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Language Trainers

Teaching Materials

Links to Ready-Made Materials for Teachers
Reading, listening and vocabulary development exercises for students of beginning to low-intermediate levels:

Indonesia Bird Flu – reading passage and comprehension activity; listening passage, vocabulary development (including stress and pronunciation); full lesson plan for teachers in PDF format including student worksheets, quizzes and activities
Women’s Constant Body Worries - reading passage and comprehension activity; listening passage, vocabulary development (including stress and pronunciation); full lesson plan for teachers in PDF format including student worksheets, quizzes and activities
Smoking Debate Lights up Commons - reading passage and comprehension activity; listening passage, vocabulary development (including stress and pronunciation); full lesson plan for teachers in PDF format including student worksheets, quizzes and activities
Rabid Vampire Bats Attack Humans in Brazil - reading passage and comprehension activity; listening passage, vocabulary development (including stress and pronunciation); full lesson plan for teachers in PDF format including student worksheets, quizzes and activities
WHO to Discuss Smallpox Research - reading passage and comprehension activity; listening passage, vocabulary development (including stress and pronunciation); full lesson plan for teachers in PDF format including student worksheets, quizzes and activities
Drugs Company Settles Lawsuit - reading passage and comprehension activity; listening passage, vocabulary development (including stress and pronunciation); full lesson plan for teachers in PDF format including student worksheets, quizzes and activities
UN AIDS Warning - reading passage and comprehension activity; listening passage, vocabulary development (including stress and pronunciation); full lesson plan for teachers in PDF format including student worksheets, quizzes and activities
Lack of Micronutrients Affecting Millions - reading passage and comprehension activity; listening passage, vocabulary development (including stress and pronunciation); full lesson plan for teachers in PDF format including student worksheets, quizzes and activities
New SARS Case - reading passage and comprehension activity; listening passage, vocabulary development (including stress and pronunciation); full lesson plan for teachers in PDF format including student worksheets, quizzes and activities
WHO Reports on the World’s Health - reading passage and comprehension activity; listening passage, vocabulary development (including stress and pronunciation); full lesson plan for teachers in PDF format including student worksheets, quizzes and activities
AIDS in China: Ignorance about the disease - reading passage and comprehension activity; listening passage, vocabulary development (including stress and pronunciation); full lesson plan for teachers in PDF format including student worksheets, quizzes and activities
Fresh Fruit and Vegetables for Good Health - reading passage and comprehension activity; listening passage, vocabulary development (including stress and pronunciation); full lesson plan for teachers in PDF format including student worksheets, quizzes and activities

Ready-made lesson plans on a range of health and social issues which can be adapted to suit any age or level (suggested learner level is indicated on each lesson plan):

Canadian Association of Second Language Teaching:

Ready-made materials which develop speaking skills (all levels):

conversation questions over 30 interesting topics
discussion-based worksheets on a range of real-life topics downloadable in .pdf format)

Ready-made lesson plans on various topics (level indicated on each lesson):

Daily lesson plans for teachers on a wide range of topics relevant to real-world events

Teaching Methods

Links to Articles for Teachers on ESL Teaching Methodologies
Pronunciation

(intonation, word and sentence stress, connected speech, etc.)

Seven Suggestions of Highly Successful Pronunciation Teaching  
Teaching Weak Forms - the schwa

Speaking

Task-based speaking  
Teaching speaking skills 2: overcoming classroom problems  
Teaching-speaking-skills-1  
Getting students to ask questions 

Reading

Motivating pupils to read  
A Comparison of L1 and L2 Reading: Cultural Differences and Schema 
Reading Loud and Clear: Uses and abuses of reading aloud in ELT

Listening

A framework for planning a listening skills lesson 
Listening in Language Learning – David Nunan 
Pronunciation - what are the expectations?

