Click Here to DOWNLOAD ELTWeekly Issue#18 in PDF Format

- Quote of the week

- Worldwide ELT news

- Video of the week: Anecdotes in the ELT classroom: Sue Kay & Vaughan Jones

- Word of the week: extremophile

- Blog of the week: Alex Case’s TEFLastic Blog

- Request ELT Webinars

- Article: Integration of Skills in English Language Teaching By Prof (Dr) Shefali Bakshi

- Article: 15 ways of combining listening and reading By Alex Case

Click Here to DOWNLOAD ELTWeekly Issue#18 in PDF Format

- Cool ELT resources

- Book of the week: Teaching Reading to English Language Learners: Differentiated Literacies

- Research paper: The Ecology of Communicative Language Teaching: Reflecting on the Singapore Experience

- Article: Word Structure By Dr.Pushpa Nagini Sripada

- Article: Learning-to-Learn: Vocabulary Mapping By Karenne Sylvester

- Subscriber space: Research paper By Maleeheh Mousavi

- Worldwide ELT events

- Your Feedback.

Click Here to DOWNLOAD ELTWeekly Issue#18 in PDF Format

TEFLtastic with Alex Case

Tefltastic is loaded with the variety of resources for the teacher of English. Alex Case has posted multiple blogs and articles. He covers almost all the topics in relation to the teaching methodology. However, he has focused more on the linguistic areas useful in teaching English language.

Apart from linguistics he has also contributed a lot in the other areas such as how to deal with the students with different capabilities and students with some common problems i.e. shyness, hesitation, etc. Importantly, he also proposes few creative and innovative ways of teaching in the classroom.

In addition to this he also discusses various teaching methodology in different countries of the world. Hence, he discusses the problems faced by the teacher in the foreign country and how to overcome those problems with ease.

Indeed, for the teachers of English the blog created by him is full of worth. Lets see some of the topics he has discussed in his blog and some of is articles. The topics of various blog posts are as bellow.

• Corpus linguistics
• Discourse analysis
• EIL (English as an International Language)
• ELF- English as a Lingua Franca
• evolutionary linguistics
• Good language learners
• Teaching English Abroad
• Alternative teaching techniques
• Functional language
• ELT publishing
• and more.

To conclude I would say that he touches upon multiple issues related to the modern style of teaching. Importantly, he also shows in his posts how body language can create an effective teaching in the classroom and its significance in the classroom management. 

Alex’s TEFLastic blog is available at http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/blog/     

extremophile • \ik-STREE-muh-fyle\ – noun

meaning: an organism that lives under extreme environmental conditions

example: ”Cold-loving extremophiles could show us what kinds of creatures might live … in parts of the solar system previously thought uninhabitable.”

To know more about the word ‘extremophile’, please visit: http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Apr.01.2009

Dr. Ranganayaki Srinivas has launched the ‘Webinar Course Just For You’ program. She designs each webinar on a specific topic based on participants’ needs.

Dr. Ranganayaki says, “What is the specific webinar course you are looking for? Post your questions on which I can conduct a webinar course specially for you. Vote for the questions submitted by others. I will conduct webinars on the most voted questions.

Please do not submit general questions. We are looking for specific questions that can be discussed in a 60-minute webinar session. You and 9 other people can participate in a webinar and discuss a very specific question for which you are trying to find the answer. ”

If you wish to have a webinar focusing English Language Teaching, please visit http://www.webinarreviews.org/webinar-request.html and submit your request.

About Dr. Ranganayaki Srinivas

Dr. Ranganayaki Srinivas, an ESL specialist, has been working online after VRS. She started with a teaching English site. She has been involved in projects with many online marketers. Webinars and web conferences appeal to her idea of distance learning and continuing education. Hence her latest projects have been related to gathering information about webinars, web meetings and web conferencing services.

Visit http://www.webinarreviews.org

Integration of Skills in English Language Teaching

By Prof (Dr) Shefali Bakshi

Integration of skills is a very important practice in the teaching of any language. No skill can be taught in isolation and segregation. There exists a deep, profound and inseparable connection between language use and the context in which it is entrenched and embedded. A kind of connectedness exists in the way we use the primary skills of language, identified as listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The teacher faced with a set of predetermined and prearranged curricula and prescribed textbooks, what most of them do, is to place additional and extra emphasis on a specific skill designated for a specific class, while helping learners freely to use all the skills necessary for successfully carrying out a classroom activity. Even if the class is supposed to focus on one specific skill at a time, teachers and learners do the inevitable, namely, follow an integrated approach. By designing and using micro strategies that integrate language skills, we will be assisting learners to engage in classroom activities that involve a meaningful and simultaneous engagement with language in use.  A discussion with examples from text can be initiated and participants can individually work on them. Let us take an example of teaching a poem to class I students, which is an authentic literary piece. It has not been simplified for the suitability of learners of primary section. 

