Language classroom anxiety is a significant concern for applied linguists and English language teachers. As an affective variable, foreign language anxiety has the potential to harm learners' language learning and performance. While the impact of language anxiety on the academic achievement of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) has…

Inspired by Gorski's (2016, 2019) framework of equity literacy and Gulliver and Thurrell's (2016, p. 57) call for more adult English as a second language (ESL) materials that feature the "uninterrupted voices" of immigrant/refugee students, this article proposes considerations for equity-minded adult ESL teachers. Specifically, the…

Given the positive effect of teaching idiomatic expressions using the conceptual metaphor (CM) view, and the many benefits of using language tasks in English as a second or foreign language context, this article aims to help teachers design and develop tasks on the basis of CM and task-based language teaching (TBLT). In this study, a series of…

Graphic novels are a form of authentic text that have started to gain widespread acceptance in the English language arts field and have been shown to increase students' motivation to read and engage deeply with texts. By integrating text with pictures, graphic novels have the advantage of requiring a lighter cognitive load than traditional…

Teaching creativity in second language (L2) education has recently received increasing attention. Despite its central role in language creativity, language play in L2 classrooms has not been fully explored. This article revisits the theoretical grounding of creativity in language education, particularly focusing on language play, and provides…

This article provides an easy introduction into corpus-based instruction by explaining what the approach entails. It also presents key terms and discusses key theoretical concepts drawn from the literature; from these, practical applications and pointers are offered for those practitioners wishing to use corpus data or implement corpus-based…

This article proposes a theoretical foundation and practical strategies for incorporating pedagogical songs and corresponding gestures into the language classroom. Music and movement are connected to verbal memory, which is a key component of language learning. Music and language are processed in the same areas of the brain, and recent empirical…

English as a second language teachers often find themselves teaching classes of heterogeneous students who have very divergent English language skills, abilities, and learning needs. One effective approach to address some of the challenges teachers face when teaching heterogeneous, mixed-level classes is task-based language teaching (TBLT). TBLT…

The extant research literature on emergent bilingual spelling focuses on developmental patterns and the interference of first language with second language. The purpose of this article is to provide teachers with an alternate view of emergent bilingual spelling in an effort to influence spelling instruction in the classroom. Writing samples…

In the context of more diverse communicative practices and social relations in globalization, scholars are increasingly defining English as constituting socially constructed situational norms in specific contexts of interaction, and not a homogeneous language or even discrete varieties of English. This shift requires treating pragmatics and not…

Teachers of English as a second language (ESL) are often on the frontline of working with adult ESL learners who are facing a difficult developmental pathway to academic and/or economic success. These learners come to the task of learning English with widely varying schooling experiences, degrees of first language literacy, and English language…

Several scholars have investigated the strengths and weaknesses of native-English-speaking (NES) and nonnative-English-speaking (NNES) teachers of English as a second language (ESL), but few researchers have explored intensive English program (IEP) administrators' and ESL teachers' perspectives on teacher training and the strengths and weaknesses…

The assignment of listening tasks for students to do while listening to conversational English tapes in a Japanese language lab is described. Students are instructed to create their own visuals. Sample activities and procedures are outlined. (Contains 13 references.) (LB)

Development of four one-credit oral communication English courses designed to fit students' schedules at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez is reported. The courses emphasize cooperative communication skills and specialized skills. Simulation and pair/group activities are described. (eight references) (LB)

Based on experience teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to primary school children, the author finds the "ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Students" outlined by the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages do not define ESL progress as specific skill levels but offer open-ended descriptors and sample progress indicators…