Learning a foreign or second language can be a very challenging and anxiety-provoking experience, especially for adults who have had minimal exposure to the foreign language. The presenter will address what anxiety is, types of anxiety, causes of anxiety, and impacts of anxiety in the language learning process. In addition, the presenter will address the major concern of how to overcome anxiety in learning a foreign language. Studies have shown that ESL teachers have a critical role to play in creating a supportive and relaxed learning atmosphere to build a classroom community to reduce anxiety. Furthermore, fostering a positive and non-threatening teacher-and-learner relationship can have a great impact on managing learners’ anxiety.

Presentation Handout

When teaching culture in the language classroom, the EFL teacher from the United States must ask: What culture? Whose culture? Although many students are interested in the culture of their instructor, it is vital to remember that learners of English have numerous reasons to learn the language. The presenter will explain why it is important to use host culture as content, and also offer practical ideas for classroom activities.

Presentation Handout

Students must engage with and invest themselves in the goals and activities of a course in order to learn most effectively, but how do we maintain that investment throughout the semester? The presenter suggests that short, individual conferences with the students can help maintain and even repair individual and collective student focus on multiple levels. Individualized feedback on linguistic issues encourages student investment in the learning process. Feedback on students’ leadership roles in the classroom encourages investment in the classroom dynamic to combat the “norm of mediocrity.”

Presentation Handout

In the language learning environment of Korean middle and high schools, one of the biggest disadvantages is the lack of opportunities for students to regularly produce English, in speaking and in writing. Dialogue journals are one possible solution. The presenter will explain what dialog journals are, the benefits and challenges in using them in the EFL context, and recommended procedures for the context.

Presentation Handout

The interrelationship of the reading and writing processes lends credence to the utility of teaching these language skills as reciprocal operations. And although many post-secondary ESL classrooms claim to integrate reading and writing, we believe that in truth, most only use reading peripherally as a source for students’ subsequent writing, thereby diminishing the potential reading imparts to the learner’s ability to think critically and, consequently, to write with greater confidence and authority. The presenters will show that by giving reading a more significant role in the ESL classroom as well as teaching strategies which emphasize reciprocity in the reading and writing processes, students will implicitly recognize the integral role reading plays in their ability to write, and writing in their ability to read, approaching both with added purpose and understanding.

Presentation Handout

Are your EFL students complaining that there’s too much vocabulary? Do you sometimes feel frustrated because the habit of reading is hard to encourage? Why not try comic strips? Comic strips are great because they are short and funny and the vocabulary comes in small, memorable chunks. The presenter will also discuss how to select comic strips that are appropriate for EFL students and show you activities that will spark students’ interest in reading more.

Presentation Handout

World news as presented in broadcast, print media and the Internet is an excellent resource and stimulus for L2 English learners because of its authenticity, easy accessibility, wide variety of categories, and relevance to daily life. The presenter will introduce the current Journalistic English teaching and learning trend in Taiwan and demonstrate how teachers can use news topics and headlines as materials for developing students’ communication skills.

Presentation Handout

Songs in an ESL classroom can serve as a way to practice learners’ listening comprehension, speaking, writing skills in an enjoyable atmosphere. Students can practice their pronunciation and stress, as well as learn new vocabulary from first listening to; then writing about; and finally singing a song as a whole class. The presenters will provide a brief background with a handout about the song “Wonderful World” and its singer-Sam Cooke. Students will be assigned a task to fill in the missing lyrics in an “information gap” activity.

Presentation Handout

Peer feedback has been shown in second language research to be a valuable element of collaborative learning and process writing. However, students’ conceptions of their own lack of authority and that of their classmates can often hinder student buy-in to the activity and therefore limit its possible benefits. The presenter will illustrate this through findings from her own research and offer pedagogical approaches that encourage students to recognize themselves and their peers as potential authority figures in the feedback process.

Presentation Handout