The skills of Listening and Speaking are the primary skills to be taught in the poem ‘Frogs at School”. But without mentioning to the pupils, the teacher can integrate so many other skills, which would be useful at a later stage to the students. When we begin the poem, the number system can be explained with twenty being linked to the plural form of‘s’. Such as ‘froggies’, coats, vests. The singular form like ‘pool’ can be easily linked to the use of the article ‘a’. Thus more examples at this point can be mentioned in order to drill the number system. The direct speech can be brought to attention at how when we talk, it must be put in quote marks. Adjectives such as ‘rushy’ ‘green’ ‘white’ etc can also be compared and contrasted with their opposites. Thus in this way the teaching of grammar is integrated while teaching this poem. I encourage you to look into many other aspects of grammar.

New vocabulary words such as pet name ‘froggies’, and then ‘rushy’ ‘vests’ and so on can be explained and pupils can be encouraged to give such kind of words.

Association of the poem and the picture must be developed by making the learners observe the following aspects. There are total 20 frogs in the picture too. It has been observed that the children actually count and they cannot be deceived, or made to doubt the teaching material as the base is being developed. There has to exist a kind of trust between the learner and the lesson. The ‘coats of green’ is not actually the coat but the outer skin of the frogs. Same goes with the inner white skin. Thus the aesthetic and creativity of the poet can be discussed with the pupils in a simple language and similie of such kind can be asked to vent the child’s imagination.

Last but not the least; we must draw the attention of the learner towards the good habits to be inculcated in them. Neatness of school uniform, punctuality, the rules to be followed, first the pupil studies and then only can play and so on. If the teacher gives moral lessons directly then they would not be so effective, but in this case the pupil would feel if froggies can do it then why can’t I??   

The poem is of the same level of the child. It refers to a genuine problem faced by teachers, pupils and parents. It takes the learner outside the classroom and he can relate it to his own condition and situation. Thus this is a great opportunity of inculcating so many ideas and thoughts in the minds of the learners, beside tone, intonation, rhyming sounds, rhythm, and so on, which may be looked into while teaching the skills of Speaking and Listening. Reading will automatically come when the teacher and learner are reading and assimilating the whole poem. Later they can be asked to write too, if need be. Thus while teaching the feelings of the poet have to be transferred to the learners in order to gain maximum from the learning material.

[This has been practically practiced in the classrooms and with effective results. Do suggest any other ideas that come to your mind.].

Prof (Dr) Shefali Bakshi is the Deputy Director at Amity School of Languages. She has done a Project on “A Study of Verbal Interaction in Waiting for Godot” for the M.A. degree and has ompleted her PhD thesis on “A Study of Verbal Interaction in the plays of Samuel Beckett” for the Degree of Ph.D. at University of Lucknow, India. She has conducted over 75 workshops on ELT with St. Edmunds College in Shillong, with Ratna Sagar in Lucknow, with University of Yemen in Republic of Yemen and with Orient Longman and Macmillan in various parts of India for school teachers and principals. 

** ELTWeekly would like to thank Prof (Dr) Shefali Bakshi for contributing this article.

15 ways of combining listening and reading

By Alex Case

Copyright 2009 Alex Case/ TEFL.net, republished with permission.

1. Radio news

Many sites that offer streaming or downloadable radio news also have a short text summarizing the story. Reading this before listening will make comprehension easier, especially if students discuss what they read and/ or think about what they might hear before they listen. Reading first also allows students to look up some of the difficult vocabulary in their dictionaries. In class, tasks that combine the two include predicting what extra information will be given in the listening text, writing questions that they still want answered after reading the text and listening for the answers, and expanding the written text with the information in the listening text.

2. Graded reader plus CD

Most graded readers (= easy readers- simplified and shortened books of stories etc especially for language learners) nowadays have some kind of recording. I usually recommend that students read through the whole book without the CD, then read and listen at the same time to check the pronunciation, then just listen to the CD on their MP3 player as many times as they can bear. If the whole class has a set of one particular graded reader you could do more interesting things like playing the first part of the story before they start reading to get them interested in the whole story. With a range of different books, students could listen to a short extract of each book and decide from that which book they would like to take home.

