DEVELOPING TEACHERS.COM Newsletter

Welcome to the June Newsletter

This month we are taking a look at using literature in the classroom, an area that doesn't get as much attention as it deserves. To begin, there's an article from Nelly Zafeiriadou titled, 'On Literature in the EFL classroom'. Then we have three more articles plus accompanying lesson plans on the site. If you were uncertain about using literature with your students before, you'll be left in no doubt after all of these articles & plans.

Marjorie Rosenberg continues her series of articles with one on brain-centred approaches & alternative methodologies. And to complement the article we are also reviewing Marjorie's book 'Communicative Business Activities'.

This month we welcome Michael Berman to the site with an article about learning styles. He has his own site devoted to using the story in the classroom. Lots of material to keep your students spellbound.

Keep sending in your English language teaching-related sites & we'll give them a mention.

Hope you enjoy the newsletter.

Happy teaching!

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INDEX

1. THEME - Using literature in the classroom

2. THE SITE - lesson plans & articles

3. WARMER

4. BOOKS

5. E-MAIL COURSES

6. READER SITES

7. TEACHING LINKS

8. JOBS

9. WEEKLY TEACHING TIPS

10. TRAINING COURSES

11. PS - Internet/computer-related links

12. THE BIT AT THE END

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1. THEME - using literature in the classroom

'On Literature in the EFL classroom' by Nelly Zafeiriadou " A Lot of Water has Flown under your Bridge" or, a historical review of the issue.

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New literature-related articles & lesson plans on the site

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Kathy Byrne has an article & lesson plan up titled; 'Using authentic literary text with advanced learners'.

To read the article...

The main aims of Kathy's lesson are to develop reading for gist and reading speed and foster interest in reading authentic texts & to train learners in inferring meaning in figurative language.

To read the plan...

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Scott Shelton tells us about 'Encouraging Extensive Reading' in his classes.

To read the article...

The aims of the lesson plan that accompany the article are to encourage extensive reading outside of class time & to create student interest in the story.

To read the plan...

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Emma Metcalf already has some articles on the site, also has a few things to say about 'Using literature in the EFL classroom with specific reference to children's literature and literature and film literature'

To read the article..

The lesson plan aims to develop reading strategies: inferring meaning from context, to encourage students to read a wide variety of texts in English and how reading children´s literature or popular fiction is still a valid source of text to learn from & also to expose students to some authentic texts which contain colloquial vocabulary.

To read the plan...

Many thanks to Nelly, Kathy, Scott & Emma.

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2. THE SITE

Apart from the above articles & lesson plans on the site there is also another article from Marjorie Rosenberg. This is the second in her series of articles for us & titled, 'The Role of Brain- Based Learning and Alternative Methodologies in EFL by Marjorie Rosenberg.' Marjorie begins;

'Since I began teaching English as a foreign language some 18 years ago, I have encountered many new techniques which I have been able to incorporate into both my English lessons and teacher training sessions. Superlearning and NLP techniques have been part of my repertoire for the past 10 years and several years ago I added ideas from Cooperative Learning, Learning Styles, and Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences. This past summer I had the opportunity to attend Eric Jensen's "Brain-Compatible Learning Workshop" and discovered how closely these techniques fit into this model.'

To read the article...

Also see the book review reviewing Marjorie's book 'Communicative Business Activities'.

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Warrior, Settler or Nomad? by Michael Berman

Based on the concept of evolutionary psychology, it can be argued that there are three main personality types depending on what we have inherited from our ancestors. The Warrior is forceful, resolute and organisational, the Settler is sociable, intuitive and adaptable, and the Nomad is restless, charismatic and innovative. What kinds of learners are your students and what are the classroom implications? That's what this article will focus on.

To read the article...

See the Reader's Sites section below for the link to Michael's site.

Thank you Marjorie & Michael.

If you've given a course or seminar or have a lesson plan & would like to give it a public airing then do send it to:

articles@developingteachers.com

ADVERTISING - If you are interested in advertising on the site or the Weekly Teaching Tip & this Monthly Newsletter then please get in touch at:

advertising@developingteachers.com

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3. WARMER

Want to do a reading or listening that class and plan to pre- teach some vocab.? What I've done is start off the class with a true or false discussion warmer. I write a series of sentences using target vocab., some true, some false, on the board. I try to make the sentences illustrate the meaning of the vocab., or at least lead them to an educated guess. Students discuss. You do feedback and give correct answers. Example:

For Headway Upper-Int. unit 6, advertisement listening:

In Britain you have to buy a license to watch television. (T)
All ducks are yellow and fluffy. (F-only ducklings)
There are four branches of the military in the United States. (T - army [target word], navy, air force, marines)
You can recycle disposable razors and blades. (my students insist T)

Enjoy!
Nedra

Thanks Nedra. You must have a favourite warmer! Send it in & we'll publish it here & put it in the warmer list on the site.

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4. BOOKS

This month we have a review of Marjorie Rosenberg's very useful book full of information gap activities, 'Communicative Business Activities'. You can see the review..

If you would like to review a book for us, do get in touch.

bookreviews@developingteachers.com

Please don't forget to go through the Book Page when you want to buy from Amazon - we get a little bit & you pay the same. Every little helps to keep the newsletters free. Thanks.

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5. E-MAIL COURSES

Maximise your time by getting started on a quality personalised teacher development course. There are a couple of sample pages to view.

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6. YOUR SITES

The new edition of The Storyteller is now available at http://www.Thestoryteller.org.uk

Each issue contains three stories for ELT with Notes for Teachers and worksheets to use in class. Other features include articles on the art of storytelling as well as details of publications and services that might be of interest. The resources are provided completely free of charge and the costs are covered by the publisher - The Golem Press.

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My name is Claudia Rossi and I have been an enthusiastic English language teacher for four years now and I am doing a full distance study programme with the University of Manchester, which leads to the BA (Hons.) in ELT. Being fascinated teaching and learning I entered the world of English language teaching after I had been awarded the CELTA in 1998. I teach elementary to advanced classes on general and business English courses and my main interests are designing teaching materials and teaching Cambridge exam classes (general and business English). I've got a website and am currently also looking for more work. Have a look at my website if you need a teacher or translator. It's http://home.tiscalinet.ch/elt-and-translations

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7. LINKS FOR TEACHING

Have you got any favourite teaching links? Please send them in.

http://www.yaelf.com/index.shtml

'This is an independent FAQ for the alt.usage.english newsgroup.' Lots & lots of English usage - essential bookmarking!

http://www.cal.org/ncle/digests/

'The National Center for ESL Literacy Education (NCLE), the only national information center focusing on the language and literacy education of adults and out-of-school youth learning English, works to support those providing such services. For over ten years, NCLE has provided information on adult ESL literacy education to teachers and tutors, program directors, researchers, and policymakers interested in the education of refugees, immigrants, and other U.S. residents whose native language is other than English. This population includes adults who are low-literate and low-skilled, as well as those who are more educated but need to improve their English language skills.'

http://www.yacht.callisto.btinternet.co.uk/internetsurvey.htm

A Google search on 'ESL' results in 444,000 references, a search on 'TEFL' results in 82,000. I have only been seriously looking for ESL/TEFL resources for 2-3 weeks so, with such a large amount of material available, this survey is very much a report on 'work in progress'.

http://www.researchpaper.com/

A springboard into research should you or your students have the need. A good idea.

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8. JOBS

Disclaimer - as with any job check it out carefully. We don't endorse the schools that advertise below. The ads are sent in & we mention them here & put them up on the site. A note for advertisers - please post your advert in the Forum - see the link from the Front Page - then we'll put it on the
recruitment page & mention it in this newsletter.

Suzanna Zyla's looking for teaching employment in Malaysia or Singapore commencing in August or September of this year. If you can help out, you can see Suzanna's CV.

Teacher Trainer - Barcelona, Spain
The Lewis School of Languages, Barcelona, is looking for a CELTA qualified teacher trainer to work on our August and September courses. For further details and conditions, please email us on - info@lewis-school.com.

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Anhui University of Technology, Ma'anshan, Anhui Province, China
For the last 4 years VSO (a UK-based international development charity) has sent EFL teachers to this university, but now that Anhui is more prosperous, it's withdrawing it's support - and so the university is looking for replacement EFL teachers. Although China, and China away from the big developed cities, is not to everyone's taste and interest, I've enjoyed 2 years teaching for this university, and would be happy to put anyone interested in a job here in touch with the appropriate people. If anyone would like to follow this up, please email me, Jennifer Wallace, at: Jennifer0052@hotmail.com

Jennifer goes on to describe the town, university & the job - see the Recruitment page on the site for more.

