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1. The Mediational Role of Language Teachers in Sociocultural Theory

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

   This article describes a sociocultural view of interaction, in which teachers construct knowledge with learners. Language is a mediating factor in cognitive development. The article discusses Vygotsky and the Zone of Proximal Development. According to Vygotsky, students are capable of doing more with guidance and support than they can alone. This principle leads instructors to scaffold material just beyond the leaner’s level. When teachers and students have meaningful interaction, learning is enhanced.

2. Nurturing Emotional Intelligence through Literature

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

   This article discusses the use of literature in a language class as a way to develop emotional intelligence in children. The author suggests that literature can be motivating and can provide a low-anxiety context for children to learn English. Several response activities are suggested to develop language skills and nurture emotional intelligence. These activities include scripting, detecting feelings in text, a feeling hunt, creating a positive language dictionary, diary entries, and letters to characters.

3. Teaching Young Learners

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

   This author shares her unique approach to teaching young learners. She emphasizes that her approach involves features of communicative styles, the audio lingual approach (AL), and Total Physical Response (TPR), as she believes it is necessary to bring together all three styles of teaching to develop language proficiency. She includes a lesson plan for beginner level students to improve grammar competency.

4. Integrating Reading and Writing for Effective Language Teaching

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

   This article discusses an integrated reading and writing course for first-year college EFL. The author of the article developed this course to address student difficulty in balancing multiple issues in writing. The course aimed to teach writing as a process. The author shares key components of the course such as reading and writing requirements and in-class activities.

5. Communicative Curriculum Design for the 21st Century

   In: English Teaching Forum 2002 (Volume 40, Number 1) Format(s): Text

   This piece looks at Communicative Language Teaching, or CLT, for teaching EFL. The author discusses the history, the focus, and the future of CLT. The article describes how to shape a communicative curriculum and the five components that it is composed of: language arts, language for a purpose, personal English use, theater arts, and beyond the classroom. The article emphasizes the variation of CLT within each classroom.

6. A Case Study of Reflective Journals in a University Level Writing Course in Hungary

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   This article is about the author’s experience using learning logs and in-class journaling for her college-level ESL writing class in Hungary. Her purpose was to gather information on the students’ writing experiences, both before and during the class, and to address issues raised in the logs and journals. She taught the class with a reflective-teaching, learner-centered style and a process-learning curriculum.

7. Module 1: Contextualizing Language

   In: Shaping the Way We Teach English: Successful Practices Around the World Format(s): Text, Video, Website

   This Module of the Shaping the Way we Teach English Series contains a lesson plan and accompanying video that is focused on contexualization.

8. Using Web Resources in a Public Speaking Class

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

   This article describes ways to teach public speaking students how to efficiently locate information on the Internet, how to quickly evaluate and analyze those resources, and how best to navigate the Web. The author’s lesson leads the students through a Web-based scavenger hunt, included in the article, and has information about how to evaluate sites. The author expands on these lessons to show the students how the Internet can help prepare and deliver a speech.

9. Module 11: Individual Learner Differences

   In: Shaping the Way We Teach English: Successful Practices Around the World Format(s): Text, Video, Website

   This Module of the Shaping the Way we Teach English Series is focused on facilitating learning for a wide variety of students and student needs.

10. Letters to the Editor

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

    This letter to the editor was written in response to the article, “Language vs. Literature in English Departments in the Arab World” by Marwan M. Obeidat. The letter addresses this controversial topic from a different point of view. Dr. M. N. K. Bose, who writes the letter, argues that courses teaching language skills are valuable to improve the English proficiency of Arab university students. He stresses that English translations of Arabic literature are more valuable than Western literature in Arabic universities.

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