This article offers five instructional enhancements that help students become better readers. These classroom practices coincide with five key elements of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading instruction: "extensive practice and exposure to print," "commitment to building student motivation," "attention to reading…

A language course has two components: (1) the course content; and (2) the presentation of that content. This article deals with the presentation component. Its main thesis is this: Since the ultimate goal of language learning is communication, classroom presentation should, from the outset, be directed toward the development of communication…

Every profession has a set of essential tools for carrying out its work. Airplane mechanics cannot repair engines without sophisticated diagnostics, wrenches, and pliers. Surgeons cannot operate without scalpels and clamps. In contrast, teaching has often been perceived as a profession requiring only students, chalk, and a blackboard in order for…

Acknowledging that an interested and enthusiastic teacher can create excitement for students and promote learning, the author discusses how teachers can improve their appearance, and, consequently, how their students perceive them. She offers concrete suggestions on how a teacher can be both a "visual aid" and an "audio aid" in the classroom.…

Of all the resources and techniques available to the classroom teacher of English as a second or foreign language, none are more neglected than audiovisual aids. Properly planned, constructed, and employed, such aids can help not only to improve the overall language program but also to enhance the classroom atmosphere and to ensure greater student…

The usefulness of the dictionary as a reliable source of information for word meanings, spelling, and pronunciation is widely recognized. But even in these obvious matters, the information that the dictionary has to offer is not always accurately interpreted. With respect to pronunciation there seem to be two general pitfalls: (1) the…

For the 25th anniversary issue of "English Teaching Forum," published in 1987, the author wrote about the diversification of the language teaching field. Her point then was that during the preceding years from 1962 to 1987, the language teaching field had diversified: Where earlier there had been a unified approach to language teaching, by 1987,…

This article was written for the 25th anniversary of "English Teaching Forum" and published in 1987. In this article, the author describes methodological developments in the field of English language teaching over the past 25 years. The author has found it helpful to think of methodology being depicted as a triangle, with each angle of the…

Teaching in a monolingual/monocultural, non-English speaking environment can at times be frustrating. Teachers want their students to genuinely communicate with each other in socially acceptable ways, and at the same time become more aware of cultural traits. What is needed in a classroom is a reaction that is real because it is spontaneous. This…

Mindful of the fact that one of the most important ingredients in learning to write in a foreign language is motivation, the authors have experimented in their classes with a wide range of exercises from a very useful source: Gianni Rodari's "Grammatico della Fantasia: lntroduzione all'arte di inventare storie" (Torino: Piccola Biblioteca Einandi,…

First, the author briefly outlines genre theory and sets out some broad definitions of genre. She also discusses how genre knowledge is acquired and how it has been taught in ESP and EAP. Following this, she highlights two challenges to using this pedagogy in a general EFL class. Finally, she argues that despite these challenges, teachers can…

In contrast to the product approach to writing, which is based on studying and replicating textual models, the process approach involves multiple and repeated steps that compel the writer to closely consider the topic, language, purpose for writing, and social reality of an audience. In addition to discussing the benefits of the process approach…

This article looks at one way for teachers to make classrooms emotionally, mentally, and physically healthy places to learn--places where tensions and stresses are lessened and where teachers and students are concentrating, yet relaxed. "Harmonious language learning classroom" is the term the author coined to describe this kind of language…

In this article, the author shares a content-based English as a Second/Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) workshop that strengthens language acquisition, increases intrinsic motivation, and bridges cultural divides. He uses a rock and roll workshop to introduce an organizational approach with a primary emphasis on cultural awareness content and a…

In this article, the author discusses a four-part exercise called "To the Moon!" The exercise encourages students to develop and orally defend their choice of four volunteers who will be part of a team to colonize Earth's moon. This oral exercise prepares them for subsequent written work. As Bean (1996, 7) states, "Good writing...grows out of good…