Teaching English with the help of the World Wide Web

Online resources for teachers

#1 Creating quizzes (and more) online

There are countless web sites devoted to teachers who want to create quizzes,
games, and other activities. They vary from those that just provide the online tools to
create and then print a worksheet, to those designed for teachers to create activities
online for use by students online.

Below are three examples. By conducting a search on your favorite search engine
(“free online teacher authoring,” “create language lessons online,” – experiment with
the phrasing until you get the results you want) you will discover many others. Happy
surfing!

www.edict.com.hk/clozemaker/
This site allows teachers to make cloze exercises and offers samples,
including a series of simple dialogues for use in speaking practice. Start with
the helpful tutorial.
http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/halfbaked/
“The Hot Potatoes suite includes six applications, enabling you to create
interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword,
matching/ordering and gap-fill exercises for the World Wide Web. Hot
Potatoes is not freeware, but it is free of charge for those working for publicly-
funded non-profit-making educational institutions, who make their pages
available on the web.”
www.quia.com
QUIA allows you to make your own quizzes, games, cloze exercises and
more. There is a free thirty-day trial period, long enough to gain experience
and create a wealth of activities for your students. If you decide you can’t live
without QUIA, a subscription is $49 US per year.
# 2 Vocabulary Builders

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Are you (or your students) looking for an easy way to enlarge your vocabulary? There
are several websites which will send you a new word every day by e-mail. The
formats vary, but most such sites include sample sentences to give you a good idea
of proper usage. My favorite sites draw these sample sentences from actual
magazine and news articles. Have a look at the following examples (along with a
taste of the type of information you receive when you subscribe).
Most sites also include etymological information, and some include a link to a sound
file with the pronunciation. By the way, the subscriptions are free – though you will
find inducements on most sites to sign up for unnecessary “premium” subscriptions,
which do incur a charge.
Finally, you’ll find that many word-of-the-day sites have useful (and free) resources
for teachers, including ready-to-use vocabulary activities.

http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/

heretic (HER-i-tik) noun - One who holds unorthodox or unconventional beliefs.

adjective - Not conforming to established beliefs. [From Middle English heretik, from
Middle French heretique, from Late Latin haereticus, from Greek hairetikos (able to
choose), from haireisthai (to choose).] "(George) Keithley offers a portrait of a Galileo
who is anything but a heretic: In these poems, we glimpse a devout, spiritual Galileo
who, because of the wonders of the sky, is vigilant and in awe of the 'divine creator'."
Jenny Boully; Keithley's The Starry Messenger; Maisonneuve (Montreal, Canada);
Sep 12, 2004.

http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/affray \uh-FRAY\, noun:

A tumultuous assault or quarrel; a brawl. An Irish soldier was stabbed with a boar
spear by a German mercenary in 1544 during an affray that followed Henry VIII's
capture of Boulogne.

--James Williams, "Hunting, hawking and the early Tudor gentleman," History
Today, August 2003Affray comes from Old French esfrei, from esfreer, "to
disquiet, to frighten."

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/mwwod.pl

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metonymy • \muh-TAH-nuh-mee\ • noun
: a figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another
of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated
Example sentence:
American journalists employ metonymy whenever they say "the White House" in
place of "the president and his administration."

Did you know?

When Mark Antony asks the people of Rome to lend him their ears in William
Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, he is employing the rhetorical device known as
metonymy. Derived via Latin from the Greek "metōnymia" (from "meta-," meaning
"among, with, after" and "onyma," meaning "name"), metonymy often appears in
news articles and headlines, such as when journalists use the term "crown" to refer to
a king or queen.

# 3 Online discussion groups for English teachers

Do you have a suggestion for your colleagues who teach English? Or perhaps you’re
searching for information and don’t know where to find it. Maybe you have a concern
about something happening in your classroom and you’d like to discuss it with other
professionals. Help may be around the corner, or halfway around the world, but with
a few mouse clicks you can find like-minded teachers to chat with on virtually any
topic.
Below I’ve listed a few examples of education-oriented discussion groups (listservs).
They welcome your contributions, regardless of your level of computer experience.

http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/~tesl-l/

This listserv with about 30,000 members also has six special-interest branches,
including those devoted to ESP and ICT.

http://www.alt-usage-english.org/

As the URL suggests, this is devoted to questions of usage in English.

http://lists.topica.com/dir/?cid=2196

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This is a master list of discussion groups for English teachers.

# 4 Grammar headaches – and how to cure them

Are your participles dangling? Your infinitives split? Students bugging you for
explanations about the difference between that and which? If the answer to your
question is not right on the shelf, or you’d like to get a second opinion, check out the
three very different resources below. And, as always, this is not a comprehensive list.
Perform your own search and you’re sure to come up with an even broader variety of
online resources to help with grammar questions.

http://linguistlist.org/ask-ling/index.html

Offering more than just grammar help, a staff of dedicated linguists provides detailed
answers on a message board to an amazing variety of language-related questions.
You could spend all day just reading the inquiries and responses.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/
This site functions as a detailed and comprehensive online grammar text book, with
many useful explanations, examples, and exercises. This site would serve well the
student who is looking to develop a self-study program or to supplement what is
taught in class.

grammar@email.arizona.edu
Not a website. Just the e-mail address for the Center for English as a Second
Language at the University of Arizona, where a qualified instructor promises to
respond to your questions.

