Advanced Search: Resources

1. Using Replacement Performance Role-Plays in the Language Classroom

   In: English Teaching Forum 2007, Volume 45, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   Replacement performance role plays are a different type of role play. Rather than memorizing or writing a dialogue, this activity asks learners to listen and consider other possible responses. Students decide which character will be replaced and what they will do differently. Even shy learners or ones with lower proficiency levels can be involved because it is less overwhelming than writing a dialogue. The activity develops pragmatic competence and critical thinking skills. Popular TV shows can be used.

2. Picture This – Name It!

   In: Activate Games for Learning American English: Picture This Format(s): Text

   In Name It!, players take turns using English to describe the items or ideas pictured on the Picture This cards. I

3. VOA: English in a Minute

   Format(s): Video, Website

   Looking for ways to improve your listening skills and learn English idioms? Check out Voice of America's English in a Minute and listen to brief video clips that explain American English colloquialisms.

4. Casey

   In: American Teens Talk! Format(s): MP3, Text

   What would it be like to be homeschooled? Read and listen to Casey tell her story of going to school at home.

5. Language Anxiety & Classroom Dynamics: A Study of Adult Learners

   In: English Teaching Forum 2002, Volume 40, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   This article discusses the characteristics and needs of adult foreign language learners in terms of the quality of the learning environment in the classroom. It tries to answer what classroom dynamics mean and whether teachers can control and shape it. The article discusses the sources of anxiety and inhibition in the classroom and presents the traits of good classroom dynamics that make the learning environment more relaxed and learner friendly.

6. Changing Homework Habits: Rethinking Attitudes

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

   There are a number of reasons why students forget, ignore, or reject homework, but what can a teacher do to encourage students to complete homework? The author argues that students' habits are a reflection of the teacher's attitudes about homework. The article introduces eight points that can help create a more homework-positive classroom. They include assigning the right amount of homework, always remembering to correct homework, accepting late submissions, and changing the time during the lesson you assign homework.

7. Classroom Techniques: Counseling and Oral Communication

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

   This article addresses a social divide that occurs between university students who have attended English secondary schools and those who have not. The lower proficiency students tend to be from lower socio-economic status and hesitate to speak because they fear humiliation. This article reminds instructors that low-proficiency learners need a safe place to make mistakes and build confidence. As an icebreaker, students discuss what hinders them from speaking to an audience. They then give speeches introducing themselves. Finally, they give a formal speech.

8. Effective Grammar Teaching: Balancing Input and Output

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

   This session, "Effective Grammar Teaching: Balancing Input and Output," aims to help you enrich classroom time by examining how to incorporate the practice of real language into grammar lessons.

9. CAR: A Means for Motivating Students to Read

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

   This article addresses the relationship between motivational approaches and second language reading development. It discusses competence, autonomy, and relatedness (CAR) as instructional strategies to teach reading. Competence is established when learners feel they can do the task, autonomy is established when they feel they have the control over it, and relatedness is established when tasks are related to each other. The article suggests ways to use these ideas in the classroom.

10. 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.

Pages