This article offers guidance to teachers and students in selecting materials for extensive reading (ER). First, the article explains characteristics of ER and reviews some of the potential gains for students who do ER. Second, the article considers criteria for teachers to bear in mind when selecting ER materials. Third, the article then suggests…

This article offers ideas as to how students can collaborate as they learn about and utilize a variety of text types (also known as rhetorical modes). The article begins with explanations of the teaching of text types and cooperative learning. The longest section of the article consists of examples of ways that students can use cooperative…

Group activities are becoming more and more popular in the teaching of second/foreign languages and other subjects in Thailand and around the world. Since about 1970, a great deal of work has gone into research and methodology in order to develop ways that teachers can help their students learn more effectively and happily in groups. Many people…

This study examined the talk of 20 university level learners of Mandarin as a Second Language in three instructional modes: teacher-led (TL), unstructured group work (UGW), and structured group work using a cooperative learning technique (SGW), in this case, Jigsaw. Statistical analyses showed that more learner talk (in terms of turns and c-units)…

This paper reports on a study of the impact of extensive reading (ER) on the language proficiency of a group of Vietnamese government officials studying English. Two questions were of interest. First, we wanted to examine if ER could be successfully implemented with adult second language learners beyond traditional student age. Secondly, we were…