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1. Looking for the Big Picture: Macrostrategies for L2 Teacher Observation and Feedback

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

   The authors describe the typical type of teacher observation and assessment used today -- top down, one-way communication from supervisor to teacher that looks at the weaknesses in the teaching. The authors believe that observation and feedback can be something more. They present six strategies for supervisors (e.g., recognizing subjectiveness, talking across the data, providing alternatives and resources). Additional suggestions include structured intervention and supervisor portfolios.

2. Abstracts from Other Journals

   In: English Teaching Forum 2002, Volume 40, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   "Abstracts from Other Journals” discusses three articles on different issues related to second or foreign language teaching. The first is Diane Slaouti’s “The World Wide Web for Academic Purposes: Old Study Skills for New” (English for Specific Purposes). The second is Jasone Cenoz’s “Age Differences in Foreign Language Learning” ( I.T.L. Review of Applied Linguistics). The third is Deborah Schaffer’s “The Story of e-“ (English Today: The International Review of the English Language).

3. Renewable Energy

   In: English Teaching Forum 2002, Volume 40, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   This article, aimed at high intermediate to advanced readers, discusses the use of renewable energy. It presents a brief history on the source and types of energy. It then focuses on recent developments including solar, biomass, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal energy. The article discusses the future of renewable energy and provides some suggestions on how to improve it.

4. The Lighter Side

   In: English Teaching Forum 2002, Volume 40, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   The Lighter Side in this issue has three parts. “Scrambled Energy Words” is an unscrambling-the-words activity using vocabulary related to energy. “Energy Jokes and Puns” has jokes related to energy, and “Energy Idioms” contains idioms related to energy.

5. Ten Great Low-Cost Teaching Tools

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

   Teachers are asked to do a lot with few resources. Some teachers must move quickly from school to school throughout the day. This article describes the teaching bag, which is made to help teachers be effective and save money. The author's teaching tools are lightweight, affordable, and multi-purposed. They include the expected (e.g., scissors and scratch paper, colored markers) as well as the more unique (e.g., sticky putty, pizza box lids).

6. 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.'

7. Lesson Plan: Athletes, Actions, and Adjectives

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

   People who are very familiar with American football and those completely unfamiliar with it can benefit from the interactive, communicative activities presented in this lesson plan. Students can analyze examples from the NFL and create their own team names, team logos, and player descriptions. Ideas for teaching adjectives and body parts are also provided. In the spirit of the game, the plan features quick, lively group activities, all under 50 minutes each.

8. The Lighter Side: Football Transformers

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

   This issue's The Lighter Side introduces a word game with a football related theme.

9. Integrating Indigenous Cultures into English Language Teaching

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

   The authors present a variety of EFL lesson plans focused on various cultures of the world (e.g., Bantu storytelling, Maori tattoos, Native American star quilts). Teachers are encouraged to help students connect with their own cultures to keep them alive.

10. Mind Mirror Projects: A Tool for Integrating Critical Thinking into the English Language Classroom

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

    Students often have difficulty 'reading between the lines.' This article suggests the use of mind mirror activities as a tool to improve students' critical thinking and learning skills (e.g., analysis, categorization, clarification, inferencing). The author describes a successful five-day group project from his own classroom that ended in students sharing their work through poster presentations.

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