A challenge for Principles of Marketing instructors is introducing new topics to majors and non-majors alike in a way that piques interest and increases student engagement across the breadth of topics. To help instructors overcome this challenge, we provide marketing "hooks," or short in-class exercises, that can be implemented to…

Production-oriented approach may provide us with a brand new perspective to our current college English reading instruction. Under this approach, teaching reforms need to be initiated in respects of teaching objectives, teaching materials, teaching methods and assessment. Instructors are required to design appropriate output tasks to stimulate…

This article presents an overview of action research conducted in an EFL university context, regarding primarily the relationship between individual possible self-images, socially constructed possible self-images, and language-learning motivation. The study used three cycles of action research over the course of one 15-week university semester,…

As language learning theory has shifted from a highly guided to a more open learning process, this paper presents the teaching/learning philosophy called Learning for Life (L for L) as a great way to motivate native Spanish speaker students learning English as a foreign language, and to help them be the constructors of their own knowledge. The…

The chapters in "Explorations in Second Language Reading" reveal the importance of reading in the classroom and how instructors can use reading as a bridge to improve learners' other linguistic and interpersonal skills. Most significantly, each author prompts us to rediscover how enjoyable ESOL reading can be and how it can increase learner…

In this article, the author presents an activity which allows students to construct various rhythm patterns in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 meter by using M&Ms and pretzels as an extrinsic motivation. Rhythmic notation is a foundation for learning music concepts. Engaging students in representative modules helps them to learn and recognize note values and…

In this article, findings from a recent one-year research project that investigated the use of games in a variety of school settings are described and discussed. The project involved four schools and 12 teachers designing classroom activities around specific games to support learners both within the formal national curriculum and in the context of…

In this article, the author discusses how to motivate students and put fun back in the classroom. Through the inservice training on a Basic Intensive Week in William Glasser's Choice Theory, he learns that human beings are motivated by five basic human needs, fun, being one of them, is the genetic reward for learning. However, what is fun for one…

This paper describes a collaborative Internet-based project involving foreign language students and teacher trainees in three different countries. The project involved both online collaboration with international partners and face-to-face classroom activities and was designed not only to facilitate purposeful, authentic language use, but also to…

A recommended class activity is a simple gift exchange. Vocabulary, including a wide range of options, holiday terms, and idioms, is introduced at the beginning of class. Partners are assigned, exchange takes place, and thank-you notes may be written. Student enthusiasm and attention are often by-products. (MSE)

A classroom technique for helping elementary and secondary school students of English as a second language (ESL) integrate language skills into the language arts curriculum is described. The activity, shadow play, is used as a culminating experience in a unit on the solar system, and consists of the development of dramatic scripts based on folk…

In this article, the author relates how his visits to classrooms across America to speak to children about writing and illustrating books have left him impressed by the creative ways in which educators manage scant resources to motivate students and to develop exciting lessons. He shares six things that he has learned from these visits about how…

One of the current trends in education is the use of reward systems to motivate students. Students are being motivated by cash and other prizes for high grades, attendance, and good behavior. If this trend continues, educators may lose sight of the need to motivate students internally and to find better teaching methods to accomplish this goal.…

Describes a fourth grade teacher's interdisciplinary efforts at imparting the joys of archaeology to her students. The students read fiction and non-fiction materials about the physical environments and participated in a series of hands-on learning activities. These involved simulated archaeological digs, personal artifacts, and realia. (MJP)

The instructor of a university organic chemistry course describes how he has incorporated ideas about student motivation and self-regulated learning into his instruction. Specific strategies for active and Socratic learning and instruction are outlined, from modeling and classroom interaction to use of instructional materials, testing, and…