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…

One of a series prepared by the Hawaii Newspaper Agency, this teaching guide offers ideas on using the daily newspaper to teach vocabulary and writing to students on any level. Suggestions include using a "word of the week" to teach word meanings, uses, and roots as well as how words can be used in a sentence; listing vocabulary words on bulletin…

Most students today have been reared on television and have had only slight brushes with the parts of grammar. Nevertheless, a variety of sentence pattern exercises and sentence combining lessons based on the students' own writing can be used to augment, challenge and improve students' writing skills and vocabulary. In the first exercise, students…

Sixteen vocabulary and self-expression exercises on the word, sentence, and paragraph levels designed to encourage creativity and free expression in writing in French as a second language are described. (MSE)

Through the use of a question notebook, students can practice grammar and develop their vocabulary. This class activity also helps students to begin to write and express their own curiosity. (Author/CK)

The place of literature in the foreign language classroom is described, and the effectiveness of the short story is noted. Suggestions are offered regarding selection criteria, classroom activities, oral activities, role play, oral comprehension, and a variety of written exercises including sequencing and writing dialog. (Contains seven…

Presents activities found to be useful in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes, including a game in which the teacher guesses the meaning of words in students' native tongues; an exercise in which students write predictions, such as weather forecasting, in English; a game in which students explain the meaning of selected idioms in their own…

A variety of exercises based on manipulation of a single text are described. The activities involve replacing words or phrases in the text with synonyms or opposites, transposing gender, changing tenses, filling in blanks, and answering multiple-choice questions about linguistic forms. Three brief sample texts are offered. (MSE)

Reflecting the thought and work of many classroom English teachers, the activities presented in this booklet are a sample of ideas exchanged at the 1980 convention of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) held in Cincinnati, Ohio. The suggested activities are grouped into four categories: (1) a miscellany of writing assignments that…

This paper describes techniques used by a German instructor with American students during a summer abroad program. Learning activities, both in and outside of class, concentrate on writing. The students keep logs and diaries, which force them to be aware of their surroundings and to participate more actively in the life around them. With the…

A series of games and classroom activities incorporating art and writing and designed to link second language reading to the development of writing skills is described. (MSE)

Describes four activities for the French-as-a-Second-Language classroom, including: a lesson in the interpretation of graphs (Lescure); a unit on measurement, money systems, museums, and schools in France (Berteloot, Ploquin); oral and written exercises based on French history and culture (Ploquin, Store); and a vocabulary development activity…

A guide to personal letter writing for foreign language classes provides ideas, formats, and useful information for an instructional unit and student projects. The first section outlines unit goals and offers ideas for activities and assignments. These include class pen pals, teacher and parent letters, holiday letters, follow-ups for telegrams,…

Developmental writing activities (186), based on the theory that the process of writing can be arranged in a hierarchical chain of learning experiences, are divided among six chapters: "The Ebb and Flow of Writing,""Composition Writing as an Artistic Expression,""Spelling Problems and the Flow of Expression,""Traditional and Experimental Verse…

Contains four articles concerning: the semantic opposition "Intense-Intesif"; vocabulary enrichment based on authentic documents; descriptions of personal characteristics and group activities; word-games promoting linguistic creativity; and various aspects of the expressions of quantity. (MES)