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1. Classroom Techniques: - What a Feeling!

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

   This article argues for the use of collaborative writing through poems in the ESL classroom. This activity gives students the motivation to express their creativity while improving teamwork skills that are important outside of the classroom. The author describes how collaborative poetry is introduced and carried out, gives examples of student poems, and suggests how the activity can be used with other genres as well.

2. Maximizing the Benefits of Project Work in Foreign Language Classrooms

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

   There are many benefits to using project work in the classroom, such as student autonomy, increased content knowledge, and motivation. This article gives ten steps for structuring project activities to maximize these benefits, using a case study on project-based learning in an English preparatory program in Turkey. Also included are recommendations for writers on how to include project-based learning in their materials.

3. Songs for Children

   In: English Teaching Forum 2006, Volume 44, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   There are four children’s songs that can be used for classroom activities, together with the pictures provided at the end of this issue.

4. Lesson Plan: Quilting with Language

   In: English Teaching Forum 2006, Volume 44, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This lesson plan contains four activities based on the cultural content of quilts. It includes activities for teaching vocabulary and grammar, speaking, writing, and a dicto-comp activity (in which there is both dictation and composition).

5. Trees

   In: English Teaching Forum 2007, Volume 45, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   This is a thematic lesson plan for young learners about palm trees and the importance of taking care of them. The two part lesson teaches listening, reading and speaking skills. The lesson includes parts of a tree; the modal auxiliary, can; dialogues and a role play activity.

6. Information Gap in Communicative Classrooms

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

   The author argues that exchanges in the classroom must go beyond display questions and should be based on the information gap that occurs when one speaker does not know in advance what the other is going to say. The author provides examples of information gap activities to promote a communicative classroom. Activity types include practical situations, guessing games, role plays, opinion gap activities, and reasoning gap activities. The author argues that these activities have real communicative value.

7. Teaching Listening Skills to Young Learners through 'Listen and Do' Songs

   In: English Teaching Forum 2012, Volume 50, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This article, which examines the use of songs to improve the listening skills of young learners, contains a lesson plan and follow-up activities and a list of online resources for songs.

8. VOA Podcast: Number of International Students Attending American Colleges and Universities Continues Rising

   In: VOA Podcasts: Shows in Special English Format(s): Text

   Listen online or download the podcast.

9. VOA Podcast: President Obama Wins Second Term

   In: VOA Podcasts: Shows in Special English Format(s): Website

   Listen to Voice of America (VOA) Podcast:President Obama Wins Second Term. Podcast from VOA Learning English: News Report in Special English. Stories are written at the intermediate and upper-beginner level and are read one-third slower than regular VOA English.

10. VOA Podcast: 1890’s Gold Rush!

    In: VOA Podcasts: Shows in Special English Format(s): Website

    Listen to Voice of America (VOA) Podcast: 1890's Gold Rush! Podcast from VOA Learning English: Explorations in Special English. Stories are written at the intermediate and upper-beginner level and are read one-third slower than regular VOA English.

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