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1. The Lighter Side

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   This "Lighter Side" begins with a contest to name a Jazz song. The answer is "Georgia On My Mind." Although there is an American state called Georgia, Georgia is the name of a girl for whom the song was written in 1930. In the second section of "The Lighter Side," definitions and uses of the word Jazz are given.

2. Maps and Legends

   In: English Teaching Forum 2004, Volume 42, Issue 2 Format(s): Text

   The author of this student-directed reading, Michael Chabon, shares his experience as a pioneer of the Columbia Experiment. Columbia’s renewal was the dream of James Rouse, who put together a team of city planners to design a lovely, convenient, modern city where races lived together in harmony. Chabon writes about the impact of living with the dream and vision of the city’s development. Since the late 1960s, Columbia has grown from a few thousand people to the second largest city in Maryland.

3. Rodeo: A Uniquely American Sport

   In: English Teaching Forum 2004, Volume 42, Issue 3 Format(s): Text

   The feature article, “Rodeo: A Uniquely American Sport,” includes sections about the history of rodeo, classic rodeo events, the growth of professional rodeo, the making of a rodeo cowboy, rodeo heroes, and rodeo and fine arts. Websites of interest and a glossary of rodeo terms accompany the article, as well as many images.

4. A Plan for Using - "Save the Lofty Trees" by Leslie Mills

   In: English Teaching Forum 2005, Volume 43, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   The author describes how to use the play “Save the Lofty Trees” in a classroom. The plan offers six activities that will promote student interaction, involving guided imagination, brainstorming, group-work, creative movement, and an interactive read through. This lesson plan is intended for young learners and addresses all learning styles.

5. Raising Students' Awareness of the Varieties of English

   In: English Teaching Forum 2005, Volume 43, Number 2 Format(s): Image / Poster / Maps

   This article argues that EFL students need to be familiar with different varieties of English. If EFL students hope to enter a global job market, knowledge of English around the world is essential. The author, an English teacher in Japan, proposes doing classroom workshops on language variation and English as a world language to broaden students’ views of language.

6. NASCAR: An American Sport and Pastime

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

   This article, written for students, is about NASCAR, a popular auto racing sport in the United States. It offers the history of the sport, interesting pictures, and a piece on the importance of a pit crew. There is also a profile of Jeff Gordon, a popular and winning driver. Also included are a list of NASCAR vocabulary and websites of interest, an overview of the sport and its rules, and information on three legendary drivers.

7. Women in Sports

   In: English Teaching Forum 2001, Volume 39, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   This article outlines the history of women in sports. It includes a discussion of important female athletes, female participation in the modern Olympics, and Title IX in the United States. The piece concludes by giving sketches of the accomplishments of several important female athletes-- "Babe" Didrickson Zaharias, Wilma Rudolph, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Jackie Joyner-Kersey.

8. Texas: The Lone Star State

   In: English Teaching Forum 2001, Volume 39, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   This article gives an introduction to the state of Texas. It begins by outlining the history of Texas, from colonization through statehood. Present geography and a description of east, west, south, and north Texas are also described. Additional websites for further reading are provided. The article is appropriate for intermediate English learners with an interest in various regions of the United States.

9. Introduction to Teaching Pragmatics (Reprinted from the online book Teaching Pragmatics, published by the Office of English Language Programs)

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

   Second and foreign language learners use English differently than native speakers do, especially in regard to greetings, closings, and managing conversations. Pragmatics does not receive the attention it should even though mistakes can be interpreted on a social and personal level. This article introduces a rationale for teaching pragmatics and discusses the goals. Teaching materials should include authentic language, and input should precede interpretation or production. Instructors may decide to use the L1 for raising awareness since these types of lessons are useful even for beginners.

10. Spot the Problem! (reprinted from Teaching Pragmatics)

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

    This lesson plan considers pragmatic violations of openings, closings, and requests. These humorous role plays involve continuing a conversation when one person is trying to end it, being overly direct, and providing an overly informative answer to the greeting “How are you?” Textbooks may lack complete openings and closings, so it is worthwhile to spend time on post-openings and pre-closings. Politeness in English may be problematic for EFL learners because of the lack of grammatical forms that mark it.

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