Project Success is a new six-level, four-skills series for adults and young adults that includes a strong focus on workplace skills and 21st century challenges. This highly engaging video-based program models key competencies in realistic settings, with many opportunities for students to practice the competency in pairs and groups. Watch this video vignette to get a taste of the New Project Success!
(excerpt from Project Success Intro, Unit 4)
Sandra Heyer
One way to extend the lessons in True Stories Behind the Songs and More True Stories Behind the Songs is to follow up each unit with a supplemental song that connects to the theme of the unit, plus an activity to go with the supplemental song. Each month I’ll share a song-based activity that has worked well with my beginning and high-beginning students. This month, let’s look at some examples of song choices and Writing New Song Lyrics.
How to Write New Song Lyrics in 4 Easy Steps:
Step 1: Choose a song that is easy to sing and copy the lyrics from the Internet.
Step 2: Students listen to the song while reading the lyrics.
Step 3: Working individually, in small groups, or as a class, students personalize the lyrics to fit their own experiences, replacing some words in the song with new words, or replacing an entire verse with a new verse.
Step 4: The class sings the song with the new lyrics. Continue reading
Stacy Hagen
Join us on March 4th at 3:00 pm (EST) to celebrate Grammar Day with Stacy Hagen. She will discuss the critical role of listening in the grammar classroom. Click here to register.
Of the four language skills taught in the classroom, listening has received the least attention, yet its role is vital. She will talk about recent research in listening, discuss the importance of teaching decoding skills, and show why listening belongs at all levels of a grammar curriculum.
Stacy Hagen is co-author of the Azar-Hagen Grammar series. She is an experienced ESL teacher and administrator, and the creator of EnglishwithStacy, a YouTube channel on spoken English.
Click here to learn more about this exciting professional development webinar.
Do you want to see a sample of the new fourth edition of Basic English Grammar? If so, click here.
Carol Numrich
When language educators include critical thinking activities in their lessons, not only do they raise student interest and motivation, but they also prepare students for one of the key 21st-century skills needed in today’s world. Though most educators agree that critical thinking is an essential skill, there is not always agreement on how to define or teach it. In fact, over recent decades, two camps have developed: psychologists, who believe that problems have correct answers and definable solutions, and philosophers, who argue that problems are complex, ambiguous, and often have no solutions. Interestingly, both views can contribute to more successful learning of a second language. Continue reading
David Hill
Introduction
Critical thinking, while not a traditional language skill, is a common focus within English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses, often bundled together with other study skills or with reading and listening. However, while the teaching of speaking, reading, grammar and other such aspects of the language is covered extensively in teacher training literature and courses, relatively little has been said about the teaching of critical thinking. This article will, it is hoped, go some way toward closing this gap. Continue reading