3. Movie with subtitles

The advantages of having English subtitles include being able to easily look things up in a dictionary and learning the spelling and pronunciation at the same time. There is occasionally an argument for watching the film with subtitles in their own language, as understanding what is going on will make comprehension and so memorizing of the language easier the second time they watch it. The disadvantages with having any kind of subtitles are that students will come to rely on them and will get too used to being able to understand every word rather than pick out the message. In a similar way to the recommendation for graded readers above, I usually suggest watching the first time with English subtitles and the second time without. They will eventually need to work their way up to watching a film or episode of a TV series with no subtitles the first time too, and this can be made easier with careful selection of what they watch (e.g. the next episode of a series they know well or a film they already know the story of because they have read the book) or by turning the subtitles on every time they get completely lost and then back off when they know what is going on.

Read the remaining 12 ways at http://edition.tefl.net

Alex Case has been a teacher, teacher trainer, Director of Studies, ELT writer and editor in Turkey, Thailand, Spain, Greece, Italy, Japan, UK and now Korea, and writes TEFLtastic blog (www.tefl.net/alexcase)

*ELTWeekly would like to thank Alex Case for contributing this article.

*** Teacher of English.com ***

Teacher of English.com is the UK’s premiere online PowerPoint based GCSE English resources website for teaching English at KS2, KS3 and KS4 GCSE English.

Teacher of English provides editable teaching resources, PowerPoint lesson plans and schemes of work for teachers of English Language and English Literature. All their resources are developed and produced by practising English specialists and, as an online resource, Teacher-of-English.com is continually expanding.  Their resources include reading, (poetry, prose, drama, media, non-fiction) writing and speaking & listening.  

Their extensive range of English and Literature resources cover coursework, examination and revision tasks on a wide range of set texts, authors, playwrights and poets.  Users of Teacher of English have access to thousands of completely editable teaching PowerPoint resources covering all aspects of English at KS2, KS3 and KS4 GCSE English, so you can tweak, personalise and differentiate as much as you like.  Why not come on in and take a closer look?

Based in Bolton, UK Teacher of English was established in 2008 with the intention to provide the finest ICT based English resources on the web.  Including GCSE English Resources, KS2 English, KS3 English and KS4 English.

Explore Teacher of English.com at http://www.teacher-of-english.com

—————————————————————-

*** ESLgold.com ***

ESLgold.com gives you the opportunity to practice your English language skills in many ways. If you’re a beginner, you can start by checking out our vocabulary pages, where you can see, hear, and say new words in English. If you need some help with grammar, listening, or reading, you can look through hundreds of pages of explanations, examples, and exercises or browse through the quiz links section. If you want some conversation practice, you can find a study buddy, tutor, or teacher in our speaking partner program.

Need some help with TOEFL or TOEIC*? Check out our TOEFL / TOEIC section. How aboutpronunciation or idioms practice? Want to improve your Business English speaking and writing skills? We have an extensive list of useful expressions for business encounters as well asphrases for conversation along with situations and topics for pair and group discussion.

All materials on ESLgold.com are free of charge and organized by skill and level for quick and easy access. In addition to its free online resources, ESLgold provides you withrecommendations for great textbooks, and even an online book exchange, where you can buy and sell used books.

Looking for a great place to study English? We have a huge list of schools in the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, and other areas, where you can find the perfect English course for yourself, your children, or your friends and colleagues.

Explore ESLgold.com at http://www.eslgold.com

—————————————————————-

*** Teachable.net ***

Teachable.net delivers first-class resources to teachers on the front line who need extra material and don’t want to go searching ‘the web’ to find it.  Whether it is a polished Powerpoint presentation or a worksheet and activity for a cover lesson,  we hope you can find it on this site.

How does it work

You can browse and search for relevant resources by subject, topic, age group and ability level.  All the most relevant resources are then displayed, clearly ranked by the “teachability” of the resource:  the aim is to make it as quick as possible to find the best material.

Of course, there are lots of free sites out there with a mixed offering of downloads, but we think there are some good reasons to pay for the downloads here:

1.  Good things don’t come for free:  ever searched on Google for hours only to find you could have done better yourself.  By paying you get the best quality.

2.  Teachable.net net is very easy to use.  One click to search and one click to download.

3.  Costs less than the price of a coffee per downloaded lesson (and we’re not even factoring in a cappuccino!)… and half of that goes back to reward the contributing teacher.

You can preview everything before you download the full version, and when you do download the full version we grant you a Creative Commons license the right to copy and share the resource (for educational use).  When you create an account we even store the downloads you have selected under My Downloads, so there’s no more searching around on your hard-drive for the file you downloaded last week.

