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1. Classroom Techniques: - English for Fools

   In: English Teaching Forum 2005, Volume 43, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This article describes a lesson that can be used on April Fool’s day to bring humor to the classroom. The writer explains how the translation of proverbs about fools can be used for a discussion and offers ideas about the teaching of these proverbs, such as exploring themes or looking at the definition of “fool” in each saying.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. "Imported" Communicative Language Teaching: Implications for Local Teachers

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

   This article criticizes the rejection of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in non-Western contexts. Teachers sometimes avoid CLT because it includes ideas (such as autonomy and choice) that do not always fit with the educational, social, and cultural perspectives of their areas. The author defines CLT, considers the issues that come with importing this teaching method, and offers suggestions to help EFL teachers adapt CLT to their contexts to create genuine communication.

6. Teaching Refusals in an EFL Setting

   In: Teaching Pragmatics Format(s): Text, Video, Website

   The goals of this lesson in Teaching Pragmatics are: raising awareness that misunderstandings can be caused by differences in performing speech acts between Japanese and Americans; making learners aware of what they know already and encouraging them to use their universal or transferable L1 pragmatic knowledge in L2 contexts; teaching the appropriate linguistic forms that are likely to be encountered in performing speech acts.

7. Speakers and Task Type: Increasing Awareness of Factors Involved in Speech Act Production

   In: Teaching Pragmatics Format(s): Text

   The goal of this article is to increase awareness of the factors that affect the linguistic realization of speech acts in American English.

8. Board Game: Name 3

   In: Activate Games for Learning American English: Board Games Format(s): Text

   The board game Name 3… gives students a variety of prompts to talk about things they know about.

9. Board Game: Use a Word

   In: Activate Games for Learning American English: Board Games Format(s): Text

   This board game provides students with a specific word they should try to use in a sentence. Download the game, instructions, and game variations.

10. Picture This – Pass It On

    In: Activate Games for Learning American English: Picture This Format(s): Text

    In Pass It On, students use the vocabulary words on a Picture This card to create a story. Download cards and instructions.

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