Resource Description:

A classic short story by Oscar Wilde, especially adapted for English learners. The download also includes a glossary of unfamiliar words, general understanding questions, and detailed grammatical analysis of the text, as well as some literary questions to consider.  Some ideas are including on how short stories could be used by language learners. Audio material is also available. This is one in a series of 60 books for English language learners.

Resource Type: Activities

Resource Description: This conference call is part of a Second Language Writing Interest Section (SLWIS) discussion series. This discussion is facilitated by Ann Johns and focuses on teaching summarizing in Second Language Writing.

Resource Type: Teaching Tips

Resource Description: While the success of Generation 1.5 students has been recognized as a growing challenge for our colleges and universities since the term was first applied to these L2 US high school graduates in 1999, how higher-education institutions can respond to their needs most effectively has not been widely understood. This seminar will cover questions in defining, assessing, supporting and teaching this significant population.

Resource Type: Virtual Seminars

Resource Description: This is a simple yet very impactful board game which can be used to actively involve the learner and energize the learnig environment. The game is called - GUESS WHO .Its a mystery face guessing game with pictures of 24 very different looking people. The aim of the game is to guess the person which the opponent has selected. This is to be done by asking questions (both close ended and open ended). The game can be customised as per the age group of the learners.

Resource Type: Activities

Resource Description: What fashion means to one person will be completely different from the next. Fashion, has always been a fascinating and almost relaxing subject in my class. It is especially popular amongst my female students (trying not to be stereotypical here) . This activity is a step towards a session on ‘Fashion’ for ESL learners with an aim to learn plenty of vocabulary ,adjectives and to be able to confidently present one’s personal views and opinions about fashion and dressing up styles.

Resource Type: Lesson Plans

Resource Description: This is a YouTube channel with free English as a Foreign Language videos lessons: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJDPZQ3ykSD4qM2boqah8rw?sub_confirmation=1

Here you can find grammar lessons, pronunciation lessons, vocabulary lessons, and even a daily video on phrasal verbs.

Resource Type: Teaching Tips

Resource Description: An overview of videos teachers and students can create for the English classroom and for outside of class practice. Plus: Basic filming tips from framing to zooming.

Resource Type: Teaching Tips

Resource Description: In this webinar, participants reflect upon the reasons why flipped classrooms make sense for language teaching classes in the context of language teaching methodologies.  They further learn how flipped classrooms can assist teachers to connect better with their learners.  Participants also learn about essential steps of flipping their language classrooms for better language mastery and student motivation. 

Resource Type: Virtual Seminars

Resource Description:

The test can be used both for assessing and building the linguocultural competence of ESL students. We understand this competence as the ability and readiness to interact with representatives from other cultures, formed on the basis of knowledge about the own and foreign linguocultures, capacity to interpret cultural information in language and skills of communication in accordance with social norms, that all serve to attain the aims of interpersonal communication.

Resource Type: Assessments

Resource Description: A website www.colwords.com with 1200 English Colorful words. Colorful words are common words that sound just a bit funnier that other words. Words such as babble, grunt, cringe, fidget, lurk, and scorch.  Each word is illustrated with one or more sentence and picture.  

Resource Type: Activities

Resource Description: During this innovative seminar, the overlap between Language and Social Justice will be explored. The presenter introduces the theory behind Human Rights Education (HRE), and also demonstrates how the practice of teaching human rights can enrich and empower English Language Learners of all ages. Participants acquire creative ideas for making their classroom instruction more relevant to real-world events.

Resource Type: Virtual Seminars

Resource Description: In this video, veteran video makers from the Video and Digital Media Interest Section (VDMIS) share the equipment they use to make videos.

Resource Type: Teaching Tips

Resource Description: Many empirical investigations have demonstrated that explicit Focus on Form (FOF) methods are more effective than implicit Focus on Meaning (FOM) methods (Norris & Ortega, 2000), because in FOF instruction learners’ attention is drawn to linguistic form while FOM instruction requires learners' attention to communicate (Ellis, 2001). However, this piece of research focused on both the effectiveness and feasibility study of FOF vs. FOM in reading class. In this quasi- experimental study, 20 adult EFL learners of pre-intermediate level were divided into two experimental groups which received two different types of instruction. During a ten-session treatment, the first group was provided with FOF instruction (Dictoglass task), while the second group was provided with FOM instruction (Discussion task). The results revealed a significant difference between two experimental groups. The FOF group scored significantly higher than the FOM group. Regarding the students and teachers’ perspectives towards feasibility of FOF in reading class, the students believed that FOF was feasible in reading classes, while  the teachers were not unanimous in this regard, but towards feasibility of FOM both groups held positive attitudes. Generally, the data revealed that both FOF and FOM have feasibility in reading classes. In terms of feasibility, both methods are equally well- functioning, but as to developing reading skill FOF proved a bit more effective than FOM.

Resource Type: Teaching Tips

Resource Description:

This is a card game used to practice the syntax of causal phrases. The game is based on the party game “Cards Against Humanity” and functions in similar way. This activity is meant to put into practice causal phrases taught at the beginning of class, based on those in found in Unit 18 of Business Benchmark textbook (Brook-Hart, 2013, pp.85-86). The activity was originally designed for a Business English class that prepares students for the Cambridge BULATS exam. Hence, the game has a business theme.

Resource Type: Activities

Resource Description: The edTPA is a student-centered multiple measure assessment of teaching, completed by teacher candidates seeking initial certification in teaching ESOL in several states within the United States. Stanford University faculty and staff at Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) developed edTPA. 

Resource Type: Teaching Tips