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1. Celebrate! Holidays in the U.S.A.

   Format(s): Text

   This book discusses the ten federally-recognized holidays in the United States, as well as many celebratory days. Download as an e-book or as individual PDF chapters.

2. The Psychic Rewards of Teaching: An Interview with James E. Alatis

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

   Dr. James Alatis answers questions about teaching English as a profession, establishing the international association TESOL, and his strong belief that linguistics and language teaching will change the world. The son of Greek immigrants, Alatis shares how his early interest in languages led him to study linguistics. Regarded as "the father of TESOL," Alatis believes the best linguistics is interdisciplinary. According to Alatis, the future of TESOL will involve more audiovisual and online material, all subjects taught by ESL teachers, and more concern for cultures of other countries.

3. Developing Pragmatic Competence in the EFL Classroom

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

   Pragmatic competence is an important part of communicative competence, yet it is often insufficiently addressed. This article outlines a program of four lessons on the speech acts of openings and closings. Lessons examine dialogues for cultural differences regarding forms of address, abruptness, expected responses, and so on. Students also consider pre-closing phrases, ways to express politeness, and formality. Finally, students expand an artificial dialogue to make it more realistic. Activities include translation, pair work, creative writing, class discussion, and role play.

4. Teaching ESL Versus EFL

   In: English Teaching Forum 2005, Volume 43, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   The author argues for different teaching approaches in EFL vs. ESL settings. He points out the differences in student motivation and suggests how to select different activities for the two contexts (with examples of relevant activities). He gives guidelines for the appropriate role of L1 in each classroom, and explains how the two classroom cultures differ (for example, in term of the learning styles of the students). He argues that keeping in mind these differences will help educators make more effective decisions for their students.

5. From Passive Participant to Active Thinker

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

   This article discusses how, through materials development, teachers can help students think critically and feel comfortable enough to be active participants in class. The author suggests adapting materials to be more relevant to the interests and needs of students in a particular context. Another suggestion is to create materials that help students connect their thoughts and feelings to the language they are learning. The author includes techniques to promote critical thinking and learner autonomy.

6. Encourage Critical Reading in the EFL Classroom

   In: English Teaching Forum 2006, Volume 44, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   Using a reading lesson designed for advanced university students in Brazil, the author discusses different types of exercises that can help students become more active readers and be more critical about the reading materials. The author distinguishes between passive and active reading tasks and argues that active tasks are more beneficial because they encourage readers to read between the lines. The author describes some pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading activities.

7. Tasks for Integrating Language and Culture Teaching

   In: English Teaching Forum 2013, Volume 51, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   This article discusses the role of culture in language teaching and provides activities for introducing culture in the classroom, focusing on teaching context and methodology to integrate culture. The authors outline five activities that can be adapted to the language level and interests of students. Instructions for each activity include language points and intercultural points.

8. Raising Cultural Awareness in the English Language Classroom

   In: English Teaching Forum 2013, Volume 51, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   This article discusses how teachers can incorporate cultural knowledge into English language classes, exploring elements of culture, intercultural phenomena, and high-context and low-context cultures.

9. Let’s Play Ball: Using Cultural Themes to Teach English

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

   This webinar will demonstrate how teachers can use one theme in American culture and society, Baseball, to give learners a toolkit for deciphering and using messages that contain a deep cultural context, no matter their source.

10. Changing English: What Teachers Should Know

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

    This webinar "Changing English: What Teachers Should Know," demonstrates the ever-changing nature of English and what teachers need to know in order to successfully keep up!

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