How to Summarize

Summarizing or making a summary can be a tiresome activity for either students or avid readers. However, the ability to do so reflects how well the readers understand a writing piece. In fact, summarizing helps a reader retain the knowledge or message being conveyed by the writer after he or she reads the material. In addition, summaries made will help readers locate ideas about the text without having to re-read the whole material. 

In this post, there are several strategies of how to summarize, they are as follows:

Reading Strategies

Reading can be viewed as a dynamic activity that produces meaningful knowing. Each of you can read well if you have the patience and determination to do so. In this post, you will find activities that can assist you in understanding any reading material you will encounter.

What Should We Do with Textbook Reading Activities?

Many language textbooks emphasize more on product (answers to comprehension questions) than process (using reading skills and strategies to understand the text), providing little or no contextual information about the reading selections or their authors, and few if any pre-reading activities. Newer textbooks may provide pre-reading activities and reading strategy guidance, but their one-size-fits-all approach may or may not be appropriate for your students. 
There are some guidelines for developing reading activities which can serve as starting points for evaluating and adapting textbook reading activities. 

• Use existing, or add your own, pre-reading activities and reading strategy practice as appropriate for your students. 
• Don’t make students do exercises simply because they are in the book; this destroys motivation.
• Another problem with textbook reading selections is that they have been adapted to a predetermined reading level through adjustment of vocabulary, grammar, and sentence length. This makes them more immediately approachable, but it also means that they are less authentic and do not encourage students to apply the reading strategies they will need to use outside of class. When this is the case, use the textbook reading selection as a starting point to introduce a writer or topic, and then give students choices of more challenging authentic texts to read as a follow-up.

What A Teacher Must Know When Asking Students Questions

Why Should a Teacher Ask Questions?
Questions are integral parts of a teaching learning activity. It can be understood that a teacher asks questions to students in the classroom. The question is why a teacher should ask questions. There are several reasons why a teacher asks questions:

Fun Class Activities 2

The second part of set Fun Class Activities. Grants include tasks for progress of skills of reading, informal conversation, a pronunciation, grammar, a lexicon, as well as answers to tasks and a note for the teacher. Levels - from Elementary up to Advanced, age - 12-15 years and 16. In total in the book of 50 tasks of different types which will make your lessons not only cognitive, but also cheerful.  

Fun Class Activities 1 (Games and Activities for Teachers)

Fun Class Activities - Games and Activities for Teachers (Book 1).

The book, to be exact, Resource Pack, is universal enough, as it can be used for employment with disciples of levels from Elementary up to Advanced. The grant contains 65 games and the tasks, called up to diversify lessons and to make their more cheerful.
The grant includes tasks for progress of skills of reading, informal conversation, a pronunciation, grammar, a lexicon, as well as answers to tasks and a note for the teacher.

Children’s Games

A photocopiable book of games for primary-school children, providing practice in several ELT areas, and suitable for large or small classes.

Learner-Centered Theory and Practice in Distance Education: Cases From Higher Education

Learner-Centered Theory and Practice in Distance Education: Cases From Higher Education brings the voice of the learning sciences to the study and design of distance learning. The contributors examine critical issues in the design of theoretically and pedagogically based distance education programs.

Eight distance education programs are described in enough detail to allow readers with different interests to understand the pedagogical approaches and the implications of implementing those approaches. Issues of theory, pedagogy, design, assessment, communities of practice, collaboration, and faculty development are discussed.

Each section of the book includes:

How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms

In this 2nd edition of a book that has provided inspiration to countless teachers, Carol Ann Tomlinson offers three new chapters, extended examples and information in every chapter, and field-tested strategies that teachers can use in today's increasingly diverse classrooms. Tomlinson shows how to use students' readiness levels, interests, and learning profiles to address student diversity.
In addition, the author shows teachers how to differentiate, or structure, lessons at every grade level and content area to provide "scaffolds"--as well as high-speed elevators--for *The content of lessons, *The processes used in learning, and *The products of learning.
Teachers can draw on the book's practical examples as they begin to differentiate instruction in their own classrooms. Strategies include curriculum compacting, "sidebar" investigations, entry points, graphic organizers, contracts, and portfolios. As Tomlinson says, "Differentiation challenges us to draw on our best knowledge of teaching and learning. It suggests that there is room for both equity and excellence in our classrooms.

