Digital literacy skills are crucial twenty-first-century skills that are required for the successful use of technology and active engagement in today's world. However, there is a lack of effective resources and guidelines for developing English as a second language (ESL) learners' digital literacy skills. Due to their increasingly important and…

Explores ways in which microcomputers may be used in classrooms, both to enhance academic skills and to allow students to interact directly with students in other cultures. Examines the transmission and the interactional pedagogical models in terms of using computers for teaching writing and instituting cultural exchange networks. (SED)

Explains the composition of the Vowel Colour Chart, a system for teaching Canadian English vowels in which each sound is represented by a color, the color word being the key word for that vowel sound. Suggests practical ways to use the chart with learners of English as a second language. (SED)

Describes procedures for designing trivia games to be used in teaching English as a second language. The students participate in designing the games, thereby gaining practice in the four basic language skills and the formation of yes-no questions, information questions, and statements. Provides examples for young intermediate ESL students. (SED)

Suggests using picture books to teach English as a second language to preschool, junior, and intermediate students. Discusses activities such as reading aloud, analyzing and evaluation, using folk and fairy tales using wordless picture books to stimulate writing, and using alphabet books in basic literacy classes. (SED)

Describes activities which allow students of English as a second language to practice conditional sentences. The activities are designed to (1) guide the students' use of language so that three types of conditional sentences are elicited and practiced to encourage a high level of student participation and (2) be fun. (SED)

Describes a technique for beginning levels of an approach to teaching reading skills to students of English as a second language. Considers three reading skills--scanning, skimming, and reading for deeper comprehension. The technique uses a reading objectives grid which describes the types and objectives of questions to ask. (SED)

Describes a picture game for beginner level students of English as a second language. Describes the preparation of the master bingo card and explains the game rules. This game differs from other bingo games in that there is an increase in the complexity of linquistic terms practiced throughout the game. (SED)

Includes six short articles (one written in French) which describe classroom activities to aid English as a second language learners in writing, reading, and speaking. The activities include use of the telephone, brainstorming, games, and videotaped material. Each is geared to a specific age and/or ability level. (SED)

Discusses techniques and learning activities to be used in the English as a second language classroom. These include fictionary, phonework, a group project in writing using simulation, student surveys, and planning a party. (SED)

Proposes model of language teaching designed to balance teacher/learner input, whole class teaching vs. small group work, and teaching language as either form or function. Although amount of teacher intervention varies, all classroom activities are communicative, providing a situation where students are involved, contributing and interacting with…

"Re-tell" is examined as an activity designed to involve students in an interactive process. Authentic reading and listening passages provide a context in which the student can negotiate for meaning and extract information from the surrounding environment (the real world), thus fostering language acquisition via exposure to various learning…

Describes language lab listening activity designed to serve needs of the English as a second language class comprised of students at different levels of language proficiency, divergent native languages, multicultural backgrounds, and varying levels of formal education. Multilevel tasks are drawn from a common text, allowing students to do…

Describes an English as a second language classroom activity adaptable to students of any age and at any level of language proficiency. The music story stimulates individual input and real communication, as the students must create stories from their imagination, inspired by listening to a certain musical selection. (SL)

Describes a short exercise used in the English as a second language classroom which provides variety and/or a change of pace. Four-line rhyming poems with accompanying illustrations can be incorporated into activities which help students expand their vocabulary, learn new language functions and structures, and acquire intonation and stress…