Advanced Search: Resources

1. How to Make Upper-Level University English Classes More Interactive

   In: English Teaching Forum 2009, Volume 47, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   Because of the advanced nature of the work in ESP classes, some students may have trouble keeping up and staying motivated. The author outlines what she did to make her ESP Engineering class more interactive. By incorporating task-based language teaching (TLBT), there were more opportunities for group work and student-to-student communication. A number of activities are available to the instructor using a TBLT approach, including listing, compare and contrast, problem solving, sharing personal experiences, and projects.

2. Video Recording as a Stimulus for Reflection in Pre-Service EFL Teacher Training

   In: English Teaching Forum 2009, Volume 47, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   All teachers should reflect on their teaching. In this article, the author argues for using video recording as a tool for critical reflection. She states that recording and review should be used even at the early stages of pre-service teacher training in microteaching sessions. She suggests that after the teaching is completed, teachers view the tape multiple times by themselves, then with a peer, and finally with a supervisor. Outcomes for this training include increased self-awareness, role shift from actor to director, and increased continuity.

3. The Relevance of Literary Analysis to Teaching Literature in the EFL Classroom

   In: English Teaching Forum 2009, Volume 47, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This article presents a review of six approaches to teaching literature based on the author's and his colleagues' experience. It looks at the theoretical bases of these six approaches and discusses the pros and cons of using literature in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom. The six approaches are evaluated based on the core principles of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). This article discusses the benefits of combining literary works with communicative activities and student motivation.

4. Tools for Activating Materials and Tasks in the English Language Classroom

   In: English Teaching Forum 2009, Volume 47, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   This article presents techniques to make classroom materials and tasks more interactive and student-centered and thus motivate learners to take more control over their own learning. It demonstrates these techniques through elicitation, gapping, and adaptation/extension strategies. The article offers examples of classroom activities with detailed instructions to show how teachers can use materials and tasks in the English language classroom to address students’ interests, needs, and goals.

5. Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Two Heads Are Better Than One

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

   This article shares ideas of how English language teaching professionals can collaborate with content-area specialists effectively to create learning opportunities for students. Using nine examples and various metaphors, the authors explain three principles for effective team teaching: initiating an interdisciplinary project, establishing an interdisciplinary team, and working successfully with other disciplines by having good working relationships.

6. Using Teacher-Developed Corpora in the CBI classroom

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

   This article argues for the use of teacher-generated corpora in content-based courses. Using a content course for engineering and architecture students as an example, the article explains how a corpus consisting of texts from textbooks and journal articles helped students learn grammar, vocabulary, and writing. The article explains how the corpus was compiled and presents examples of how students learned to analyze language use using corpus tools and dictionaries. The article ends by emphasizing the advantages of corpus analysis for self-directed learning.

7. 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.

8. Teaching English for and with Communities

   In: English Teaching Forum 2008, Volume 46, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This article is a reflection of English teaching in Chiclayo, Peru, at a not-for-profit cultural center. It starts with a brief explanation of the authors’ desire to help transform the community through English teaching. The article then explains the concept of civic education and offers a three-tiered approach that has been designed to help the community: Chiclayo reads, summer institute for k-12 English teachers, and the advanced curriculum. The implementation and results of the projects are discussed.

9. Using Guided, Corpus-Aided Discovery to Generate Active Learning

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

   This article shows how English teachers can provide careful guidance for students to use a corpus to research, discover, and reflect on the grammatical and sociolinguistic aspects of English. The author introduces the idea of using a corpus in teaching English and offers several important online resources for English language corpora. The author provides a rationale for corpus-based teaching and gives two examples of how to guide students in exploring linguistic features of English.

10. VoIM-Mediated Cooperative Tasks for English Language Learners

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

    This article discusses how computer-mediated communication, negotiation of meaning, and cooperative task-based learning can be combined in a VoIM-mediated activity to benefit language learners. The author starts with a brief review of how the three aspects of learning can benefit language learners. The author then describes a VoIM-mediated cooperative task. The rest of the article explains how to set up the activity, including technical requirements, planning in eight stages, and materials selection.

Pages