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

In: English Teaching Forum 2012, Volume 50, Number 1 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.

Lessons from the Other Side of the Teacher’s Desk: Discovering Insights to Help Language Learners

In: English Teaching Forum 2011, Volume 49, Number 1 Format(s): Text

An EFL instructor shares ideas on classroom practice after participating in an intensive language program. The author discusses L1 use in the classroom as well as the importance of pronunciation instruction. The article also includes tips on acquiring vocabulary and reasons why pair and group work are good. Finally, the author considers how to support students who may be experiencing communication anxiety as they learn a new language. The article emphasizes a communicative approach and the importance of a friendly classroom environment.

Reading Logs: Integrating Extensive Reading with Writing Tasks

In: English Teaching Forum 2011, Volume 49, Number 1 Format(s): Text

This article informs instructors about blending reading logs into writing tasks. Several benefits are discussed, including clarifying objectives of reading and providing opportunities to respond to reading, building critical literacy, and monitoring student progress. The article describes how to develop an extensive reading project for advanced students that includes both comprehension and vocabulary strategies. Details include how to structure and format the reading logs as well as assessment procedures.

Promoting Genre Awareness in the EFL Classroom

In: English Teaching Forum 2011, Volume 49, Number 2 Format(s): Text

The author introduces genre awareness, a concept from ESP (English for Specific Purposes) and EAP (English for Academic Purposes), and relates it to its potential use in the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classroom. She explains genre awareness as the ability to use the communication tool that is most appropriate for the purpose and audience. She recognizes several challenges to using genre awareness curriculum in the EFL classroom. Finally, she presents several useful genre awareness classroom exercises.

Establishing Textual Authority and Separating Voices: A New Approach to Teaching Referencing

In: English Teaching Forum 2011, Volume 49, Number 2 Format(s): Text

This article provides practical reasoning and tools for the ESOL teacher to better teach source referencing. The author argues that students from around the world are taught different concepts for using sources. Students often assume texts present truths that do not require analysis. Many cultures teach students to memorize texts and repeat them to show mastery and shared knowledge. The author addresses plagiarism and provides classroom exercises.

Identifying Our Approaches to Language Learning Technologies: Improving Professional Development

In: English Teaching Forum 2011, Volume 49, Number 3 Format(s): Text

This article emphasizes Warschauer's Model, explaining the three positions that researchers working in the field of language technology are concerned about: determinist or technophobe and technophile, instrumental, and critical. The article discusses the importance and application of Warschauer’s Model to professional development, offering ideas for activities and lesson plans related to each position held.

Building Fluency through the Repeated Reading Method

In: English Teaching Forum 2011, Volume 49, Number 3 Format(s): Text

This article discusses the success of Repeated Reading (RR) within EFL classrooms, illustrating three techniques of RR that can be used to develop students’ fluency, comprehension skills, and reading self-esteem. After providing a background on the RR method, the author explains the techniques step by step and suggests activities. The techniques include classic oral repeated reading (ORR), Paired repeated reading (PRR), and Reader’s Theater (RT).

Towards Better Group Work: Seeing the Difference between Cooperation and Collaboration

In: English Teaching Forum 2010, Volume 48, Number 2 Format(s): Text

The author explains the difference between cooperation and collaboration in the classroom. Cooperation is students working together (each with individual tasks) for an end product, while collaboration is students interacting to create knowledge. The author discusses the strengths of collaboration and the teacher’s role. Also provided are guidelines for successful collaboration, sample activities, and frequently asked questions, such as what to do when students have emotional reactions to the group work.

From Passive Learners to Critical Thinkers: Preparing EFL Students for University Success

In: English Teaching Forum 2010, Volume 48, Number 3 Format(s): Text

This article explains how the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee (BRAC) revised their curriculum to best prepare EFL students for English-speaking universities. After completing a needs analysis on how to best serve their students, the committee decided to make a more interactive classroom environment in which teachers integrated the four skills, used critical thinking activities, taught grammar in context, and used various methods of assessment. Feedback showed that both the students and the teachers responded positively to the changes.

The Trans-Cultural Comparative Literature Method: Using Grammar Translation Techniques Effectively