voiced concern over a form of colonization that occurs when Western culture is presented as better than the students’ local culture. The article examines ways that approved textbooks from Chile, Morocco, and Japan present Western values and characters, and suggests that texts could present more characters from countries where English is a second language.

9. An Integrated Skills Lesson Plan for "Maps and Legends" by Michael Chabon

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

   This lesson plan is based on the article “Maps and Legends” by novelist Michael Chabon and is for high intermediate to advance students. The lesson includes group and pair work. Students discuss the neighborhood where they grew up. They read the text and identify unfamiliar words, then answer comprehension questions in writing or discussion groups. Post-reading activities include scanning, inferring meaning from context, dictionary practice, and discussion questions. The lesson ends with questions to make connections beyond the text and project ideas.

10. The Making of a City

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

    This article about urban planning is appropriate for advanced learners. The content discusses city planners, planned cities (e.g. Chicago), zoning laws, and high-rise residential districts. There are many images, a glossary, and a list of related websites. There are two short sections. One is about Columbia, Maryland, the subject of another article in this issue (“Maps and Legends”). Columbia was a completely planned, experimental community. The second section is about rebuilding Cabrini Green, a Chicago neighborhood well known for its poverty and crime.

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