• Tip of the week: Using videos to teach English
• News: Language Structure Is Partly Determined by Social Structure
• Video:: Teaching Syllables
• eBook: Research in the Language Classroom
• Article: ‘Simulated immersion’ by Duncan M
• Research Paper: ‘An Evaluative Study of Some Online Websites for Learning and Teaching English as a Foreign Language’ by Aly, Mahsoub Abdul-Sadeq
• Lesson Plan: Developing writing skills: A news report
• Download Webinar: Managing classes of primary children in a positive way
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Duncan says, “I have often found that learners of all levels feel that there is inadequate time spent on listening in most language courses. Adult learners often complain that (sometimes) after years of study, they can’t understand native speakers. This is partly because they do not receive adequate exposure to authentic texts in class. Another is that it’s hard to find authentic audio texts that can be easily adapted for classroom use.

To tackle these issues, I have developed an approach to listening based loosely on the way children learn languages. I’ve found this to be hugely advantageous in my own language learning, and have passed it on to my students with considerable success.

Children versus adults – children win
According to estimates (Pinker, S., The Language Instinct, 150-151), an average six year old commands about 13,000 words, equivalent to acquiring a new word every two hours.

Children have huge advantages over adult foreign learners in the classroom – they are constantly exposed to the target language and their brains are optimized for rapid language acquisition.

In this article, I argue for a ‘simulated immersion’ approach. The idea is that learners engage in a variety of different types of listening in their own time, similar to what they would encounter if they were living in an English speaking country. Essentially they are trying to mimic the language learning behaviour of young children.”

Read the rest of ‘Simulated immersion’ article

• Research Paper: ‘FUEL, Functional and Useful English Learning, An EFL Teaching System’ by Joe Drakos
• ELT Resource: UsingEnglish.com
• Interview with Dr Jagdish Joshi
• Article: ‘Using news articles’ by BBC TE Editor
• Download Webinar: Pronunciation in Communication: An aviation Perspective
• Lesson Plan: Learning styles
• Discuss & Vote @ BBC LE: Dictionaries in the classroom
• Free eBook: English as a Second Language in the United Kingdom
• Video: David Crystal – Which English?
• GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
• Feedback.

• ELTWeekly’s ELT, ESL and EFL Events Blog is Live Again!
• Video: Teaching ESL with Technology
• Free eBook: Impact Study of British Council Teaching Centre EFL Classes
• Lesson Plan: How new words are created
• Download Webinar: Integrating content and language – which language?
• Book of the week: ‘500 Activities for the Primary Classroom’ by Carol Read
• Article: ‘Extensive reading: why it is good for our students… and for us’ by Alan Maley
• Resource of the week: ESLFlow.com
• Research Paper: ‘Analysis of Responses of Learners in the Learning Resource Centre’ by Dr. Ravi Bhushan
• GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
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ESLFlow.com was created in 1998 as a resource for researching ESL/EFL ideas and creating lessons/courses as quickly as possible.

Peter Snashall, the founder of this portal, initially used the Internet due to a lack of resources at the school where he  once worked. This is, of course, the situation faced by many teachers around the world.

And increasingly this site has become an experiment in the creative possibilities offered by advanced search techniques. It is also an attempt to offer unencumbered information organisation, layout and navigation. The site is totally a work-in-progress and makes no pretence to being
comprehensive. Rather it aims to explore the endless possibilities offered by the Net….and the direction of the site shifts from month to month as new possibilities spring out of the Net (or my own mind!!).

Teaching ESL with Technology, the benefits of using technology to teach the language that’s unofficially the universal language of internet.

• HAPPY 2010!
• ELTons 2010 Shortlists Announced
• Christmas based ELT Lesson Plan
• Article: ‘Creative writing for language learners (and teachers)’ by Alan Maley
• Free eBook: English as a Second Language in the United Kingdom
• Video 1: Seven Ways of Looking at Grammar
• Video 2: Shaping the Way We Teach English: Introduction
• Research Paper: ‘Teaching Grammar Through Situational Approach’ by Prashant Mishra
• GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
• Feedback.

The ELTons is the only international awards ceremony that rewards the wealth of innovative new English language teaching (ELT) resources that help English language learners and teachers achieve their goals. Find out who has been nominated for an ELTon in the following categories:

- The UK Award for Innovation
- The Cambridge ESOL International Award for Innovation
- The Macmillan Education Award for Innovative Writing

The ELTons are now in their eighth year and the nominees for 2010 have been announced in the following categories:

• The UK Award for Innovation
• The Cambridge ESOL International Award for Innovation
• The Macmillan Education Award for Innovative Writing

Take a look at the entries, nominated by a panel of expert judges, in each of the categories and find out who is in the running to win a prestigious ELTon award at the ceremony which takes place on 3 March 2010 in London.

ELTons 2010 Nominees

There are lots of Christmas activities on the British Council’s site for young learners – LearnEnglish Kids – which you can use with your students during the festive season. You will find all the resources on one page on NEW LearnEnglish Kids: http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/category/topics/christmas

You can also find the resources on these pages:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-topics-christmas.htm
http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-topics-christmas-presents.htm

On this page you will find tips and ideas for using and extending the activities in the classroom.

Story: Santa’s little helper

http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/short-stories/santas-little-helper

Read further at http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/teaching-kids/christmas

Creative writing for language learners (and teachers)

by Alan Maley

Creative writing normally refers to the production of texts which have an aesthetic rather than a purely informative, instrumental or pragmatic purpose. Most often, such texts take the form of poems or stories, though they are not confined to these genres. (Letters, journal entries, blogs, essays, travelogues, etc. can also be more or less creative.) In fact, the line between creative writing (CW) and expository writing (ER) is not carved in stone. In general, however CW texts draw more heavily on intuition, close observation, imagination, and personal memories than ER texts.  

One of the chief distinguishing characteristics of CW texts is a playful engagement with language, stretching and testing its rules to the limit in a guilt-free atmosphere, where risk is encouraged. Such writing combines cognitive with affective modes of thinking. As the poet, R.S. Thomas once wrote, ‘Poetry is that which arrives at the intellect by way of the heart.’ The playful element in CW should not, however be confused with a lax and unregulated use of language. On the contrary, CW requires a willing submission on the part of the writer to the ‘rules’ of the sub-genre being undertaken. If you want to write a Limerick, then you have to follow the rules governing limericks. If not, what you produce will be something other than a limerick: obvious, perhaps, but important too. The interesting thing is that the very constraints which the rules impose seem to foster rather than restrict the creativity of the writer. This apparent paradox is explained partly by the deeper processing of thought and language which the rules require.

Read the complete article ‘Creative writing for language learners (and teachers)’