Vocabulary Development

Remembering vocabulary 
Building vocabulary through prefixes and suffixes  
Collocations - Pedagogical implications, and their treatment in pedagogical materials 
Creative Vocabulary Teaching - within the course book-led English Language Classroom
Technical Vocabulary in Specialized Texts – T.M. Chung and P. Nation 
Vocabulary Size, Text Coverage and Word Lists – Paul Nation and Robert Waring

Writing

Planning a writing lesson 
Helping ESL Writers Grow 
How to be an Effective EFL Writing Teacher

Grammar

Grammar FROM Context: Re-thinking the Teaching of Grammar at Various Proficiency Levels 
Grammar, Grammars and Intuitions in ELT: A second opinion 
MINDING OUR Ps: A framework for grammar teaching 
Passive grammar: We’ve got it, let’s use it!

English for Specific Purposes (ESP)

Changing The Paradigm For Medical English Language Teaching 
How is English for Specific Purposes (ESP) different from English as a Second Language (ESL), also known as general English?

Teacher Education and Development

Standards and Development in ELT 
More than ‘mere’ language teachers 
My methodology 
The shape of the language teacher 
20 great teaching tips

On-line preparatory materials for the RSA/Cambridge Diploma and Certificate Courses (CELTA; DELTA)

ELT Methodology

Materials evaluation and adaptation

The coursebook as a flexible tool: Materials evaluation and adaptation 
Materials evaluation and adaptation: A case study of pronunciation teaching 
Materials evaluation and adaptation: A case study of grammar teaching

The Internet as a teaching/learning tool

Centre for Applied Linguistics: Digests 

Presentations

Annotated Bibliography and Literature Survey: Assessment of Language Proficiency in the Health and Social Services Sector

This PowerPoint presentation, an Annotated Bibliography and Literature Survey: Assessment of Language Proficiency in the Health and Social Services Sector [.ppt], was prepared by Juliane Bertrand and presented at the “Journée d’échange et d’information sur la mise en oeuvre du programme de formation linguistic” on November 24, 2005. This presentation covers the following:

  • ESL proficiency tests for adults working in a professional environment, with emphasis on health and social services workers
  • Materials generated by each such test
  • Studies on ESL proficiency assessment

ESL Resources for Health Professionals across Canada

This PowerPoint presentation, a Report on ESL for Health Professionals Across Canada [.ppt], was prepared by Donna Lisney and presented at the “Journée d’échange et d’information sur la mise en oeuvre du programme de formation linguistic” on November 24, 2005. This presentation covers the following:

  • A survey of the ESL courses and programs available across the country for medical and social work professionals
  • Details of course and program descriptions
  • A list of Web sites with appropriate content
  • A list of pedagogical materials used
  • Texts
  • Glossaries
  • Dictionaries
  • Software

Language training models for health care & social service personnel

The PowerPoint presentation, Language Training Models for Health Care and Social Service Personnel [.ppt] was prepared by Dr. Samantha Wehbi and presented at the “Journée d’échange et d’information sur la mise en oeuvre du programme de formation linguistic” on November 24, 2005. This presentation covers the following:

Introduction

  • Current situation and need for language instruction
  • Literature review search strategy

Models

  • Common elements
  • Model description: Summary table
  • Impact on accessibility & quality of services of each model
  • Models: Strengths & Limitations

Recommendations

  • Course design
  • General recommendations
  • What would a model course look like?

Lexicon Evaluation

In 2006 the McGill Training and Retention of Health Professionals Project undertook a process aimed at evaluating a number of existing lexicons specific to the health and social services field and at identifying gaps in existing lexicons so as to strategize the future development of a lexicon specifically tailored to the needs of the project participants. A Lexicon Evaluation Committee reviewed 7 lexicons and tabled its first report in August 2006.

Following the emergence of new material, the Committee reconvened in 2008-2009 with a new membership.  It was composed of the three original members named by our network partners: Sarah Finlayson, a school social worker from the Gaspé; Isabel Sullivan, an ESL specialist from Laval University; Marion Standish a nurse with ESL teaching experience; and two new members, Donna Lisney and Sue Harrison, both ESL specialists on the McGill THRDP team. They applied the same methodology and criteria that was used by the first Committee to review new works. The document that received the highest score is the English-French Guide to Human Services Terminology.

Read the report of the 2010 Lexicon Evaluation here.

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