TEFL Forum: ELT-J Issue #2 (March 2010)

Note: the previously proposed article on pronunciation will run as a two-part series (preview) at the ELT-J homepage and will then be re-published in final form in ELT-J Issue #3. The entire issue #2 of ELT-J will be made available later this month in downloadable .pdf. Watch for future posts.    

01 March 2010

ELT-J Issue #2 (March 2010)

ELT in Japan Issue 2 (March 2010)

Contents

(1)  Devising multiple-choice questions, quizzes and tests
(2)  Semantic mapping activities for the speaking class
(3)  Semantic mapping activities for the writing class

TEFL Forum: ELT - J Issue #2 Preview Articles in Downloadable Form

Issue 2 of ELT in Japan will consist of four articles: (1)  "Teaching English [l] sounds vs. [r] sounds: Integrating applied phonology into the EFL classroom"; (2) "Devising multiple-choice questions, quizzes and tests"; (3) "Semantic mapping activities for the speaking class"; and (4)"Semantic mapping activities for the writing class". 

Articles (2) and (3) are now available as a preview of the full issue. 


You can now download the two preview articles for ELT J #2 in .pdf. The best way from Firefox browser is to left-click the link and save the file. It should download through your browser or default downloader program.You might have to right-click your mouse if the left-click loads the document. However, if you have the correct Adobe Plug-ins, the pdfs can be viewed from your browser and then saved from there as well.

Two articles as PDFs.

1. Devising Multiple-choice Questions, Quizzes and Tests. pdf

2. Semantic mapping activities for the speaking class.pdf

Alternatively, you can view them first as GoogleDocuments and choose to download them from the download feature there (upper left of page).  

1. Devising Multiple-choice Questions, Quizzes and Tests

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B2aIR7UspFzpMDMxYTVkNmMtYzdlMS00ZmZlLWJjOTEtYTU5M2IyMmJmNTlk&hl=en

introductory excerpt:

In this article we will look at how to introduce students to 'English-only' multiple-choice questions and then how to use such questions to assess students and evaluate courses. The focus here will be  specifically on using multiple-choice questions to construct tests that assess vocabulary learning drawn from the syllabus, materials, and content of specific EFL classes--i.e., the classes you have to teach and your students have to attend. It is hoped that these explanations and examples will serve, for example, teachers who have to give grades to hundreds of students each semester and have limited time to do other types of testing (such as oral interviews or projects, which can be too time-consuming to manage if you teach hundreds of students).

2. Semantic mapping activities for the speaking class

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B2aIR7UspFzpNDk0M2I0YzItOTVmMC00ZDEyLWFiOTEtMjQ1Mjc2YjBhYzIx&hl=en


introductory excerpt:

In TEFL situations, when we say 'vocabulary study', the two activities that most often come to mind for students quite likely are (1) looking up words in a bi-lingual dictionary and (2) compiling and studying bi-lingual word lists. If this is what is meant by vocabulary study, it hardly could be called 'systematic'. The weaknesses of such an approach to vocabulary are many. For example, students may use an L1-L2 dictionary to confirm the meanings of an L1 meaning in L2, and then forget the L2 item. Also, bi-lingual word lists are hard to organise; indeed, they lack any organising principle except that an L1 word should be matched with an L2 counterpart and that such items, once translated, should follow each other on a list. Little wonder then students do not find time to study and review them. What is more, the input of vocabulary to be learnt, revised, or reviewed is too limited to items (words, phrases) encountered in the textbook or specified by the teacher. Finally, and most importantly for the purpose of this introduction, the most obvious flaw is that there is very little communicative or social linguistic activity required to use a dictionary or make a bilingual word list.  An alternative to this is using a semantic mapping activity.

TEFL Forum: ELT - J Issue #2 Preview Articles: (1) Multiple Choice Questions and (2) Semantic Mapping for English Conversation Class

ELT - J Issue #2 Preview Articles: (1) Multiple Choice Questions and (2) Semantic Mapping for English Conversation Class

ELT - J Issue #2 Preview Article: Devising Multiple-choice Questions, Quizzes and Tests
Issue 2 of ELT in Japan will consist of four articles: (1)  "Teaching English [l] sounds vs. [r] sounds: Integrating applied phonology into the EFL classroom"; (2) "Devising multiple-choice questions, quizzes and tests"; (3) "Semantic mapping activities for the speaking class"; and (4)"Semantic mapping activities for the writing class".
Here is a preview of Issue #2 with two of the articles in draft form:

1. Devising multiple-choice questions, quizzes and tests

http://eltinjapan.blogspot.com/2010/02/elt-j-issue-2-preview-article-devising.html

2. Semantic mapping activities for the speaking class

http://eltinjapan.blogspot.com/2010/02/elt-j-issue-2-preview-article-semantic.html

TEFL FORUM: ELT in Japan in 2010

These feature articles and articles in brief are under development for publication in 2010 at the sister blog, ELT-J Online Magazine:

1. Vocabulary activities (semantic mapping) for the conversation class.
2. Vocabulary activities (semantic mapping) for the beginning-level writing class.
3. Teaching English /l/ vs. /r/ (applied phonology).
4. Introducing a different sort of audio-visual electronic dictionary for FL learning (follows up on the previous article about units of phonology, the 'visually salient articulatory gesture').
5. Variations of and considerations for the multiple-choice vocabulary question for FL practice and assessment.
6. A look at schema theory and its applications for ELT.
7. A look at 'phonemic awareness' and 'phonological awareness'--what are they and how might they apply to ELT.
8. Analysis of the issue 'phonics vs. whole language' from an ELT perspective.
9. An adaptation of 'semantic feature analysis' to the classroom study of EFL vocabulary.