Learning to Teach English

There are also chapters on error correction, learner independence, learner variation, planning (including several full lesson plans), teaching in different contexts (ESOL, one-to-one, business, and young learners, and professional development. The appendices contain a summary of terminology to describe grammar, and also the form and main uses of many verb patterns. The book is ideal for people enrolling on, or following a  CELTA course, a Trinity College London certificate in TESOL course or any other pre-service EFL course.

50 Mixed-Ability Grammar Lessons

50 Mixed-Ability Grammar Lessons
CLASSROOM PHOTOCOPIABLE TIMESAVERS
Ready-made activities for busy teachers
LEVEL: ELEMENTARY - INTERMEDIATE
This rich resource provides grammar practice activities for the mixed-ability class covering the main Elementary, Pre-intermediate and Intermediate structures. Each lesson contains three graded levels of activity based around each structure.
The structures cover the main tenses as well as modals, phrasal verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs. Each structure is practised through fun and interesting topics suitable for teenage learners, such as music, food, clothes, sport and literature.
Three graded levels of activity allow the material to be used for revision as well as further practice.
An ideal supplement to any coursebook up to Intermediate level.

The Mixed Ability Class

Richmond Handbooks for Teachers are highly practical methodology guides written by teachers for teachers. This complete and user-friendly range provides:

• Practical, realistic suggestions for the classroom
• Photocopiable activity worksheets
• Teacher development tasks
• Clear, jargon-free theory explanations
• Suggestions for dealing with everyday problems faced by teachers in primary, secondary and adult classrooms
• Advice on promoting diversity within the classroom
• Information on current educational reforms and issues

English Teaching in the Secondary School: Linking Theory and Practice (3rd Edition)

Now in an updated third edition, English Teaching in the Secondary School is a comprehensive guide to the theory and practice of teaching English. Presenting an informed view of current educational policy, the authors provide advice to help students creatively and independently interpret government initiatives and incorporate them in their teaching practice. With practical ideas for use in the classroom, extensive discussion of theory and opportunities for reflection and critical thought, the authors guide students through the whole process of English teaching in the secondary school.
Fully updated to include:

Language Teaching Methodology: Textbook for Teachers

Comprising a general ELT methodology for ELT teachers, this work covers the development of listening, speaking, writing and reading skills, as well as grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. Also discussed are classroom management, materials development and learning strategies.

A Guide to Teaching Practice

A Guide to Teaching Practice has long been a major standard text for all students of initial teacher training courses. It is the fullest, most comprehensive, most accessible introductory text in the field. This new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to take account of the many changes that have taken place both within the education system and within training courses, including:
* Literacy and numeracy hours
* ICT and e-learning in the classroom
* Subject knowledge
* Resources
* Children's rights, bullying, child abuse, and other legal issues.
As before the book is comprehensive in its coverage of issues and provides a practical guide to student teachers and in-service teachers on all matters of teaching practice and beginning teaching. It covers all the important basic skills and issues, such as planning, classroom organization, behavior management, and assessment.

Teaching Practice A Handbook for Teachers in Training

Teaching Practice is for teachers and trainers on pre-service training courses. It provides a task-based approach to making the most of teaching practice. Chapters systematically cover the main challenges for new teachers including:
- Planning lessons
- Presenting and practising new language
- Working on skills
- Managing classroom activities
- Correcting and giving feedback

Essentials of English Language Teaching

Essentials of English Language Teaching (Keys to Language Teaching)

Essentials of English Language Teaching is part of a series designed for teachers and teacher trainees who wish to improve their classroom teaching. It provides practical suggestions for lessons and activities, adopting an integrated approach which examines teaching across the skills, rather than one skill at a time.

Teaching English through English

Teaching English through English is a practical training course for teachers or intending teaching English as a second or foreign language. It is designed to give them practice effective use of classroom English and to extend their language teaching skills and techniques, with the aim of helping their students learn to сcommunicate successfully in English. It can be used on teacher training courses and as a reference book for teachers to use on their own. It is suitable for both native and non-native speaker teacher.

