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1. Using Letters to Tell Stories in the EFL Classroom

   In: English Teaching Forum 2011, Volume 49, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   This article discusses how letter writing can be used as authentic language use. An activity for beginners involves an exchange of letters of introduction between the instructor and students. This serves a socially meaningful interactional purpose. The second activity is the construction of an story, one in which the plot is expressed in a series of letters. The writer suggests using letter exchanges for this creative writing project after using books such as The Color Purple. Letter writing is one way to enable and empower students to tell their own stories.

2. National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition

   Format(s): Website

   Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, The National Center for English Language Acquisition provides a broad range of research and resources in support of an inclusive approach to high quality education for English Learners.

3. Smithsonian Folkways: Tools for Teaching

   Format(s): Website

   Looking for more ways to use music to teach? Check out the Smithsonian Folkways website that has a section called “Tools for Teaching” with free lessons and activities for the classroom.

4. Annenberg Learner

   Format(s): Website

   Annenberg Learner focuses on both the teacher and student as learners. The Annenberg Learner website offers lesson plans and activities for English learners.

5. Ten Great Low-Cost Teaching Tools

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

   Teachers are asked to do a lot with few resources. Some teachers must move quickly from school to school throughout the day. This article describes the teaching bag, which is made to help teachers be effective and save money. The author's teaching tools are lightweight, affordable, and multi-purposed. They include the expected (e.g., scissors and scratch paper, colored markers) as well as the more unique (e.g., sticky putty, pizza box lids).

6. Exploring Children's Picture Storybooks with Adult and Adolescent EFL Learners

   In: English Teaching Forum 2013, Volume 51, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   The author presents a theoretical framework for using picture storybooks in teaching EFL to adults, suggesting that the storybooks are helpful in teaching both mechanics and culture. The article provides activities and resources and suggests themes that can be explored through the picture storybooks.

7. Voice of America: Current Event Activities in the English Language Classroom

   In: American English Webinars Format(s): Text, Video

   This webinar explores today’s globalized world in the 24-hour news cycle, and the importance of teaching current events in the English language classroom.

8. Students as Textbook Authors

   In: English Teaching Forum 2007, Volume 45, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   The authors describe their experience using a learner-centered approach to turn learner writing into booklets. When students write about their own lives, they can focus on the language they need to express their ideas. Interaction increases because interest is high. Near beginners can create fact sheets about themselves, and more advanced students can write language-learning histories. The texts can become fill-in-the-blank activities or be read aloud. Student texts inform instructors of needs and interests; they give students ownership of their learning and provide models for future classes.

9. Center for Applied Linguistics

   Format(s): Text, Website, Image / Poster / Maps

   The Center for Applied Linguistics offers everything from information on immersion programs to the newest research and guidance on best practices for teachers. Visit regularly to keep up to date on research-based strategies and practical hands-on tools to help develop effective classroom activities.

10. Two Frameworks for Teaching Culture and Critical Thinking

    In: American English Webinars Format(s): Text, Video

    This session, "Two Frameworks for Teaching Culture and Critical Thinking," explores the rationale for including culture as a principled area for study in the language classroom followed by an interactive walkthrough of a lesson in which listening and intercultural awareness skills are developed.

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