#5 Resources for New Teachers

Are you new to teaching? The wealth of online resources available to those new to
classroom teaching is seemingly endless. Below are three such sites. Much of what’s
available is also invaluable for those who have years of experience in the classroom.

http://www.electricteacher.com/newteacher/

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This site offers lists of links in easy-to-use categories divided by topic and grade
level. Here’s you’ll find tips for the beginning of the school year, book lists, interactive
sites, and much much more.

http://www.inspiringteachers.com/community/webpages.html
Among many other resources, including an archive of articles on topics such as
curriculum development and classroom management, this site offers teachers to the
opportunity to build their own web pages, along with a great deal of technical support.

http://www.teachersfirst.com/new-tch.shtml#
“TeachersFirst is a collection of original content, Internet resources, and lesson plans
drawn from around the world. Each resource is selected and reviewed by one of
TeachersFirst’s reviewers, all of whom have classroom teaching experience.
Reviewed resources are grouped by subject and grade level, so that teachers can
find what they need quickly.”

#6 Education publications online

There are countless e-publications devoted to the field of teaching. Among them are
newsletters of a general nature, while others are more scholarly journals which hone
in on quite narrow aspects of the field of education. The beauty of the information
contained in such publications is that it is often more timely than what is found on
other websites. Moreover, if you find a writer/teacher/editor who inspires you, you
often have the opportunity to read that person’s writing on a regular basis. Check out
the examples below, but if you don’t find what you want, think about starting your own
online newsletter.

http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet.html
“The Australasian Journal of Educational Technology is a refereed journal publishing
research and review articles in educational technology, instructional design,
educational applications of computer technologies, educational telecommunications
and related areas.”

http://www.educationupdate.com/index.html

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“Founded in 1995 by Dr. Pola Rosen, Education Update, an award-winning* monthly
free newspaper, deals with issues, people and events in education from pre-school to
graduate school. Currently, Education Update has about 200,000 readers and
receives 3 million monthly hits on its website.” Easy-to-use navigation links on the left
side of the home page.

http://www.7oaks.org/ttt/
This journal based in Manitoba (Canada) has archived an impressive collection of
thought-provoking articles; you’ll also find many links to sites on the theme of action
research.

#7 Applied Linguistics

The first two sites noted below are quite large. Click on tabs labeled “resources” for
useful information. Or surf a bit and find out about how to get travel grants to attend
international conferences, or where to submit your brilliant articles for publication.

http://www.cal.org/
“CAL is a private, non-profit organization: a group of scholars and educators who use
the findings of linguistics and related sciences in identifying and addressing
language-related problems. CAL carries out a wide range of activities including
research, teacher education, analysis and dissemination of information, design and
development of instructional materials, technical assistance, conference planning,
program evaluation, and policy analysis.”

http://www.aaal.org

“Among its primary activities, the American Association for Applied Linguistics
promotes research and organizes annual scholarly conferences, publishes the
AAALetter,and maintains the aaal-l, a public email list for both member and non-
member subscribers.”

http://applij.oupjournals.org/content/vol25/issue4/index.dtl

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A treasure trove of up-to-date articles and reviews with titles such as “Bilingualism
and the Latin Language” and “Teaching and Researching Computer-assisted
Language Learning.” (from Oxford Journals Online)

#8 English for Young Learners

The category of young learners is starting to receive increased attention, though few
agree on just which ages the category targets. Nevertheless, if you teach young
learners, here are websites devoted specifically to you. Regardless of the age of your
students, all three sites include resources adaptable to a wide variety of contexts.
Don’t miss out on the wonderful tales in the third site listed below.

http://www.countryschool.com/ylsig/

“IATEFL Young Learners Special Interest Group aims to provide information on

recent developments in English Language education for children and teenagers.
Established in 1986 the YLSIG has evolved into a flourishing worldwide network,
supporting and informing some 500 ELT professionals working with learners from 3-
17.” Categorized links to many useful resources.

http://esl.about.com/od/teachingchildren/

“K-12 and elementary school education specifically for ESL learning and teaching
including: games, lesson plans, songs, fun activities and teaching techniques, as well
as other sites of interest to K through 12 ESL educators.”

http://www.thestoryteller.org.uk/

“The Storyteller is published quarterly and contains traditional and contemporary

stories from all over the world, with notes for teachers and trainers on how the tales
can be exploited. Other features include articles on the art of storytelling as well as
details of publications and services that might be of interest. The resources are
provided completely free of charge.”

9# Online writing guides

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It used to be that the only comprehensive guides to writing were costly and heavy to
tote around. Now, any information you seek on the process of writing, from how to
organize ideas to proper paragraphing and beyond to questions of grammar and
syntax, is available for free and in great detail online. Here are a few resources to get
you started.

http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/
Far and away the best available set, on the web, of hyperlinked references on all
aspects of writing. This site contains over 300 virtual handouts on all aspects of
writing, including essay writing and different types of essays, paragraph and
sentence structure, word usage, documentation conventions, literary terms, writing
summaries, logic, punctuation, and grammar. The site has a useful table of contents
and index, both hyperlinked, and the index topics can be searched alphabetically.

