English Teachers Confront the Billion-Person Question
June 5, 2011
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“How can rural Chinese students develop their listening and speaking skills with very limited opportunities to speak with actual native speakers in person?” This question…
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Fluency Requires Practice
February 7, 2011
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“To know and not do is to not know.” The Talmud Fluency requires practice. Our students also know that speaking English can be both satisfying…
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Discussing the New Year And Making Resolutions to Change in English Class
December 31, 2010
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“Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.” Hermann Hesse (1877-1962), Nobel Prize winner for Literature Holidays and anniversaries often…
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Conversation Tip 5: What has pleasantly surprised you today?
November 8, 2009
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What has pleasantly surprised you today? English teachers can use this question as a writing cue, during student-teacher conferences, or with co-workers. Students, especially at…
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Standardized Exams: Ends or Means?
June 21, 2009
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The main focus of language programs, especially in high schools, should be helping students develop authentic language skills so they can actually read, write, listen,…
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Do You Really Use Youtube in Your EFL Classes? How?
June 7, 2009
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I slightly edit the reviews, watch the videos and add my own comments in blue ink, and combine the reviews into a single document that…
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This I Believe
March 24, 2009
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The "This I Believe" website includes a tremendous amount of free resources for teachers and students. Naturally, I also have a simple reproducible worksheet that…
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English Teaching Professional Strongly Recommends Compelling Conversations!
January 29, 2009
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"In sum, Compelling Conversations is a recommended resource for teachers who want to make their conversation classes more learner-centered," wrote reviewer Hall Houston. "It should…
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Exploring Cities in ESL Classrooms
November 15, 2008
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Cities attract the young, the strong, the ambitious, and the hungry. Millions move from countryside and across the globe to live in new cities every…
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Reading Pleasures and Tastes Adapted for Easy English Times Column
November 12, 2008
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Easy English Times, an adult education newspaper for English language learners published in California, adapts a chapter from Compelling Conversations each month. The editors selected…
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