The first part of the course covers the use of social, personal and organisational language in typical classroom situations, and shows how these situations can be used for presenting, practising and reinforcing target language. The second part deals with tne main areas of methodology, and the language and teaching skills needed for each. A detailed introduction includes notes for teachers on how best to use the course, аnd the appendices include a glossary of more specialised ELT terms and other practical information.

Basics - Introduction to Teaching English

Ideal for the novice teacher, this book features sample lessons with explanatory comments on the teaching techniques and methods used. Areas covered include grammar, functions, vocabulary, pronunciation, and the four skills, as well as planning, assessment and classroom management.

Key features

• Easy-to follow description of the language.
• Accessible lesson plans which provide a blueprint for teachers to use.
• A good way in to methodology that avoids a lot of technical jargon and theory. 

Strategies for Developing Reading Skills

Using Reading Strategies

Language instructors are often frustrated by the fact that students do not automatically transfer the strategies they use when reading in their native language to reading in a language they are learning. Instead, they seem to think reading means starting at the beginning and going word by word, stopping to look up every unknown vocabulary item, until they reach the end. When they do this, students are relying exclusively on their linguistic knowledge, a bottom-up strategy. One of the most important functions of the language instructor, then, is to help students move past this idea and use top-down strategies as they do in their native language.
Effective language instructors show students how they can adjust their reading behaviour to deal with a variety of situations, types of input, and reading purposes. They help students develop a set of reading strategies and match appropriate strategies to each reading situation. Strategies that can help students read more quickly and effectively include

10 WAYS TO EXPLOIT READING TEXTS

Some teachers find it difficult to deal with reading texts found in their coursebooks. Mostly, they will just go with the rest of the exercise accompanying the texts. There are actually some activities which can make a reading activity more fun or more meaningful to students. They are:

How to Make Students Self-Motivated?

Some students seem naturally enthusiastic about learning, but many need or expect their instructors to inspire, challenge, and stimulate them: “Effective learning in the classroom depends on the teacher’s ability … to maintain the interest that brought students to the course in the first place” (Ericksen, 1978, p. 3). Whatever level of motivation your students bring to the classroom will be transformed, for better or worse, by what happens in that classroom.

Practicing Pronunciation through Proverbs

In teaching pronunciation, especially in an EFL setting, a teacher occasionally stumbles upon students making incorrect pronunciation of certain sounds. The mistakes are due to several factors, like the student may have a speech organ defect, she or he comes from a particular place whose accent influences her or his pronunciation and the like. The problems, those related to pronunciation, can sometimes be reduced or even overcome. One of the ways is by training students to focus on certain sounds and they have to pronounce them correctly and flawlessly. In doing so, a teacher plays an important role, that is as the model for the students.

A teacher should give modeling of these pronunciations of the sounds. The students have to focus on how each sound is produced. The follow-up activities will employ parroting or repeating after the teacher. At the end of the activity, it is hoped that the students begin to feel how to pronounce these sounds. Have a try on this exercise.

English with ... games and activities 3 Intermediate

A wide variety of games to entertain and motivate students to broaden and consolidate their lexical and grammatical knowledge of the language.
Each volume contains 14 theme units featuring 20 or more illustrated words. These are then used in various games and activities such as crosswords, word searches, anagrams… etc. Answers are included
making the books the ideal companion for self-study.

English with ... games and activities 2 Lower intermediate

A wide variety of games to entertain and motivate students to broaden and consolidate their lexical and grammatical knowledge of the language.
Each volume contains 14 theme units featuring 20 or more illustrated words. These are then used in various games and activities such as crosswords, word searches, anagrams… etc. Answers are included
making the books the ideal companion for self-study.

English with ... games and activities 1 Elementary

The first of a series of three volumes for students of various levels. For learning English vocabulary and structures. Games and various activities are all richly illustrated.
Each volume offers 14 units based on lexical themes. Each unit presents approximately 20 illustrated words. The words are then used in games and various activities: crosswords, find the word, anagrams, etc. A grammatical theme and exercises are also presented in each unit.
The solutions, found in the appendix, allow the volume to be used also for self-study.

