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1. The Use of Ethics in the EFL Classroom

   In: English Teaching Forum 2004, Volume 42, Issue 4 Format(s): Text

   If students are not meeting their goals, it may be that the reason is non-linguistic. Motivation is an important factor that teachers need to consider. The writer argues that carefully chosen ethics cases can motivate timid students to speak out by removing their fear of making mistakes and by encouraging them to talk about heart-felt beliefs. Since ethics cases may not have clear right and wrong answers, this sets them apart from other discussion topics. Debate will foster critical thinking skills.

2. Lesson Plan: Taking a Look at Schools

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

   This lesson plan, based on a short reading of a student’s description of a one-room schoolhouse, has a variety of activities, including group discussions, vocabulary practice, a spelling bee, research topics, interviews, and a task that has students exploring their own school.

3. Classroom Techniques: Unleashing Writing Creativity in Students

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

   This article argues for free, creative writing in the L2 classroom. The author states that because writing can be stressful and at times paralyzing, the goal of L2 writing should not be to produce perfect, error-free work. The teacher should be a coach, dictionary, and grammar book. The author includes creative writing activities.

4. Getting the Most Out of the Dictionary

   In: English Teaching Forum 2012, Volume 50, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   Inspired by questions from language teachers, this discussion of dictionaries (reprinted from 1974) explores their utility in determining pronunciation, meaning, and points of grammar and makes recommendations about the kind of dictionaries teachers should use with their students.

5. Learn American Business English Wordbook

   In: VOA Interactive Learning: Wordbooks Format(s): Website

   Learn business English with this interactive Wordbook. Improve your business English with definitions and examples.

6. Activate: Games for Learning American English Part 2

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

   This webinar Activate: Games for Learning American English Part 2 is the second webinar that introduces the Activate resource, demonstrates classroom management techniques for playing games in the classroom, and offers tips on how teacher's can create their own games that match their curriculum objectives.

7. Using Comics in the English Language Classroom

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

   This webinar demonstrates the universality of comics for any language classroom, showing how multi-skill comic activities can be used with students of all ages and ability levels.

8. Formative Assessment Strategies for the Student-centered Classroom

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

   This session, "Formative Assessment Strategies for the Student-centered Classroom," explores formative assessment as an essential element of student-centered classrooms.

9. 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.

10. Teaching Prepositions to Very Young Learners: The Case of On

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

    The author discusses the benefits of applying cognitive linguistics, L1 acquisition, and neo-Vygotskian (Vygotsky) approaches to the teaching of a second language to young learners, using the example of teaching the preposition “on.” The author briefly reviews how prepositions are taught to adult learners and the challenges of teaching prepositions to young learners. The author then discusses two different meanings of “on” and how Total Physical Response (TPR) activities can be used to help young learners distinguish different meanings of “on.”

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