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1. Alternatives to Current Pedagogy for Teaching the Present Perfect Progressive

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   These researchers collected 250 samples of spoken and written American English from high-level communicators and analyzed the use of the present perfect progressive tense. They compared these samples to five leading ESL and EFL grammar textbooks. This article reviews the research and findings. The five leading textbooks provided good overall structure for teaching the present perfect progressive tense, but the use of the tense was critically influenced by broad context, adverbs, temporal context and the uses of other tenses including the present and present perfect tense.

2. English Teaching Forum 2008, Volume 46, Number 2

   Format(s): Text

   This issue focuses on Seattle, the second city on our tour this year. Complementing the feature article is a lesson plan on “Seeing Seattle.” Additional articles in this issue discuss interdisciplinary collaboration, two approaches to student-produced videos, student documentaries as language learning tools, using teacher-developed corpora in the CBI classroom, and building vocabulary and improving writing while developing a tourist brochure.

3. Ready-to-use Methodology Materials: Breaking the Teacher-Fronted Cycle in the Classroom

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   This article describes the use of loop input and reflective journals to create a more effective way of teaching and preparing teachers of English-as-a-second-language in Slovakia. The authors of this article, who are also the designers of the technique, discuss how they handled challenges to the course, which included poor student motivation and attendance, and students who expect a teacher-fronted classroom rather than a learner-centered one.

4. English Teaching Forum 2008, Volume 46, Number 3

   Format(s): Text

   This issue’s feature article looks at Miami, Florida, while a companion lesson plan is based on an interactive telenovela. Other topics include the challenges of spelling in English, six practical vocabulary activities, teaching English for and with communities, and making use of simplified novels and their film adaptations.

5. Helping Professionals Prepare Presentations in English for International Conferences

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   This English teacher in Argentina describes how she helped a local doctor prepare for a presentation made in English at an international trade conference held in the United States. The article discusses how the author prepared to work with the specific topic, ophthalmology, the use of cognates in the specialized field, tips for helping the physician with his pronunciation, and the outcome of the presentation.

6. Written Peer Response in L2 Writing

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   This article argues that peer reviews of student writing should be done in writing and orally, as opposed to only in writing or only orally. Peer reviewing usually addresses the organization and style of student writing. The author discusses eight advantages to managing a peer-review process this way.

7. Motivating Students by Modifying Evaluation Methods

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   This author identifies three key elements to student assessment—overly critical correcting, expectations, and competitive scoring—that prevent success in the ESL environment, based on the typical Chinese educational structure. The article discusses several techniques, mostly learner-centered, that a teacher can use to provide effective assessments while also creating an environment of trust, confidence, and fairness, where a student feels safe to take risks.

8. Teacher Resources

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   This section reviews four books. “Teaching English as an International Language” by Sandra McKay relates English teaching to the use of the language around the world. “Humanizing Your Coursework” by Mario Rinvolucri offers 95 activities range from icebreakers and warm-ups to listening, speaking, and looking backwards or forwards. “Testcraft” by Fred Davidson and Brian K. Lynch addresses how to design contextual tests. “Teaching Large Level Multilevel Classes” by Natalie Hess includes 144 activities and 11 principles for teachers to cope with these types of classes.

9. Abstracts from Other Journals

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   In “EAP Issues and Directions,” Ken Hyland and Liz Hamp-Lyons consider elements EAP researchers and teachers face. The challenges and academic needs of EAP, for both students and teachers, are addressed, along with solutions to those challenges. Teaching writing within the legal profession when the student is also an ESL/EFL student is the main topic of “Developing Legal Writing Materials for English Second Language Learners: Problems and Perspectives” by C. N. Candlin, V. K. Bhatia, and C. H. Jensen. The article includes an analysis of textbooks and suggested customized resources.

10. News & Notes

    In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 1 Format(s): Text

    This entry tells readers that audio from vinyl records included in Forum over 20 years ago is now available free via the Internet at www.antimoon.com. The audio files includes shaggy dog jokes and a train story. There is also an announcement of a new journal, the Journal of English for Academic Purposes, which started last year to keep EAP teachers and researchers up to date.

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