Topics included:

Action Research: A Methodology for Change and Development

This book presents a fresh view of action research as a methodology uniquely suited to researching the processes of innovation and change. Drawing on twenty-five years' experience of leading or facilitating action research projects, Bridget Somekh argues that action research can be a powerful systematic intervention, which goes beyond describing, analyzing and theorizing practices to reconstruct and transform those practices.

Methodology in Language Teaching: An Anthology of Current Practice

This collection provides an overview of current approaches, issues, and practices in the teaching of English to speakers of other languages. The paperback edition provides an overview of current approaches, issues, and practices in the teaching of English to speakers of other languages. The anthology, a broad collection of articles published primarily in the last decade, offers a comprehensive overview to the teaching of English and illustrates the complexity underlying many of the practical planning and instructional activities it involves.

American vs British English

American and British English Differences

1. Spelling of words ending in “our” in British English are “or” in American English.
A representative list of such words is:

Short Glossary of Words and Their Euphemisms

Words can give different impacts to the receivers whether they are said or written. 
Therefore, knowing how to reduce the impact is very essential. In this post, I would like to share a short list of words along with their euphemism. 
Euphemism means an inoffensive or indirect expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive or too harsh.

Overcoming Writer’s Block 2

Here are some statements made by people suffering from writer’s block. They could help you identify your own case if you have this problem. They are followed by tips on how to effect a cure.

Overcoming Writer’s Block

Writer's block is a very common problem. Even experienced writers sometimes suffer from it. Don’t think that you are the only person it affects. What you need to know is how to get out of the blocked condition.

There are several ways you can do or several tips you can follow in order to overcome writer's block.

26 Golden Rules for Writing Well

The followings are 26 golden rules for writing well. Study them well in order that you can write decently.

1. Don’t abbrev.
2. Check to see if you any words out.
3. Be carefully to use adjectives and adverbs correct.
4. About sentence fragments.
5. When dangling, don’t use participles.
6. Don’t use no double negatives.

Adjective Word Order

The use of adjectives is essential when trying to describe a noun or pronoun.  Good writers and speakers are able to use adjectives to create clear, mental images for the reader or listener.  As you continue to work on your English, don’t be afraid to use multiple adjectives to describe something. Using more than three physically descriptive type adjectives in sequence to describe one noun or pronoun would sound a little awkward.   When using multiple adjectives in a sequence, you must be aware of the correct adjective order.  The proper order of adjectives is listed below along with some examples for each category.

Comparative

One-syllable adjectives.

Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding –er for the comparative form and –est for the superlative.

One-Syllable Adjective	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
tall	taller	tallest
old	older	oldest
long	longer	longest

• Mary is taller than Max.
• Mary is the tallest of all the students.
• Max is older than John.
• Of the three students, Max is the oldest.
• My hair is longer than your hair.
• Max's story is the longest story I've ever heard.

If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add –r for the comparative form and –st for the superlative form.

Using Reader-Based Corrective Feedback for Improving Students' Writing

Introduction

Recently, the focus of language learning and teaching which is more learner centered has led to a more demanding role of teachers and learners. One of the most important changes is that teachers are viewed as the source of knowledge, instead as a facilitator or monitor (Richards, 2006:5). Littlewood (2002:91) asserted that teachers might face conflicts with their pedagogical role, which has traditionally required them to evaluate all learners’ performance according to clearly defined criteria. At the same time, this shift calls for greater learner’s participation and responsibility in learning process. From this perspective, the teacher seems to be less “prescriptive” in dominating the class and is less authoritarian as learning is now seen to be an individual activity as well as a socially-shared experience. The learner is no longer a passive recipient but an active participant in the classroom process. In order to fulfill this active role, learners also need to develop an awareness of themselves as learners.

Television

Television has been called as the most convenient medium for getting either information or entertainment. People mostly find television beneficial for their life. However, there are some others who still believe that there are bad influences that television brings. In shorts, there has been a debate about whether televisions are advantageous or disadvantageous.

In this post, there is a list of opinions or arguments concerning the effects televisions bring to our lives. The arguments or opinions are separated between those which are in favor and those which are against televisions. I find these arguments or opinions beneficial for making students talk about the effects of television in a speaking class.

Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (2nd Edition)

'If there is currently a more lucid overview available of all significant approaches to language teaching, I'll be very surprised.' - EL Gazette. A fully revised and updated edition of this popular introduction to language teaching methodology, which describes different methods and approaches in language teaching. It provides practical, step-by-step guidance for new teachers and introduces more experienced teachers to new approaches and teaching ideas.

Key features
- Fully updated.
- An accessible introduction to different methods and approaches in language teaching.
- Provides practical, step-by-step guidance for new teachers. Clear and jargon-free.
- Suitable for in-service and initial teacher training, and pre-course reading for MA students.
- Introduces more experienced teachers to new approaches and teaching ideas.
- Cartoons and illustrations, redrawn for this edition.

Creative Questions: Lively Uses of the Interrogative

Creative Questions: Lively Uses of the Interrogative
 
This resource book deals with one of the major barriers to fluency and accuracy in English – question forms. It integrates question practice into all areas of language teaching – grammar, vocabulary, the four skills, register, cross-cultural training, and others – empowering students to ask questions accurately and appropriately, and enabling them to become active learners. There are over 70 activities, from five-minute warm ups to full lessons, for students from beginning to advanced levels.

Communicative Language Teaching

The communicative approach is changing the face of foreign language teaching. This book provides an introduction to communicative language teaching for practising classroom teachers. The author gives a single coherent account of the basic communicative ideas, emphasizing those aspects most important in the classroom so that teachers can integrate the new ideas into their own familiar methods. He stresses that a knowledge of grammar remains essential for effective communication.

‘ … skilfully and compactly structured … will satisfy the practising teacher in presenting a range of activities which can be tried out in class. The book is a model of synthesis and precision …’ International House News and Reviews
‘ … a breath of fresh air … a useful, concise, well-argued and interesting introduction. Any language teacher would do well to read it.’ World Language English

Effective Presentation Skills: A Practical Guide for Better Speaking

Give confident, enthusiastic, and persuasive presentations. With an emphasis on the need for preparation and practice, this course provides guidance on how to organize, create, and deliver effective presentations. Conquer your fear of public speaking. Prepare and deliver well organized presentations. Capture and maintain audience interest.

Learning Objectives: To explain how to build credibility and confidence as a speaker. To show how to use presentation technology to your advantage. To provide techniques for preparing and delivering a presentation well.

Culturally Speaking: Culture, Communication and Politeness Theory

This comprehensive introduction to intercultural pragmatics examines the theoretical, methodological and practical issues in the analysis of talk across cultures.
The book includes:
* introduction to the key issues in culture and communication
* examination of cross-cultural and intercultural communication
* empirical case studies from a variety of languages, including German, Greek, Japanese and Chinese
* practical chapters on pragmatics research, recording and analyzing data, and projects in intercultural pragmatics
* exercises at the end of each chapter
* glossary of terms
This second edition of Culturally Speaking will be an essential guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in communication across cultures.

Conversation Gambit

The main way we make our conversation sound natural is by using gambits. A gambit is a word or a phrase which helps us to express what we are trying to say. For example, we use a gambit to introduce a topic of a conversation; to link what we have to say to what someone has just said; to agree or disagree; to respond to what we have heard. In one sense, a gambit has a very little meaning–it does not express the opinion, it may only introduce the opinion. On the other hand, if we never use gambits in our conversation, other people will think we are very abrupt, direct, and even rude–they will get a wrong picture of us as people. …

How to teach vocabulary

The How to…series offers practical teaching ideas within a clear, theoretical framework. Each title includes a photocopiable ‘Task File’ of training and reflection activities to reinforce the theories and practical ideas presented. Looks in detail at the theory of words and at how students learn new vocabulary Offers practical advice on how to help students build vocabulary in new and effective ways and how to test students’ word knowledge Major developments, such as language corpora and lexical approaches, are clearly explained and related to your needs as a teacher

How To Teach Writing

The How to…series offers practical teaching ideas within a clear, theoretical framework. Each title includes a photocopiable ‘Task File’ of training and reflection activities to reinforce the theories and practical ideas presented.
Includes : An uncomplicated analysis of the nature of writing, particularly in terms of process, product and genre; Discussion of the practical implications of teaching the theory of writing;Descriptions of a broad spread of writing tasks, simple and extended, to help teachers select those that will most effective in developing their students’ writing skills.