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China Teaching
English in China - Qualified and experience tutors required. Package includes: Competitive salary, return flight & good accommodation. For further details contact: Peter Sinclair enquiries@oxfordbusinesscollege.co.uk

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Beroun, Hungary
We are a private Language school founded in 1990, looking for English native speaking teachers to teach full time in the school year 2002/2003 - general English classes, conversation classes, business classes, company and one-to-one classes. Experience in teaching UCLES exam preparation classes is preferred, but not essential. The school is located in the town of Beroun, a lovely historical town located in a forested valley. It is easy to get to Prague - 40 min to the centre. There is aregular bus and train service to Prague (every 20 min). Qualifications: CELTA or equivalent TEFL certificate and two years of teaching experience. Compensation: We offer a competitive salary - according to qualifications and teaching experience. Please e-mail us for details (klara.vavreckova@myrealbox.com). We will ensure all necessary papers for your official employment. The school provides free accommodation - 7 minutes on foot from the school in a quiet, residential suburb. The flat is fully equipped: TV/SAT, video, Tape/CD player, phone and computer with internet access. The school will arrange medical cover and also contribute towards the arrival travel costs (130 euros).

Teachers can post CVs on the site & employers can post job adverts - both are free services at the moment.

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9. WEEKLY TEACHING TIPS

Free weekly practical teaching tips by e-mail. Recent Tips include:

- The honeymoon is over! - helping beginner learners get over their first hurdles.

- Tape & transcribe - a quick look at making our own tapes & getting students to transcribe short sections.

- Writing for beginners - a few ideas that include 'gradual writing'.

- Sorting them out - the challenge of multi-word verbs.

To see the Past Tips

To sign up to receive the Tips

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ADVERTISEMENT

10. COURSES

Train in Spain - Courses running in the near future at the British Language Centre in Madrid:

CAMBRIDGE CERTIFICATE IN ELT - CELTA
Full-time four-week courses, July, August, September '02
Big discounts on the June, July & August course fees!

CAMBRIDGE DIPLOMA IN ELT - DELTA
Two month full-time course: July & August '02

Reasonably priced accommodation can be arranged for the duration of all courses.

You can see brief descriptions of all of the current courses on the BLC web site http://www.cospa.es/blc/TED/ttframe.htm The postal address of Teacher Education at the British Language Centre is Calle Bravo Murillo 377, 2, 28020 Madrid, Spain. The phone number is (00 34) 733 07 39 & the fax number is (00 34) 91 314 5009. The e-mail address is ted.blc@cospa.es

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11. PS - Internet/computer-related links

http://www.openoffice.org/

Why pay for Microsoft Office when you can get the same for free? Get along to Open Office & download your own copy.

http://wwws.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/5.2/get.html

Sun were the first to offer a free office suite & now they are charging for the new version of Star Office but it still works out at much less than anything Microsoft offer. At the time of writing the free version - 5.2 - is still available to download.

http://www.blambot.com/

Need comic fonts? Probably not but great fonts to have.

http://www.jotto.com/bubblesoap/bubblesoap.html

Recommended Flash fun. Follow the adventures of Funnie, Hunnie and Momoney. 'Like, Pow!'

http://www.flyingpuppet.com/menu.html

Some more Flash art.

http://www.lifetips.com/

'Our mission is to offer free Living Improvements for Everyone (LIFE)'

http://www.gamer.tv/game_launch/page/3123769.xml

'Dinky Bomb, a game that could turn even your mild-mannered granny into a slavering addict.'

http://www.absolutetrivia.com/

Impress friends & family with your enormous range of useless knowledge!

http://www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html

Ever wondered how Google manages to get the pages you want amongst the billions out there. They have released their secret & it is none other than the common grey pigeon! Check out the graphs. You learn something every day.

http://www.orisinal.ws/games/bauns.htm

Drag the ball, aim & shoot.

http://www.caveofmagic.com/

Check out the amazing card game in the Cave of Magic!

http://www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com/biscuits/week.php3

Takes the biscuit.

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12. THE BIT AT THE END

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