Explore Teachable.net at http://www.teachable.net

Teaching Reading to English Language Learners: Differentiated Literacies

By Socorro Herrera

Book Description

This is a practical, research-based text designed to guide teachers in the development and implementation of programs for second language learners.    This text blends theory and practice to provide grade-level and ESL teachers with the tools they need to differentiate literacy instruction for ELL students.    pre-service teachers.

From the Back Cover

Finally!  A new and different guide to creating successful literacy programs for English language learners! 

Teaching Reading to English Language Learners: Differentiated Literacies is a unique text that stresses meaning and relevance as the basis for all instructional activities and strategies for reading and writing instruction to be effective for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students.  Respected authors Herrera, Perez and Escamilla argue that if meaning is at the center, it is not necessary to delay literacy instruction in English while students are learning to understand and speak the language. 

Practical and research-based, Teaching Reading to English Language Learners: Differentiated Literacies is organized around the major findings from the National Reading Panel Report and addresses a critical national need for teachers to have new and better information on addressing the literacy needs of ELLs. Eloquently, the authors tackle the need to move the field beyond the current ‘one size fits all’ paradigm and toward a broader view of how to create meaningful, relevant, and effective literacy programs for CLD students.
 

Features of the book:

• Discusses in detail how current techniques and approaches must be modified for ELLs.
• Strategies in Practice features exemplify the ways teachers can convert research into practical applications for their daily instructional practice with ELL students.
• Each chapter begins with an outline of major concepts and pedagogy from the viewpoint of ‘best practice’ for monolingual English students.
• New MyEducationLab created specifically to accompany Teaching Reading to English Language Learners: Differentiated Literaciesprovides lesson video clips that illustrate content concepts and provide examples of strategies in practice.
• Student Samples from multiple grade levels and language backgrounds have been included to illustrate the applications of strategies in practice.
• Teacher Voices are included to highlight teacher insights associated with the accommodation of literacy instruction for ELLs.
• Includes a brief overview of the approaches to reading instruction for alphabetic languages, and a review of the research findings from two major syntheses of research on literacy–teaching and learning.

Outstanding Endorsements for Teaching Reading to English Language Learners:

“I think this book is superb.  The concepts are appropriately balanced between language acquisition and reading development in the capacity of best practice. The Critical Considerations before the content of the chapters is excellent and develops logically.  I like that focus. The classroom scenarios presented throughout the book create an authentic picture of what it is like to have an EL in your classroom.” – Cheryl A. Slattery, Shippensburg University

“Strategies in action and samples of student work are very positive features of this text — the kinds of features that will make the text accessible to pre- and in-service teachers Games and activities throughout are excellent.  Scenarios, Key Theories and Concepts, end-of-chapter questions and other tools are very helpful.”  – Kimberley Kreicker, Emporia State University”  –This text refers to the Paperback edition. 

Book Details

• Paperback: 289 pages
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon (January 19, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0137147708
• ISBN-13: 978-0137147700
• Price: $47.24

Teaching Reading to English Language Learners: Differentiated Literacies (with MyEducationLab) (MyEducationLab Series)

The Ecology of Communicative Language Teaching: Reflecting on the Singapore Experience

By Zhang, Lawrence Jun

Source: Online Submission, Paper presented at the Annual CELEA International Conference (Guangzhou, China, Nov 11-13, 2006)

Publication Date: 2006-11-11

Pages: 14

Abstract

This paper addresses the ecology of communicative language teaching (CLT) by reflecting on the Singapore experience. It reviews how CLT was conceptualized, advocated and implemented in stages/phases as reflected in the different syllabuses by the Ministry of Education, Singapore.

In anchoring the discussion against a historical backdrop and examining the ecology and evolution of English language teaching in Singapore, it focuses on two English Language syllabuses published in 1991 and 2001 respectively.

It illustrates the operational issues in reference to the two syllabuses, with a focus on the ecology of such pedagogical innovations and how the ecological nature of CLT is mirrored in the syllabuses.

Highlighting issues such as mismatches between what the syllabus documents stipulate and what practitioners bring into English language classrooms and how success in implementation can be achieved when training is provided timely, it also discusses theory-practice connection and the integration issue that is most often debated in the teacher-education literature.

It concludes with a discussion of possible implications of the Singapore CLT experience for ELT in China. (Contains 1 table, 2 figures, and 1 footnote.)

To access the full paper, please visit: http://www.eric.ed.gov

The authors of the Inside Out coursebooks talk about the use of Anecdotes for speaking practice in the ELT classroom.

For more information see www.insideout.net or www.macmillanenglish.com.