October 2009
CompleatLinks
Richard Firsten's Grammatically Speaking is an ongoing feature of Compleat Links.
- Who's Who in Essential Teacher
Read about editors and columnists for Essential Teacher and Compleat Links. - What Is "Out of the Box"?
Articles in the Out of the Box section of Essential Teacher take a fresh approach to classroom work or inspire readers to look at what they do in a new way. In this article, Phil Quirke, the founding editor of the section, defines it through his own work and ideas. - What Is Grammatically Speaking?
- Project-Based Instruction: Writing Grant Proposals
Joshua P. Miekley describes his method of using proposal writing as an authentic, service-based communicative activity with adult EFL learners in Kosovo. - Wikis: One More Great Tool
Diana Booth explains how effective use of wikis creates an authentic context for communication and encourages student participation. - Gino Learns to Play Kickball: Bridging the Cultural Gap Between Teachers and English Language Learners
Michele Harr tells the story of how one teacher's experience with other cultures helped her facilitate interaction between mainstream U.S. students and an immigrant newcomer student. - The Critical Role of Guided Oral Reading for English Language Learners
Philomena Marinaccio-Eckel and Jaclyn Donahue discuss the process and benefits of using this strategy to facilitate students' comprehension through oral retelling. - Why K–12 Teachers Need to Know About ESL Grammar Issues
Keith Folse addresses the fact that the focus of traditional teacher training will not suffice in preparing teachers for the increasing numbers of ESL students in U.S. schools. - Grammatically Speaking, October 2009
Richard Firsten explains past simple versus past perfect in the indicative mood, discusses the second conditional, looks at different ways to structure negative questions, and presents a new Brain Teaser.
Communities of Practice
Multilingual Momentum: Happy Birthday, EFLIS! (Members Only)
Ke Xu
Ke Xu dedicates his final column in Essential Teacher to the 35th anniversary of TESOL's EFL Interest Section, discussing its humble beginnings and how it has evolved over the years.
Out of the Box
The Outsider in Jamaica (Members Only)
Mary Hills Kuck
Portal
Literacy, Science, and My Sinking House (Members Only)
Wendy Church and Lauren McClanahan
Wendy Church and Lauren McClanahan take readers to Kwigillingok, Alaska, where high school students with various levels of English proficiency increase their literacy skills while exploring the effects of climate change in their own backyards.
References & Resources
English Learners in American Classrooms: 101 Questions, 101 Answers (Members Only)
James Crawford and Stephen Krashen
Reviewed by Holly Hansen-Thomas
This rich resource is a must-read for anyone involved in the education of English language learners in the United States.
About Essential Teacher (M)
The archive of Essential Teacher is a resource for language teachers and administrators in varied ESL and EFL workplaces, including pre-K-12, 2- and 4-year institutions of higher learning, and adult education. Each of these arenas has teachers with varied experience and expertise, making for a broad and diverse readership. Essential Teacher also offers guidance to mainstream teachers who work with students for whom English is an additional language.
Compleat Links is an online complement to Essential Teacher. This section offers original articles, interviews, and other content thematically linked to Essential Teacher.
Contents
- Multilingual Momentum: Happy Birthday, EFLIS!
Ke Xu - Circle Time: Growing Better Readers
Judie Haynes - Home Room: The Teachers in the Room With Me
Linda New Levine - The Road Taken: How Long Should ESL Classes Be? And Why?
Debbie Zacarian - Culture/Cross-Culture: Identifying and Using Language-Culture Resources
Alvino E. Fantini - From A to Z: The Mystery of the Perfect Method
Dorothy Zemach
- Literacy, Science, and My Sinking House
Wendy Church and Lauren McClanahan - To Understand Diverse Learners, Leave Your Comfort Zone
Roberta K. Weber and Thomas Doyal - Using Student-Generated Surveys to Enhance Communication
Joshua Cohen - Purposeful Language Development Through Service Learning
Sally Cummings - Seeing Through Students’ Eyes
James F. Nagle - A Call to Graduate Students to Reshape the Field of English Language Teaching
Ali Fuad Selvi
- The Outsider in Jamaica
Mary Hills Kuck - Resurrecting Student Interest in the English Language Classroom
San Shwe Baw - Improv Meets English Language Learning
Jon Wilkerson - Carnival Laughter as an Antidote for Students’ Fear and Anxiety
Chad Low - 60 Seconds in the Foreign Language Hot Seat
Okon Effiong - Coteaching in the Korean English-Language Classroom
Paul G. Halman
- English Learners in American Classrooms: 101 Questions, 101 Answers
James Crawford and Stephen Krashen
Reviewed by Holly Hansen-Thomas - Today’s Front Pages
Reviewed by Vander Viana and Luciana do Amaral Teixeira - Interactions 2: Reading (Silver Edition)
Elaine Kirn and Pamela Hartmann
Reviewed by Baburhan Uzum - Language and Interaction: An Advanced Resource Book
Richard F. Young
Reviewed by Hui-jung Tang
(see far left column)
