My English Pages

Why the environment in EFL and ESL classes?
The urgency of environmental problems has led to a quantum leap in the attention paid to green issues. The environment has become the subject of newspaper and magazine articles, radio and television reports, documentaries and feature films. In this post I present the rationale behind incorporating enviromental issues into language teaching.

Evaluation Terminology
A lot of the terminology we use to describe our assessment practices is sometimes blury and has to be clearly defined.
The link I suggest is a guide to a description of key assessmnet terminology. The authors of the list intend to describe current educational assessment practices and establish a clear and common understanding of what these terms mean.

EFL/ESL environment activities
Over the past few years, the enviromental problems have gained a recognition around the world. “Green” issues have turned up as the subject of newspapers, magazines, TV documentaries, news report… This can be an invaluable source  for EFL and ESL teachers to devise activities that would link the classroom to the world.
The following activity teaches students to undertake a mini research.

Thanksgiving
By the end of this activity students will be able to write a poem about what they are thankful for. The activity can be carried out in about 30 minutes.

Which grammar teaching method?
In ESL and EFL grammar teaching methods are dabatable. Some see grammar as the backbone of languages and learners should be presented with explicit grammar courses. Others, however, think that knowing the grammar doesn’t necessarily lead to language mastery. They contend that focusing on explicit grammar teaching produces unsuccessful language users. Which one of these methods is the right one?

Teaching students with learning problems
As teachers we provide our students with the best of ourselves because we want them to succeed. We choose the most appropriate methods, the best tools and wrap up our courage to deliver our lessons effectively. We are concerned about their academic development and are enthusiastic when we spot any positive change in their behavioral and cognitive development. However, we get depressed when are faced with students with learning problems who fail. We are lost and feel our efforts are useless. This happens because not …

Keeping a journal
Keeping a written record of what students have done each day, have thought about, or imagined can be a good way to train their writing skills. This activity teaches students to keep writing regularly in a journal . The materials needed are notebooks and pens. The journal is to be handed in to the teacher on regular basis ( once a week / a forthnight/ month.) The teacher should not over correct students writng as this may discourage them. Some succint comments, however, are welcome.

Compound nouns
This activity teaches students compound nouns, their form and meaning. The matrerials required are cards and pens or pencils. It can last for 30 minutes.

This activity teaches students how to add details to sentences. The materials required are crayons or colored pencils and drawing paper. The activity can last for 40 minutes.

This activity teaches students how to organize their writing in a logical order. The whole class participates in the writing process, but the activity is best done in group work. It doesn’t require any materials apart from pens or pencils and sheets of paper. It can last for about 40 minutes.