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1. 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.

2. 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.

3. Football: Action on the Gridiron

   In: English Teaching Forum 2010, Volume 48, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   This issue features an in-depth article on the history, mechanics, gameplay, culture, and appeal of American football as well as a piece on America's yearly big event (the Super Bowl). There are powerful, dynamic sports photographs and descriptive, numbers-based explanations of how to play. The historical context reveals that football is not purely an American creation. A discussion of current-day football describes it as an event instead of just a game. A vocabulary section is also included so that students can learn how to 'talk football.'

4. The E-pet: Enhancing Motivation in E-portfolios

   In: English Teaching Forum 2009, Volume 47, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   The authors wanted to make EAP portfolios more engaging and personal for students, so they introduced an e-pet to accompany the online portfolio program. The e-pet (much like a tamagotchi) grows from an egg into adulthood when the students interact with it through portfolio submissions. Teachers reported that students were enthusiastic about the e-portfolio and the e-pet. Student questionnaires showed a similar trend, with several students saying that the e-pet made the portfolio project motivating. The article includes directions for e-portfolio design.

5. To Teach Standard English or World Englishes? A Balanced Approach to Instruction

   In: English Teaching Forum 2009, Volume 47, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   What is Standard English? This article talks about the problem in defining this term. Teaching the standard inner-circle varieties of English may devalue students' local English, but the authors note that teaching the local variety may cause problems for students who need to talk with non-local speakers. The solution is a balanced approach that is culturally and contextually sensitive, values learner language, and prepares students for intercultural communication. Example activities are provided.

6. Lesson Plan: Greetings from Sunny New Mexico

   In: English Teaching Forum 2009, Volume 47, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   The New Mexico lesson plan for this issue is a self-contained 1 1/4 to 2 hour lesson with a complete pre- during- post framework for interacting with the main text - a letter from a friend living in New Mexico. The focus here is on the vocabulary and grammar of description (e.g., words for scenery and weather, relative "that" clauses). Extension activities are provided for multi-session lessons (e.g., written response, class survey).

7. Student Documentaries: A Language Learning Tool

   In: English Teaching Forum 2008, Volume 46, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   This article describes the reasons for project-based learning and how it better motivates students in an EFL classroom. It illustrates this topic by presenting a documentary film project that was carried out in a high-intermediate EFL class in Saudi Arabia. The article summarizes the theoretical support for communicative language learning and project-based approaches. The author then describes the documentary film project in detail and presents an evaluation of the project based on Simkins et al.’s (2002) framework of evaluation for multimedia projects.

8. Building Vocabulary and Improving Writing while Developing a Tourist Brochure

   In: English Teaching Forum 2008, Volume 46, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   This article describes how creating a tourist brochure can help students improve their vocabulary and writing skills. The author describes how to plan writing lessons based on the creation of a brochure: viewing videos, planning the brochure, writing the brochure, getting feedback and rewriting, and displaying the brochure. In the conclusion, the author highlights the benefits of the activity as providing opportunities for contextualized writing and vocabulary learning.

9. Teaching English for and with Communities

   In: English Teaching Forum 2008, Volume 46, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This article is a reflection of English teaching in Chiclayo, Peru, at a not-for-profit cultural center. It starts with a brief explanation of the authors’ desire to help transform the community through English teaching. The article then explains the concept of civic education and offers a three-tiered approach that has been designed to help the community: Chiclayo reads, summer institute for k-12 English teachers, and the advanced curriculum. The implementation and results of the projects are discussed.

10. VoIM-Mediated Cooperative Tasks for English Language Learners

    In: English Teaching Forum 2008, Volume 46, Number 4 Format(s): Text

    This article discusses how computer-mediated communication, negotiation of meaning, and cooperative task-based learning can be combined in a VoIM-mediated activity to benefit language learners. The author starts with a brief review of how the three aspects of learning can benefit language learners. The author then describes a VoIM-mediated cooperative task. The rest of the article explains how to set up the activity, including technical requirements, planning in eight stages, and materials selection.

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