ESL etc.

Global Issues and Activism in English Language Teaching

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Entries Tagged as 'writing'

Metropolitan Nightmare by Stephen Vincent Benet

February 2nd, 2012 · No Comments

Here’s a neat poem from 1933. It would be great to use as part of a discussion about how the world has / has not changed over the last 75 years. It also reminds us that environmental concerns and dissatisfaction with modern industrial life are not new ideas. Plus, it kind of foreshadows climate change. [...]

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Tags: blog · climate change · global issues activities · reading · the environment · writing

Green English – English Journal 100(3) – January 2011

June 19th, 2011 · No Comments

I just came across the January 2011 issue of English Journal (vol. 100, num. 3), which had the theme of Green English. The journal is aimed at middle and senior high school English teachers, but a lot of the ideas and activities are totally relevant to ESL or EFL contexts. Several of the articles discuss [...]

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Tags: global issues activities · journals · k-12 · reading · reflection · the environment · theory · writing

(Free) Green Teacher Webinars in May

May 6th, 2011 · No Comments

This month, Green Teacher is offering a series of free one-hour webinars. All of these events begin at 7:30 PM EST. May 10 : FROG SONGS: Poetry and Essays, Field Ecology and Entomology – “Learn to use haiku to teach entomology. Learn to use poetry to help students write clearer more exciting essays. This simple [...]

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Tags: blog · global issues activities · global issues resources · k-12 · teacher tools · the environment · theory · water · writing

Happiness and English language teaching

April 13th, 2011 · 1 Comment

My wife went to the recent TESOL conference in New Orleans, and one of the sessions she went to was a talk by Marc Helgesen on language teaching and positive psychology. Positive psychology is a relatively new movement in psychology that basically looks at the science of happiness. On his website, Helgesen shares a variety [...]

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Tags: blog · global issues activities · happiness · health · lesson plans · listening · reading · speaking · visual aids · writing

Clean Up Your Mess: A Guide to Visual Design for Everyone

April 12th, 2011 · No Comments

Visual design is a component to many class projects. I always require a visual aid for presentations, be it a poster, powerpoint, website or something else, and even traditional research papers have an important visual element. Clean Up Your Mess is a very accessible website on the basics of visual design. As you might expect, [...]

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Tags: blog · ESL activity · presentation skills · visual aids · writing

Microsoft’s ESL Assistant

April 2nd, 2010 · 1 Comment

Now, I’m no great fan of Microsoft. I still (reluctantly) use Windows but I’ve long been a supporter of OpenOffice and other open source alternatives. I have also found that Microsoft Word’s grammar check does more harm than good for my students. That said, their new ESL Assistant looks promising. It’s simple to use. Just [...]

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Tags: blog · ESL activity · grammar · software · writing

Making Connections: Engaging Students in Language, Literacy, and Global Issues

March 24th, 2010 · 1 Comment

Making Connections is a new textbook (w/ teacher’s guide) from Facing the Future. This new research-based teacher’s guide helps students develop English language skills through highly engaging real-world investigations of current global issues. Designed for intermediate-level English language learners and striving readers, Making Connections combines language learning with opportunities for students to think critically about [...]

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Tags: blog · climate change · ESL activity · food and hunger · global issues activities · health · history · human rights · k-12 · lesson plans · poverty & wealth · racism · reading · textbooks · the environment · visual prompts · war · water · writing

Global Issues Activities for K-12 ESL Classes

July 17th, 2009 · No Comments

I was recently asked for suggestions for materials that could be used with younger learners. Here are a few of my favorites. Facing the Future has a collection of activity-based, global issues lesson plans for students of all ages. In addition to the great stuff they offer for sale, they have a ton of materials [...]

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Tags: blog · child labor · climate change · consumerism · cultural issues · environmental justice · environmental racism · fair trade · finance · food and hunger · global issues activities · global issues resources · health · human rights · k-12 · lesson plans · listening · pictures · politics · poverty & wealth · reading · slideshow · speaking · the environment · video · video games · visual prompts · war · water · writing

A Global Issues-Themed Poetry Activity

January 30th, 2009 · No Comments

We’ve got a group of 50 or so Korean elementary school teachers here at the ELI for a month-long program. Today, I gave them a brief workshop introducing a poetry activity that I have used in the past. Basically, I have students read, write, then discuss poems built around particular structures. I find that students [...]

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Tags: blog · consumerism · ESL activity · food and hunger · global issues activities · lesson plans · politics · poverty & wealth · writing

NaNoWriMo 2008 — Just Under the Wire

December 1st, 2008 · 2 Comments

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Tags: blog · NaNoWriMo · writing