This study explores how students produce their own mini videos using the target language to share experiences and communicate with native speakers. Multimodality is used as a theoretical approach. Class observations and in-depth interviews were used for data collection, which was analysed by theme. The research results indicate that students deem…

This activity report describes a sample unit (Effective Data Presentation) from a communication course prepared as part of an Intellectual Output within the BADGE Project, which was carried out by 12 partner universities from 10 countries during 3 academic years (2019-2022). The article first describes the results of a survey which show that…

Thirty classroom-tested activities are presented for motivating students to communicate orally in any foreign language. For each activity, the following information is provided: level, purpose, materials, procedure, and source. Variations and follow-up activities are also suggested. (Author/AMH)

An experiment in teaching French in Sweden was based on a version of a Council of Europe proposal for a core language curriculum consisting of basic needs for language functions, notions, topics, vocabulary, and grammar. The model targets a variety of learning and age levels, but the Swedish program concerned secondary level teaching of French as…

Language learning games are dynamic, provide a change of pace, can be played individually or in groups, and can be integrated into classroom learning activities. Game-production activities are initially teacher-centered; gradually, students can work in groups with the teacher as resource person. During production activities, the four language…

Discusses the lack of versatility and availability of software for teaching second or foreign languages. Most software programs do not contain editing components; therefore, teachers are prevented from tailoring the software to their students' needs. Some solutions to this problem are outlined. (SED)

This is an account of how a group of students in an English course at Bell School, Bath, England became teachers for a short while in local junior schools. It describes how the project came about, how the students were prepared for their task, and what the outcome was. (Author/SED)

Uses of pre-recorded and student-generated videotape recordings in the foreign language (FL) classroom are described and discussed from the perspective of their utility in helping students achieve target language communicative competence. It is suggested that viewing authentic video materials provides an opportunity to observe extralinguistic…

The decision of a West German English teacher training program to make its own videotapes in the classroom as a replacement for outdated instructional films resulted in heightened student motivation and creativity. Experimental use of the technique in schools produced increased teacher trainee confidence, greater pupil readiness to speak the…

Readers Theater, a combination of storytelling and dramatic elements, is recommended as a technique for use in the English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) classroom. Among its advantages are that it incorporates four language skill areas (Listening, speaking, reading, writing), uses cultural materials, and motivates students by using language in a…

The University of Illinois' Language Learning Laboratory began the process of developing its own videotape materials in 1979 with limited resources. Interest grew gradually among faculty and the graduate teaching staff, who generally designed and produced their own materials and then shared them with colleagues. A wide variety of tapes has been…

This paper provides guidelines for writing and classifying scenarios for classroom practice of language skills through the strategic interaction method. The scripts, used for spontaneous or rehearsed role-playing or transactional games, are rated according to their information load (grammatical complexity), interactional value, and transactional…

This issue of "Cross Currents" includes the following articles: "More About Drama for the Classroom" by Richard A. Via; "Student-Created Media: One Approach to ESL Instruction" by Kathy Campbell; "Some Advice for Japanese Students Learning English" by Yoshi-Mitsu Shimazu; "Patterns of Oral Communication…

Papers from a seminar on instructional materials for second language teaching include the following: "Co-Operative Language Learning: What's News?" (Ted Rodgers); "Principles of Communicative Task Design" (David Nunan); "Teaching Spoken English in the Non-Native Context: Considerations for the Materials Writer" (Mary…

The 12 volumes of the professional journal contain articles on a wide variety of topics on classroom techniques, curriculum design, class activities, and research in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teaching at all educational levels. General topics include: communicating with ESL students; current events in the classroom; cultural test bias;…