How to Teach Grammar

A guide for teachers on how to develop or enhance their grammar-teaching skills. The early part of the book considers such issues as the nature of grammar and the reasons for teaching it. Subsequent chapters explore both inductive and deductive approaches to grammar. The book also explores ways of practicing a variety of grammar topics, methods of dealing with grammatical errors in students' work, and ways of integrating grammar instruction into different general methodologies, such as communicative language learning and task-based learning. Each chapter contains a bank of photocopiable tasks. Readers can work through this "Task File" on their own, or it can be used by a trainer working with trainee teachers.

How to teach English

This book is a complete manual of teaching English as a foreign or second language. It is complete because of its wide-range coverage from general issues about teaching and learning English (Chapter 1 and 2) up to specific problems that English teachers frequently encounter (Chapter 13). Between these two extremes, readers can find almost everything dealing with teaching and learning English. Those who are interested in developing the teaching of language components may refer to Chapter 5. A brief review about sentence construction, part of speech, noun types, verb forms are topics within this chapter. Not intending to dichotomize weakness and strength, bad and good, these topics indicate that the description of grammar used in this book refer to traditional view of grammar, not to Hallidian grammar. Chapter 7 - 10 deal with teaching the four language skills. They are, therefore, appropriate for those who want a practical, easy to understand reference of teaching listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

How to teach Speaking

How to teach Speaking is a practical guide for teachers who want to improve their knowledge and develop their classroom skills in this area. The book includes:

 

a description of the characteristics features of spoken language.

an explanation of communication strategies that learners use.

ways to increase learner autonomy and confidence.

approaches to assessing speaking

 

Author: Scott Thornbury.

Speak Business English Like an American

Be more effective on the job! Communicate like a native speaker of English with the ultimate guide to today's Business English!

American English speakers use many phrases and expressions on the job. If you don’t know these expressions, you’re left out of the conversation! You’re out of it ... and nothing makes you feel so like a foreigner. This book & CD will help you speak Business English like an American — quickly and confidently. Once you have the knack, no one can take it away from you. With this book and CD, your career will benefit for years to come. This book and CD is great for self-study as well as for classroom use.

Communicate Better! Understand more!

You’ll learn the idioms & expressions that you hear at work — no matter where you work or what your job is. What do your colleagues and coworkers, your customers or clients really mean when they use expressions like pretty penny, in the red, step up to the plate, wishy-washy, and fast followers? How can you use expressions such as these too?

Language is always changing and business English changes especially fast. That’s why we’ve explained the most up-to-date expressions — today’s business English. Now you’ll be able to use these expressions, too. If you conduct business in English, you will benefit from this system!

PUZZLE IT OUT Level 1 with answers

Each book contains an interesting and motivating collection of puzzles, designed to give further practice in spelling, structural patterns and language usage, as well as to stimulate vocabulary development. The instructions and short descriptions introducing each puzzle are meaningful exercises in reading comprehension which can be used to equal advantage either at home or in the classroom.

Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works

One of the most effective ways to implement the research-based instructional strategies from Classroom Instruction That Works is to use them with educational technologies, such as word processing and spreadsheet applications, multimedia, data collection tools, communication software, and the Internet. This book shows you how and gives you hundreds of lesson-planning ideas and strategies for every grade level and subject. Discover new educational tools that support research-based instruction, and learn ways to use technologies you already know to

Teaching English as a Foreign Language (Routledge Education Books)

For the many categories of EFL teachers throughout the world, this book examines the main principles which concern them. By drawing upon their experience the authors have indicated a modern and practical approach.

Doing Action Research in English Language Teaching: A Guide for Practitioners (ESL & Applied Linguistics Professional Series)

This hands-on, practical guide for ESL/EFL teachers and teacher educators outlines, for those who are new to doing action research, what it is and how it works. Straightforward and reader friendly, it introduces the concepts and offers a step-by-step guide to going through an action research process, including illustrations drawn widely from international contexts. Specifically, the text addresses: