Sandra Grant, Mukogawa Ft. After exchanging ideas on the reasons for a conversation partnership program matching ESL learners with NSs of English who are learning their native languages or cultures, the presenter provides the nuts and bolts of one such program, followed by a discussion of potential problem scenarios and trouble shooting. The presenter evaluates a variety of pedagogical strategies to promote communicative language learning and involve students in the learning process, and discusses how team teaching can contribute to the success of such courses. This demonstration is chockfull of activities to improve students' oral proficiency. Appropriate for new teachers or veterans looking for new ideas.
Copious handout includes copy of activities demonstrated and a bibliography of sources.
In this demonstration, the presenter describes purposes and processes of teaching students how to create visual representations, shows different types, and demonstrates further activities using visual representations. This demonstration offers three practical, hands-on paraphrasing lessons that can be adapted to any ESL class designed to prepare students for academic research. The skills learned in these lessons allow students to choose creatively when confronted by paraphrasing situations. The facilitators of this workshop present 10 principles for implementing a theme-based approach to grammar instruction. The presenter demonstrates how a jigsaw writing activity enables students to collaborate on the writing process, understand the concepts of essay organization, and use analytical and critical thinking skills to achieve coherency and unity in an essay.