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/llc/writecenter/web/handouts.html

This is a style and punctuation guide. It is well written, extensive, with plenty of
examples. The guide has two parts; the first is a "Prose Style Section" that explains
twelve principles of good prose style. The second part of the guide covers "Basic
Punctuation and Mechanics" and discusses fifty of the most common problems with
punctuation and mechanics. Most of these rules are illustrated with examples.
http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/acen/writerslab/
A collection of about 30 self-help documents focusing primarily on grammatical
problems common in ESL writing, e.g.: "Sequence of Verb Tenses," "Forming Plural
Nouns," "Comparative Adjectives" and "Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement."

http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/lessons.cgi/Language_Arts/Writing
This site is not, strictly speaking, a comprehensive guide to writing or the teaching of
writing. However, it has links to lesson plans for primary and secondary school
teachers of writing, each one marked for suitable grade level.

#10 E-mail exchanges

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Now that more and more students have access to the Internet, one real-life
application of their newfound English language skills is to engage in electronic
correspondence with both native and non-native English speakers from around the
world. Those participating in e-mail exchanges are variously known as penpals, e-
pals, or keypals. Regardless of the label, writing to new friends in other countries
opens up the world to our students. Of course, teachers can become penpals as well.

The first link below is to an article describing the logistics of organizing such
exchanges for your students, including some of the pitfalls. The remaining links are to
sites which facilitate such exchanges for free.

http://www.f.waseda.jp/vicky/papers/email.html

“Students quickly became used to typing and using the computer, and by the second
semester, they were doing a great deal of writing in English every week. The
extensive writing seemed to have a positive effect on the students' spoken skills; they
seemed to feel more confident about expressing their ideas aloud after they had
already struggled to express them in writing.”

http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/penpals.asp

“Penpals are a great way to learn about another language or culture. It doesn't matter
what level you are at in your second language. Here, you can find international
penpals quickly and easily! You can search by many criteria to quickly find a penpal
you want.”

http://www.anglik.net/penpals.htm

“Make penfriends/penpals/epals around the world. You can communicate via e-mail,
SMS, traditional letters (snail mail) or even arrange to meet. You are free to search
our pages for messages from those who are looking for a
penfriend/penpal/epal/friend. Or if you prefer you can add your message and then
just wait for answers. Our club is completely free. The only rule is that all messages
should be in English.”

http://www.epals.com/

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“ePALS Classroom Exchange is internationally recognized as the leading provider of
school-safe email and collaborative technology. Used in classrooms in 191 countries,
ePALS's multilingual network has made it possible for more than 4.5 million students
and educators to employ the Internet as the ultimate communication and cross-
cultural learning tool.”

# 11 Free online English courses

People who want to learn English or improve English skills need not be bound by
course schedules, inaccessible locations, high fees, or bad weather. There are some
excellent and easy-to-use sites, for both the beginner and the advanced student.
Some of these online courses offer special threads for English for computing or
business.

http://www.english-online.org.uk/course.htm

This site, which divides the course into four levels, offers students an opportunity to
test themselves. The home page has links to reading practice exercises and a
message board where students can post grammar questions.

http://www.eslgo.com/classes.html

“Each free English class helps you learn English. These free ESL classes show you
how to use English grammar or vocabulary. After you study an online English class,
go to the English practice message boards where you can practice using the English
grammar and vocabulary by communicating with English students around the world.”

http://www.learn-english-online.org/

This thorough 40-lesson course is aimed at the beginner. It is a multi-media course,

which includes listening practice. You can start with Unit 1 and go through each
English lesson one by one. Each unit contains 5 English lessons. Or, you can pick
and choose the lessons you think you need. The choice is yours.

http://www.englishspace.ort.org/launchpad/about_whatis.asp

“EnglishSpace is a free Internet resource for students and teachers of English as a

Foreign, Second or Additional language. In EnglishSpace, students can learn English
with the computer, with their friends and with their teachers. It costs nothing to join

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EnglishSpace and all the lessons are free!” This is one of the most attractively
designed of the websites targeting English language learners.

# 12 Effective e-mail communication

Since Sheet #13 provided resources for establishing e-mail contact with other
students and teachers around the world, this might be an opportune moment to
examine our skill in writing e-mail messages. Even those of us with years of
experience communicating by e-mail often find ourselves misunderstood or our
messages relegated to the recycling bin before being read – all for lack of clarity or
professional presentation. A few extra moments spent on checking our messages
before hitting the SEND button can save a great deal of time by mitigating the need
for a lot of back-and-forth messages requesting clarification after the initial message.

Take a look at the following helpful sites.

http://www.eslnetworld.com/email2.html

This well-designed site introduces the topic with a worthwhile discussion of the
difference between e-mail and other forms of communication. There is a useful
exploration of different forms of emphasis in e-mail, along with an explanation of
some of the less familiar emoticons. See the links at the bottom of the page.

http://www.emailreplies.com/

This site focuses on e-mail etiquette, with a list of tips and brief, easy-to-read
explanations.

http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/e-text/e-mail.htm

“This document offers 10 tips to help you write effective professional e-mails. The
informal notes you exchange with your friends don't have to meet any particular
standards, of course, but if you want to be taken seriously by professionals, you
should know formal e-mail etiquette.”

# 13 Libraries online

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Check out these web sites from three of the world’s most remarkable libraries.

http://www.loc.gov/

The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and serves
as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with nearly
128 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves. The collections include
more than 29 million books and other printed materials, 2.7 million recordings, 12
million photographs, 4.8 million maps, and 57 million manuscripts.

http://www.bibalex.org/English/index.aspx

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina , the New Library of Alexandria, is dedicated to

recapture the spirit of the original. It aspires to be:

The World’s window on Egypt.

Egypt’s window on the world.

A leading institution of the digital age; and, above all.

A center for learning, tolerance, dialogue and understanding.

http://www.nypl.org/

Libraries are the memory of humankind, irreplaceable repositories of documents of

human thought and action. The New York Public Library is such a memory bank par
excellence, one of the great knowledge institutions of the world, its myriad collections
ranking with those of the British Library, the Library of Congress, and the
Bibliothèque nationale de France. Virtually all of the Library's many collections and
services are freely available to all comers. In fact, the Library has but one criterion for
admission: curiosity.

# 14 American Studies

In recent years, there has been growing interest around the world in the field of
American Studies. The interdisciplinary nature of most American Studies programs
means that students and teachers with a wide range of interests can find a branch
within the field worth exploring. Some who currently teach American Studies outside
the U.S. bemoan the lack of updated resources. Take a look at some of the sites
below, or conduct a search to find other resources.

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http://www.georgetown.edu/crossroads/asainfo.html

This official website of the American Studies Association offers a treasure trove of
articles, course syllabi and outlines, viewable poster sessions, a monthly newsletter
and much more. “…the American Studies Association now has more than 5,000
members. They come from many fields: history, literature, religion, art, philosophy,
music, science, folklore, ethnic studies, anthropology, material culture, museum
studies, sociology, government, communications, education, library science, gender
studies, popular culture, and others.”

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/hypertex.html

This site offers links to hundreds of detailed scholarly articles on a long list of
prominent figures in American history, politics, and literature. In addition, you’ll find
links to a wide variety of geopolitical and other maps. Be sure to click on the
navigational tabs to find out about American Studies programs at top universities, as
well as teaching advice for incorporating the web into the teaching of American
Studies.

http://www.americansc.org.uk/

This Liverpool-based site is a compendium of American Studies resources, with book

reviews, an online journal, and links to resource centers, museums and other
organizations with American Studies expertise. Be sure to check out the discussion
forum as well as the list of upcoming American Studies conferences and reports on
earlier conferences.

http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/academicprograms/americanstudies/AS_Web_S
ites.htm

Links. Just links. A selected but intriguing list. Check it out.

# 15 Teaching methodologies

Perhaps you’re an English teacher who took a course in methodology before you
began teaching, though only now are you truly ready to delve into the topic - this time
with greater understanding and renewed enthusiasm. Or you train English teachers
who don’t have access to a wide variety of source material on varieties of

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approaches to language teaching. Maybe you’re quite comfortable in the classroom,
so you are ready to challenge yourself and stimulate your students by incorporating a
range of techniques. Take a look at the following resources to get you going.

http://www.cal.org/resources/faqs/RGOs/methods.html

Within methodology a distinction is often made between methods and approaches, in

which methods are held to be fixed teaching systems with prescribed techniques and
practices, and approaches are language teaching philosophies that can be
interpreted and applied in a variety of different ways in the classroom. This distinction
is probably best seen as a continuum ranging from highly prescribed methods to
loosely described approaches. This Resource Guide provides information about and
links to digests, journals, books, and web sites that offer information about second
language teaching methods and approaches.”

http://www.btinternet.com/~ted.power/teflindex.htm

This “methodology index” includes links to a series of detailed articles with teaching
suggestions and bibliographies. These articles – roughly one hundred of them – are
divided into thirteen broad categories such as Syllabus and Course Design, Methods
of Testing and Assessment, Pronunciation and Listening, and Syntax & Semantics.

http://www.sk.com.br/sk-revie.html

This brief article reviews the major concepts in second language teaching
methodology to come out of the 20th century. A useful feature of this site is a series of
instant links to information on the big names in the field, including Chomsky,
Krashen, and Piaget. A great site to use as a crash course in methodology.

http://www.linguatics.com/methods.htm

But if you have even less time, this site is the Cliff Notes version.

# 16 Internet tutorials

There is a wealth of useful information online for those who want to learn how to best
exploit the Internet. Whether you are a beginner, or you have a great deal of

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experience, step-by-step tutorials help you to develop new skills at your own pace,
letting you choose the aspects of the Internet you find most relevant.

http://library.albany.edu/internet/

This site is regularly updated (“What's New on Internet Tutorials”). The links on the
home page are divided among Searching, Browsers, and Software. It’s a great
resource for beginners, but also has detailed information on the lesser-known Deep
Web. The section on searching includes useful research tips.

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html

The content on this site has been updated to reflect the latest trends in search
engines, directories, and evaluating web pages. The title reflects our belief that there
is a lot of great material on the Web - primary sources, specialized directories and
databases, statistical information, educational sites on many levels, policy, opinion of
all kinds, and so much more - and we have better tools for finding this great stuff.

http://www.vts.rdn.ac.uk/

“Welcome to the RDN Virtual Training Suite - a set of free online tutorials designed to
help students, lecturers and researchers improve their Internet information literacy
and IT skills. Work in your own time at your own pace - no one is monitoring you!
There are quizzes and interactive exercises to lighten the learning experience.” The
beauty of this site is its focus on Internet for special purposes. The simple-to-navigate
home page lists roughly fifty subject areas divided by broader categories; click on any
one of the subject areas to get help with using the Internet to explore that
specialization.

# 17 Using the newspaper

“Why do so many teachers like using newspapers? Well, to start with, newspapers are much more
current than coursebooks. There is also a lot of information in newspapers which make them an
excellent springboard for lessons. Finally, there are lots of different kinds of texts in newspapers
(narratives, stories, letters, advertisements, reports…)” from onestopenglish.com

Today’s links are filled with practical activities using the newspaper to enhance
teaching and learning. You’ll find simple and fun activities for young learners, as well
as more sophisticated tasks for the more advanced student.

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http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Dycus-Jigsaw.html

“The advantage of jigsaw activities is that students must depend on each other for
their information, so they must interact to accomplish a given task. The technique
described for making jigsaw activities from newspaper articles structures activities so
that students read the text, hear the text, master new vocabulary, paraphrase, and
interact at all stages of the activity (not at just the discussion stage, as in the
traditional approach).”

http://nwanews.com/nie/educators/teachingideas.php

The helpful homepage of this site categorizes the many activities by both subject
area and grade level, and includes a special section on arts and crafts activities using
the newspaper – integrating the development of language skills into the teaching of
students with a variety of learning styles.

http://www.onestopenglish.com/News/Magazine/Archive/news_elt.htm

Included in this well-designed site are the following: Newspaper DOs and DON'Ts |
Ideas on how to use newspapers: writing activities, speaking activities, reading
activities | Do it yourself news quiz.

http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Krajka-OnlineNews.html

This detailed article from two Polish teacher-researchers focuses on the use of online
newspapers. There are quite a few linked references in the bibliography. This article
explores a bit more of the background underpinning effective use of the newspaper in
the English-language classroom.

While many teachers incorporate news articles into their language lessons, not all
teachers are familiar with the special resources made available to teachers and
students by newspapers. Some have web sites dedicated to teachers, with ready-to-
use lesson plans, news summaries, quizzes, and much more. The best of these sites
have separate sections for students, teachers, and parents, including tips for
developing the skills used in newspaper reading. It’s also easy to find special
activities for young newspaper readers. A few of these sites are linked below.

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/

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“The New York Times Learning Network is a free service for students in grades 3-12,
their teachers and parents. The site is updated Monday through Friday throughout
the year. Students can read the day's top stories using Knowledge Tools, take a
news quiz about today's world, and play special crossword puzzles. Students can
also submit a letter to the editor, ask a reporter a question, or submit a science
question and search through the Science Q&A archive. They can also expand their
vocabularies and practice their verbal test-taking skills.

Teachers can access a daily lesson plan for grades 6-12, written in partnership with
The Bank Street College of Education in New York City. Each lesson plan and the
article it references can be printed out for classroom use. Previous lessons are
available in the archive and in thematic lesson plan units. Teachers can also use
News Snapshot, aimed for grades 3-5, to explore current events through New York
Times photos and related questions. The site additionally provides teachers with the
latest education news from the newspaper. Parents can enhance their child's
understanding of current events using Conversation Starters, join an online
discussion, explore the family movie guide or participate with their children in the
activities in the student section.”

http://www.postnewseducation.com/default.asp

The purpose of Newspaper In Education at The Denver Newspaper Agency is to

promote literacy and civic awareness, to foster kid-safe Internet opportunities, and to
provide a voice for youth through in-paper content. Targeting school-aged youth,
their teachers and parents, these goals are met by:

 providing high-quality materials which utilize either The Denver Post or the
Rocky Mountain News as the primary text,
 creating programs which appeal to the changing needs of the education
community,
 publishing in-paper content written by and for youth in The Post and the
syndicated, kid-friendly Mini Page in the Rocky Mountain News.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/education/index.htm

This site is designed primarily for those whose first language is not English. It will
help you learn to read a daily English-language newspaper. The site contains:

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  fresh material, updated six days a week, consisting of the columns we do for
the Bangkok Post in our "Improving Your English with the Bangkok Post"
programme, that's our home page. There is also a word of the day for building
your useful newspaper vocabulary;
 timeless material, dealing with aspects of the newspaper or of language
learning which remain consistent year after year – writing styles, basic
newspaper content, reading strategies, vocabulary development, and more.

# 18 Blogging

Blogs (from web logs) are online journals. Blogs are now being kept – and avidly read
– by millions. Why would you use blogs in language education? Here’s one answer,
from
http://languagecenter.cla.umn.edu/elsiespeaks.php?issue_id=&article_id=279.

