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1. Lesson Plan: Sharing Your Vacation - Send a Postcard!

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

   This lesson plan for intermediate students is based on a fact sheet about Chicago and the idea of writing a postcard to family members during vacation. It describes a warm-up activity and several activities for writing and reading a postcard. The lesson aims to strengthen learners’ vocabulary and literacy skills using authentic materials.

2. Techniques for Students New to the Language Lab

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This article presents techniques that can be used in the university language lab to improve listening and speaking skills. The article describes several tasks for pairs and groups. Lessons begin with a popular English song and a warm up activity. Materials expose students to the formal and informal language of native speakers and fluent non-native speakers. Drills, stories, songs, and conversations make the language lab a beneficial resource. An initial session highlights the unique aspects of spoken language.

3. Lesson Observation: The Key to Teacher Development

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   The author describes teacher training and teacher development as separate concepts through descriptions of how observation occurs in Cameroon. While training is a planned event that gives novices ready-made answers, development is an ongoing, organic process that values teacher innovation and reflection. Observers interested in development may use of a lesson observation cycle that includes pre-observation and post-observation meetings. The role of inspectors and peers in observation is also discussed.

4. Building a Class Library Using Local Folktales

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   In areas of the world such as Nigeria where reading is not a central part of the culture, teachers may face a shortage of reading materials. One way to address this problem is by asking students to create their own reading materials. The activity described in this article focuses on a way students can engage in process learning by writing down oral folktales. Because students work in groups, they must communicate with each other in English to write and prepare their book. Students produce a tangible object from their learning that can be used to build a reading library.

5. Setting Up and Editing an "In-House" Journal

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   An "in-house" journal is a publication that is produced by a single institution with article contributions coming from only professionals working at that institution. Creating an in-house journal gives teachers the opportunity to discover new ideas from their colleagues and to voice their own ideas. It also contributes to institutional development by keeping teacher-to-teacher conversations alive and educational policy relevant and innovative. This article presents a series of concrete steps for journal publication as well as some problems to avoid.

6. MA KINGS ENS EOF WORDS

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

   This article, "Making Sense of Words", stresses the importance of vocabulary because of its role in communicative competence. Corpus linguistics has changed the way we consider vocabulary teaching, from isolated words to language chunks and fixed expressions. It has shown us differences between spoken and written English. This article looks at what it means to know a word and the principles and techniques to develop vocabulary. The author recommends teaching vocabulary explicitly, including collocates and word parts. He encourages teachers to update their own knowledge of how to discuss and approach vocabulary.

7. 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.

8. The Reflective Portfolio: Two Case Studies from the United Arab Emirates

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

   This article explains the benefits of using portfolios, an alternative assessment tool, to assess writing. The author identifies the characteristics of alternative assessment. Portfolios evaluate student progress over time and can include revisions. They are based on activities that show what students can do with language. Portfolios emphasize strengths and involve reflection by the student. Case studies show how portfolios were used in English courses at two universities. The authors advise allowing time for reflection and training in self-evaluation.

9. English Magazines = Motivation + Improved ESL Writing Skills

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

   Creating and editing a magazine in English is a challenging and motivating type of portfolio assessment. It encourages student fluency and freedom by allowing students to choose their own topics for writing. It is real communication for a real audience and requires students to take responsibility for their own writing. It can also make the teacher’s job more enjoyable. The article describes a magazine-editing project for an intermediate university writing class. The students performed well on the national writing examination.

10. 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.

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