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1. The TOEFL and Grammar

   In: English Teaching Forum 2001, Volume 39, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This article examines the implications of universities in non-English-speaking countries imposing TOEFL requirements on their students. The author points out the difference between grammar taught in classrooms and how structure is evaluated on the TOEFL. The author identifies and discusses three categories: syntax, combination, and vocabulary. The article discusses important features of the test in order to familiarize EFL teachers with the TOEFL in each of these categories.

2. Teaching Beyond the Test: A Method for Designing Test-Preparation Classes

   In: English Teaching Forum 2013, Volume 51, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   Test-preparation classes that focus on skills will benefit students beyond the test by developing skills they can use at university. This article discusses the purposes of various tests and outlines how to design effective test-prep classes. Practice activities included.

3. Shaping the Way We Teach English: From Observation to Action

   Format(s): Text

   Shaping the Way We Teach English: From Observation to Action is a series of video-based training materials for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) educators.

4. Assessment Literacy: Building a Base for Better Teaching and Learning

   In: English Teaching Forum 2014, Volume 52, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This article presents principles and practices of effective assessment, outlining seven key concepts—usefulness, reliability, validity, practicality, washback, authenticity, and transparency—and demonstrating how to apply them in creating an exam blueprint.

5. Teaching Students to Categorize TOEFL Essay Topics

   In: English Teaching Forum 2014, Volume 52, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   The author maintains that categorizing TOEFL iBT writing topics helps test takers because they will be more familiar with the topics and thus better able to write about them and because categorizing topics requires critical thinking about the topics. Using some of the 185 TOEFL prompt questions and 10 additional prompts, the article explores ways to code and analyze the prompts, illustrating the process with tables.

6. From Passive Learners to Critical Thinkers: Preparing EFL Students for University Success

   In: English Teaching Forum 2010, Volume 48, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This article explains how the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee (BRAC) revised their curriculum to best prepare EFL students for English-speaking universities. After completing a needs analysis on how to best serve their students, the committee decided to make a more interactive classroom environment in which teachers integrated the four skills, used critical thinking activities, taught grammar in context, and used various methods of assessment. Feedback showed that both the students and the teachers responded positively to the changes.

7. Looking for the Big Picture: Macrostrategies for L2 Teacher Observation and Feedback

   In: English Teaching Forum 2010, Volume 48, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   The authors describe the typical type of teacher observation and assessment used today -- top down, one-way communication from supervisor to teacher that looks at the weaknesses in the teaching. The authors believe that observation and feedback can be something more. They present six strategies for supervisors (e.g., recognizing subjectiveness, talking across the data, providing alternatives and resources). Additional suggestions include structured intervention and supervisor portfolios.

8. Error Correction and Feedback in the EFL Writing Classroom: Comparing Instructor and Student Preferences

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

   This article discusses what EFL instructors and their students like and dislike about error correction and paper marking and discusses what this means for classroom teaching. The article lists the benefits and drawbacks of error correction for students’ writing and argues for the need to look at preferred methods for both teachers and students. It reports on a study of university EFL instructors and discusses these teachers’ beliefs regarding important aspects of writing and their preference for paper-marking techniques.

9. 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.

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