Advanced Search: Resources

1. Center for Applied Linguistics

   Format(s): Text, Website, Image / Poster / Maps

   The Center for Applied Linguistics offers everything from information on immersion programs to the newest research and guidance on best practices for teachers. Visit regularly to keep up to date on research-based strategies and practical hands-on tools to help develop effective classroom activities.

2. We the People

   Format(s): Website

   The National Endowment for the Humanities presents We The People. Find numerous resources dedicated to learning more about American history, culture, and democratic principles.

3. The Conversation Class

   In: English Teaching Forum 2012, Volume 50, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   This article discusses conversation classes, drawing from the author’s experience teaching Persian ESL. The author offers eight guidelines for effective teaching: cultivate a relaxed atmosphere (with six suggestions for doing this), be alert and foster alertness, be enthusiastic and engender enthusiasm, be patient, be sensitive, think, listen, and make corrections. The article finishes with a number of suggested topics and activities for promoting conversation.

4. 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.

5. Module 7: Learning Strategies

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

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

6. Using L1 in the L2 Classroom

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   There may be more to the use of L1 in the L2 classroom than previously thought. Recent findings show that L1 usage values the native culture and language of the students, allowing them to feel comfortable taking risks in English. The author distributed a questionnaire on Spanish usage to English language students and professors at a Puerto Rican university. Results showed that both students and teachers felt there were clear instances where Spanish would help understanding. The author also shares his own personal experiences as a Spanish-speaking English teacher.

7. Teaching Jazz Chants to Young Learners

   Format(s): Text, Video

   Teaching Jazz Chants to Young Learners is a video-based teacher training resource available on DVD that presents one compelling technique for teaching English pronunciation, intonation, and sentence stress: the jazz chant.

8. 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.

9. Meeting Learners' Academic Needs

   In: English Teaching Forum 2001, Volume 39, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   This article suggests that language teachers can learn from the ideas of educators who work outside the field of language teaching. The author examines learner needs and discusses how the they can be met in his teaching context. The learner needs addressed in this article are the need to feel secure and important, the need to understand the learning goals, the need for time to integrate learning, the need to understand the learning process, and the need to receive feedback.

10. Ten Helpful Ideas for Teaching English to Young Learners

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

    This article offers ten suggestions for teaching young learners between the age of 7 and 12 based on language-teaching principles. They include supplementing activities with visuals, realia and movement; involving students in making visuals and realia; moving from activity to activity; teaching in themes; using stories and contexts familiar to students; establishing classroom routines in English; using L1 as a resource when necessary; bringing in helpers from the community; collaborating with other teachers in your school; and communicating with other professionals.

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