“Blogs are easily accessible, easy to use, and require little html knowledge. In
addition, they are a new technology, and as such, the format might appeal to
students, who spend much time in front of their computers.

The most important argument for using blogs in teaching might be their format: the
way they are set up, they invite participation. They also have the potential to
democratize the classroom; as with other forms of computer-mediated
communication, each student can participate equally. Issues such as shyness are of
less relevance than in the face-to-face situation, and participation by quieter students
increases online. In addition, blogs can be accessed anytime and anywhere, so
students can write at their own convenience and determine their own pace and level
of contribution. In this way, blogs give students not only more control over their own
learning, but also the ownership of a personal space.”

Many teachers find that students who previously showed great reluctance to
participate in writing activities get hooked on writing once they start their own blogs.
To get your students started, have a look at the following resources.

http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.html

This site introduces three ways that weblogs can be used to support ESL classroom
learning. After defining what a blog is, the author shows how they can be put into
immediate use in the ESL classroom by means of three distinct types: the tutor

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weblog, the learner weblog, and the class weblog. He includes a variety of links to
sites which will help you for create and maintain weblogs.

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/resources/blogging.shtml

This article from a member of the Barcelona British Council office gives an overview
of blogging websites, suggests why you might want to use them, and gives some
practical advice on setting up blogs for use with your own classes. Topics include:

 What is a blog?
 Types of blogs used in language teaching
 Why blog?
 Where to start
 Tips for managing learner blog settings
 Keeping students interested
 Activities
 Pitfalls

http://crookedtimber.org/2004/09/23/academic-blogging/

http://twoyearcomp.blogspot.com/

http://hipteacher.typepad.com/schoolblog/

I’ve grouped these three links together since all three are examples of the web logs
of teachers. In the first case, many different individuals contribute their writing to the
same site. The three blogs have distinct styles, contexts, and points of view (as well
as different hosts), and may inspire you to not only use blogs with your students, but
create and maintain your own blog. Unlike other professionals, teachers often work in
relative isolation, and the reflections these individual teachers share are not only
revelatory, but humorous and comforting as well. We can gain insight from reading
them, and by writing our own, offer advice to other teachers half a planet away.

# 19 Poetry and language teaching

The sadness of the mere verb "to be"

I would have liked it if it was that way.

It wasn't that way.
I asked: be that way.
So it became that way.

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The above words were penned by Hungarian poet Tandori Dezső. I cannot vouch for
the accuracy of the translation, but – as someone who has been teaching English
since the Jurassic Era – I appreciate the novel slant on one of the challenges we face
in try to convey a foreign grammar.

In the abstract, many teachers appreciate poetry - its importance as a tool of

personal expression as well as what poetry symbolizes when viewed as a
representation of culture. But when it comes to using poetry in a concrete way in the
classroom, apart from making students memorize classical verse as some of us were
made to do, we are likely to feel bereft of ideas.

Here in Budapest, a simple twenty-minute commute to work might take you across a
bridge named Petőfi Sándor, through a Metro station named Arany János, or along a
busy downtown street named József Attila. This vicarious communing with Hungary’s
literary lions has its effect; a society which shows its reverence for poetry by
memorializing its creators in stone and iron tells us in no small way the value of the
well-turned phrase. The question is, what can we as educators do to sustain this
tradition, and imbue our students with a love of language?

According to the founders of National Poetry Month, plenty. Though one of the most
common complaints I hear from teachers is that teaching writing is difficult because
students don’t like to write, many teachers who experiment with teaching English
through poetry report a new or renewed enthusiasm for writing among their students.
Along with the resources of the National Poetry Month web site, you’ll find the usual
variety of lesson ideas and intriguing links at the other sites noted below.

http://www.poets.org/npm/

“Since its inception, the goal of National Poetry Month has been to increase the
visibility, presence, and accessibility of poetry. In April, we will launch a Poetry Book
Club section on our website, where visitors will find:
- Free Readers Guides to notable books of poetry
- Profiles of existing poetry reading groups
- How-to suggestions for starting your own
- Reading recommendations from leading poets.”

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http://www.onlinepoetryclassroom.org/how/

“This section of www.onlinepoetryclassroom.org contains tools designed to help

teachers incorporate poetry into high school classrooms. These resources, chosen
and created by OPC staff and participating teachers, include classroom-tested
curricula; essays on teaching and reading poetry; ideas and tips for introducing
students to poetry; links to recommended education, technology, and poetry sites.”

http://www.pagerealm.com/jackturner/poetry.htm

http://www.ericdigests.org/1994/drama.htm

http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol34/no3/p62.htm

These three linked articles offer more detailed background on the use of poetry in the
classroom. The first focuses on using poetry to teach writing. The second article
explores the use of poems as mini-dramas which form the basis for in-class
improvisation, leading to improved conversation skills and greater confidence in
learning. The third link takes you to a brief article in Forum magazine which
discusses why poetry cuts across boundaries and is therefore useful in many
teaching contexts.

