Recent reports indicate that employers are increasingly interested in hiring individuals that can think critically and are able to solve complex problems. Further, the ability to apply knowledge learned during college to real-world settings is a major sought-after skill. Overall, these findings emphasize the importance of teaching our students to…

This study aimed to find out the relationship among EFL university teachers' code-based and meaning-based beliefs in writing instruction, classroom writing activities and classroom organization. To this end, 120 university teachers, who were teaching writing to EFL learners at different universities in Iran, participated in the study. For the data…

A new teacher at a workshop shares that she had a difficult time getting students to write about 9/11. This teacher said that some students refused, while others became angry about being asked. Stephen Fried is an adjunct lecturer in English at the College of Staten Island of the City University of New York. In this article, Fried describes how…

Purpose: This paper, which originates in an English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) classroom activity in Hong Kong, aims to explore English learners' expressive and creative potential in writing by studying their work in the literary narrative genre. Design/methodology/approach: A group of upper secondary students (15-16 years of age) with limited…

This article introduces a pedagogical intervention that includes a set of creative activities designed to improve the oral and written production of students in the English classroom, especially those who have shown a lack of interest or attention. It was observed that participants initially seemed careless about studying the language. Eventually…

An important part of student success in school is the involvement of families. However, the communication between students and families regarding school is often sparse at best and caregivers can feel left out as to what is happening. Friday letters improve communication between students and families and also provide a myriad of instructional…

This study aims to investigate the effects of warm up tasks as classroom activities on foreign language written production. For showing these effects, sixty out of one hundred forty Iranian sophomore EFL students from the Islamic Azad University of Lahijan branch, Iran were selected after following the Oxford Placement Test (OPT). Then, they were…

In this article we propose a five-step sequenced approach to integrative interdisciplinary learning in undergraduate gateway courses. Drawing from the literature of interdisciplinarity, transformative learning theory, and theories of reflective learning, we utilize a sequence of five steps early in our respective undergraduate gateway courses to…

The genre of tall tales is characterized by fictional, often intentionally ridiculous, stories that provide a reason for or origin of a natural phenomenon. Tall tales are often based on characters who are unusually adept or powerful; they are particularly appealing to children who are cognitively capable of understanding the tongue-in-cheek humor…

One of the best ways to enrich students' social studies experience is to include assignments in which students interact with social studies content and skills. In this article, the author explains how teachers can use writing exercises to encourage such interaction. She describes the following writing activities: (1) acrostics; (2) haiku; (3)…

In this article a method to improve sentence writing ability called sentence combining is explained. The potential effects of sentence combining are related and relevant research summarized. In addition, how to introduce sentence combining practice to a class, key instructional components including oral practice and peer assistance, sources of…

This document is a compilation of the four issues in the 24th volume of "Classroom Notes Plus." issue of "Classroom Notes Plus" contains descriptions of original, unpublished teaching practices, and of adapted ideas. The August 2006 issue (v24 n1) includes: More Choice Leads to More Reading (Amy Ishee); Book-of-the Month Reports (Patricia Crist);…

This document is a compilation of the four issues in the 23rd volume of "Classroom Notes Plus." Each issue of "Classroom Notes Plus" contains descriptions of original, unpublished teaching practices, and of adapted ideas. The August 2005 (v23 n1) issue includes: Sharing Responses to Literature via Exit Slips (Barb Wagner); Letting Learners Teach…