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1. Using Story Jokes for Real Communication

   In: English Teaching Forum 2012, Volume 50, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   English language teachers all face the obstacle of getting their students to speak in conversational English. This article, originally published in 1996, explores the use of jokes as a way to get natural conversation going in and out of the classroom and provides activities for teachers to use with their students.

2. Turning Logic-Grid Puzzles into a Communicative Activity

   In: English Teaching Forum 2022, Volume 60, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   The author, Gavin Young, offers a detailed guide showing how to create custom-made logic-grid puzzles and how to present and use them in class to promote learners’ speaking, listening, and thinking skills. The author uses an original puzzle he created as a working example throughout the article.

3. Pragmatics of Complaining

   In: English Teaching Forum 2017, Volume 55, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   This article presents twelve activities for teaching the pragmatics of complaining, including strategies, tasks, and specific scenarios.

4. TRY THIS Skim, Scan, Run

   In: English Teaching Forum 2018, Volume 56, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   Here is a step-by-step guide to getting students out of their seats and moving around – and skimming and scanning reading texts.

5. Classroom Activities

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

   This piece offers three activities that give students practice with vocabulary, grouping of similar terms, the use of future and present tenses, and identifying grammatical categories such as adjectives, verbs, and nouns.

6. Classroom Activities

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

   This section presents two stand-alone language-learning activities related to cars.

7. 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.

8. Using VOA Special English to Improve Advanced English Learners' Productive Use of High Frequency Words

   In: English Teaching Forum 2009, Volume 47, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This article focuses on advanced ESL learners’ acquisition of the spelling, pronunciation, and comprehension of high-frequency words at the productive skill level rather than at the receptive skill level. It discusses the use of the Voice of America (VOA) Special English program to expose learners to different activities requiring productive skills. The article offers examples of how the VOA program exposes learners to comprehensible input through high-frequency words and helps them produce these words both in writing and speaking.

9. Lesson Plan - Virginia: Jamestown and Its People (Volume 47, Issue 3)

   In: English Teaching Forum 2009, Volume 47, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   The lesson plan “Virginia: Jamestown and Its People” consists of two parts using Jamestown, a historical site in Virginia, and several of its famous figures as the source for classroom activities. Part I activities are about the site including a brief history of Jamestown and its artifacts as a basis for writing and speaking activities, while the second part focuses on some famous figures who lived there as a basis for listening and writing activities.

10. A Questionnaire Project: Integrating the Four Macro Skills with Critical Thinking

    In: English Teaching Forum 2007, Volume 45, Number 1 Format(s): Text

    This article describes the steps of a questionnaire project that uses listening, speaking, reading and writing while developing interpretation skills and self-regulation. The project creates survey questions, collects and analyzes data, and reports results. While students work in groups, they have opportunities to brainstorm, express opinions, and ask for clarification. The article includes tips on time constraints, evaluation of data, participation, and topic selection.

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