# 20 The communicative approach

Interested in knowing more about the communicative approach to language

teaching? Have a look at the following.

http://www.ling.lu.se/disseminations/pdf/47/Flyman.pdf

This study describes communicativity in three classrooms, and compares students’

communicative behavior in different types of activities.

http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol37/no3/p27.htm

This article discusses reconciling the communicative approach with the emphasis on
grammar and translation so common to EFL teaching in many settings.

http://www.eslminiconf.net/march2005/ncaa.html

The communicative approach and basketball? Click and read to find out more.

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# 21 Human rights in language teaching
(Az emberi jogok a nyelvoktatásban)

As teachers we may derive a great deal of satisfaction when our students master
difficult verb tenses or the tongue-twisting pronunciation of certain phrases, but what
is the use of fluency in another language if not for increased communication with
people unlike ourselves? With travel, television, and computers breaking down more
barriers every day, we are brought face to face with the challenges confronted by
others in ways unimaginable just fifty years ago. How can teachers best help their
students to understand these challenges? Furthermore, what can we learn about the
difficulties faced by people in our own backyard?

For those committed to exploring human rights in the context of language education,
there are some excellent resources available online. You’ll find the best of these
resources include links to authentic documents covering a wide range of human
rights issues. There are suggestions for class projects and even lesson plans
classified by grade level. Below, just a few of the resources available online.

http://www.ohrc.on.ca/english/education/teaching-overview.shtml

This resource package, created by the Ontario (Canada) Human Rights Commission,
was designed to be used by teachers in Grades 9 through 12, as well as those
working in adult literacy and work retraining programs. It includes a wealth of
teachers’ references and student handouts. Some of the topics covered by this
package:

 Age discrimination
 Hiring practices
 Pregnancy and breastfeeding
 Racial harassment
 Sexual harassment
 Sexual orientation
 Religious rights

“The package uses examples of real human rights cases in its illustrations and case
studies. Cases have been selected which describe situations relevant to young
people in language that can easily be understood.”

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http://www.hrea.org/index.php

“Human Rights Education Associates (HREA) is an international non-governmental

organisation that supports human rights learning; the training of activists and
professionals; the development of educational materials and programming; and
community-building through on-line technologies.” This is a fantastic umbrella site,
covering everything to do with the intersection of human rights and education. It is
frequently updated and includes links to all current human rights news headlines.
Don’t miss the free study guides, interactive tutorials, and discussion boards. HREA
also offers a wide selection of online courses for educators in the field of human
rights. While they are not free, scholarships are offered to some applicants.

http://www.jalt.org/global/index.html

This site includes links to a large number of detailed lesson plans on human rights
and related issues. The simply designed page allows you to search by topic (cultural
sensitivity, educating about Africa, ethical investment, gender stereotypes, Holocaust
education, indigenous peoples and eco-concerns – among many others) or by title
(e.g., Experiential Role Plays for Social Awareness, Israeli and Palestinian Educators
Collaborate, Teaching Global Issues Through English Movies). Most of the lesson
plans include bibliographies.

# 22 Idioms

"Since idiomatic expressions are so frequently encountered in both spoken and

written discourse, they require special attention in language programs and should not
be relegated to a position of secondary importance in the curriculum."
Cooper, 1998

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=254

I like this link because it provides an unusually well-designed and fully developed
lesson plan for the teaching of idioms, linking theory to practice. It includes clearly
defined learning objectives, and links to one of the best online idiom activities, which
not only helps students practice using idiomatic expressions, but encourages
meaningful application of the newly learned phrases.

http://home.t-online.de/home/toni.goeller/idiom_wm/

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There are hundreds of sites with lists of idioms in English, but this site has a few
special features. It allows you to search for idioms alphabetically or by a word
contained in the idiom, or even by topic. It also allows you to click back and forth
between different idioms with similar meanings. Moreover, the site is interactive, in
that users are invited to make contributions to the site.

http://abisamra02.tripod.com/idioms/#why

This website is not the most attractively designed, but I include the link for its clear
and detailed outline covering most aspects of the teaching of idioms, as well as for its
comprehensive list of relevant links.

# 23 Alternative assessment

This edition of the QUICK RESOURCE SHEET is an initial look at the question of
alternative assessment. Today’s links provide an extended summary of why teachers
are looking for new and different ways of measuring student achievement, and the
wide range of forms this measurement may take. Over the next few weeks, we will
offer practical links directed to these different types of assessment, with hints for
creating your own assessment tools, as well as samples of assessment tools
designed by other teachers.

http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/hancoc01.html

This article gives a brief overview of alternative assessment, and “discusses some of
the practical implications of assessing language students differently.” It juxtaposes
alternative assessment with more traditional forms of testing. Ample references are
provided.

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2/content_storage_01/0000000b/80/2
6/b4/68.pdf

This collection of detailed essays, each by a different author – 130 pages in total -
examines the topic of alternative assessment from a variety of perspectives, with an
intriguing look at theoretical considerations, as well as the sociocultural, historical,

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and political climate in which changes in assessment practice have taken place. (See
page 4 for the Table of Contents.)

http://www.homeedsa.com/Articles/Multiple%20Intelligences.asp

No discussion of alternative assessment would be complete without a look at the

work of Howard Gardner. “This digest discusses the origins of Gardner's Theory of
Multiple Intelligences, his definition of intelligence, the incorporation of the Theory of
Multiple Intelligences into the classroom, and its role in alternative assessment
practices.”

# 24 Self-assessment

Self-assessment is not an alien concept to human behavior. All human beings are
involved, either consciously or subconsciously, in an on-going process of self-
evaluation. Until recently, however, the value of this human process was largely
ignored in pedagogy. Learners were rarely asked to assess their performance, much
less have a say in the construction of evaluation instruments. Pedagogically, the
term self-assessment was rendered all but oxymoronic.

In the last decade, with the increased attention to learner-centered curricula, needs
analysis, and learner autonomy, the topic of self-assessment has become of
particular interest in testing and evaluation. It is now being recognized that learners
do have the ability to provide meaningful input into the assessment of their
performance, and that this assessment can be valid. In fact, with regard to second
and foreign language, research reveals an emerging pattern of consistent, overall
high correlations between self-assessment results and ratings based on a variety of
external criteria.

http://www.finchpark.com/arts/reflective.htm

Assessment has taken on new affective goals in which the personal growth of the
learner is becoming increasingly important. In this context, the role of evaluation is to
inform learners about their learning achievements, so that they can make informed
plans for future study. This paper offers suggestions on how the concept of self/peer-
assessment might be introduced into the Korean EFL classroom via a number of
investigative and reflective instruments.

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http://www.cete.org/acve/docgen.asp?tbl=tia&ID=162

Metacognition refers to the ability of learners to be aware of and monitor their

learning processes (Peters 2000). Metacognitive skills are generally divided into two
types: self-assessment (the ability to assess one's own cognition) and self-
management (the ability to manage one's further cognitive development) (Rivers
2001). Successful adult learners employ a range of metacognitive skills and effective
teachers of adults attend to the development of these skills. This article describes
some of the trends related to metacognitive skills for adult learners and provides a list
of resources for further information.

http://www.philseflsupport.com/self-assessmentechniques.htm

Christine Coombe and Christine Canning detail seven tried and tested methods of
self-assessment to use with your students in this short, practical article.

http://www.pearsoned.ca/sightlines/gr_8/common/assessment_masters/gam6.pdf

http://www.pearsoned.ca/sightlines/gr_8/common/assessment_masters/gam7.pdf

http://www.pearsoned.ca/sightlines/gr_8/common/assessment_masters/gam20.pdf

More samples of student self-assessment tools, which should be used as a guide,

but not merely copied directly, as they are not intended to suit every teaching context
(not to mention that they are copyright protected).

# 25 Intercultural communication

A number of teachers have asked me if I would produce a Quick Resource Sheet on

the topic of “intercultural communication.” A quick Google search of the phrase turns
up well over a million hits. Though the subject is much discussed, and has a
specialized vocabulary prized by professionals - as evidenced by the growing body of
literature devoted to the topic, I ask myself if all the ink spilled and keys stroked have
led to greater intercultural understanding.

Indeed, at some universities entire courses are devoted to the topic, such as the
semester-long course taught at Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico), entitled –
naturally enough – “Intercultural Communication.” (See

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http://www.mty.itesm.mx/rectoria/pi/internationalstudents/Ingles/undergraduate_stude
nts/materias/CO99832.htm.)

With that thought in mind, I direct you to the following links, where you can find out
what is meant when the phrase is used, what the role of intercultural communication
is in the language classroom, and what sorts of activities teachers use to further
intercultural communication in their classrooms. As always, if you’re not satisfied with
these resources, conduct your own search.

http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~dgriggs/instructional_activities/architecture/Architecture%
20&%20Intercultural%20Communication.pdf

If you have already clicked on the link above you might be asking yourself why a
newsletter for teachers highlights a discussion of architecture. Sometimes I can
appreciate a unique angle on a familiar subject, as a way of deepening
understanding or gaining a fresher perspective. I’m not convinced language teachers
can broaden their knowledge of language teaching by restricting themselves to
articles dedicated solely to language teaching. At any rate, the value of the article is
its focus on the wide range of factors which in various combinations and
permutations create what is known as communication. Further, the beauty of this
article is that it’s a fascinating read.

http://www.uefap.co.uk/articles/arena.htm

This short and extremely practical article looks at categories of differences and ways
of rethinking how those differences affect our interactions with others. The link
includes an extensive bibliography.

http://www.ucmh.sld.cu/ingles/web/intercultural.ppt

This brief PowerPoint presentation by a Cuban educator highlights the main points
when considering the importance of intercultural communication in teaching, and
touches on the distinctions between “intercultural” and “cross-cultural.”

http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Cullen-Culture.html

“Teaching culture is considered important by most teachers but it has remained

"insubstantial and sporadic in most language classrooms"

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(Omaggio, 1993, p. 357). Omaggio gives several reasons for this including lack of
time, uncertainty about which aspects of culture to
teach, and lack of practical techniques. In this paper, we will present a range of
practical techniques that we have found to be successful
in culture-based courses and some tips that can help to make the teaching of culture
a better experience for both you and your students.”

http://www.iecc.org/

Do you want your students to have an intercultural experience right now? IECC is a
free service to help teachers link with partners in other
cultures and countries for email classroom pen-pal and other project exchanges.

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