Look at Me when I Talk to You


Book Description

Communicating involves much more than memorizing vocabulary and learning grammar rules. As more and more students whose first language is not English are welcomed into our classrooms, teachers are finding that communicating effectively with this diverse population requires a sensitivity to cultural issues that affect the way people interact with one another. In this revised, expanded and updated edition of Look at Me When I Talk to You, Sylvia Helmer and Catherine Eddy explore the underlying fundamentals of communication to show how culture influences the messages sent - and received. Elements of both the theory and practice of communicating in a multicultural setting are discussed, and examples from real classrooms illustrate the issues that can, and do, arise. Practical suggestions for helping students learn to cope in their new culture make this book a must-read for all teachers working with students who are learning English as an additional language.




Board Games in the CLIL Classroom


Book Description

The present book explores how modern board gaming and language teaching can be beneficially combined to achieve optimal impact. Modern board games have a lot to offer language learners and teachers, and they should play a much more significant role in what has been labelled "Content and Language Integrated Learning" or CLIL. Modern board games require cooperation, problem-solving, active discovery, interpretation and analysis. Most importantly, modern board games allow students to explore a hypothetical environment without the risk of language errors. The key ingredient of the present book is "game-based learning and teaching theory", or GBLTT, a theoretical framework which measures learning outcomes based on gaming and learning procedures. GBLTT is focused on balancing information and gameplay as well as putting a focus on the ability of each learner to retain language competence and to put their subject to realistic situations.




Using Student-centered Methods with Teacher-centered Students


Book Description

This book has a clear message for classroom teachers: student learning improves when teachers introduce their students to strategies for learning as well as teaching them specific language skills. In practice, however, many of the students themselves are more teacher-centered, finding it easier and preferable to depend on their teachers rather than to take on greater responsibility for their own learning, especially if their educational and cultural backgrounds have not prepared them for this new role. Using Student-Centered Methods with Teacher-Centered Students is packed with suggestions for bringing about a successful match between teachers' preferred ways of teaching and learners' preferred ways of learning, while gradually encouraging increased learner autonomy. The original edition of this book has been widely used by English language teachers worldwide. This new edition offers many fresh ideas, particularly in the area of technology in language learning and teaching.




Games Language People Play


Book Description

Learning a new language can be very demanding, but it can also be good fun, and in between the hard work of language acquisition there are opportunities for breaks from the regular classroom routine where what has been learned is put to rewarding and practical use. Games Language People Play provides teachers with a variety of language games to make the teaching and learning of a new language an occasion for enjoyable competitiveness. There are 110 games in all, ranging in level from Beginners to Advanced. Each game carries an indication of the language skill or combination of skills being employed -- reading, writing, listening, speaking -- and the optimal group size, from as few as 10 students to games suitable for classes of unlimited size. The game's instructional objective -- for example, vocabulary expansion -- the materials needed, a full description and additional suggestions are all provided, with all that remains being for you and your class to enjoy the wonderfully creative ideas that Jerry Steinberg has put into book form for you. Originally published more than 20 years ago, Games Language People Play has continued to delight teachers and students of English every year since then.




The Instructional Value of Digital Storytelling


Book Description

Although storytelling has been recognized as an effective instructional strategy for some time, most educators are not informed about how to communicate a story that supports learning—particularly when using digital media. The Instructional Value of Digital Storytelling provides a broad overview of the concepts and traditions of storytelling and prepares professors, workplace trainers, and instructional designers to tell stories through 21st century media platforms, providing the skills critical to communication, lifelong learning, and professional success. Using clear and concise language, The Instructional Value of Digital Storytelling explains how and why storytelling can be used as a contemporary instructional method, particularly through social media, mobile technologies, and knowledge-based systems. Examples from different sectors and disciplines illustrate how and why effective digital stories are designed with learning theory in mind. Applications of storytelling in context are provided for diverse settings within higher education as well as both formal and informal adult learning contexts.







How to Play a Video Game


Book Description

Every day around the world millions of people enter virtual worlds through video games. These games are now the fastest-growing form of entertainment . and being played by people of all ages. International communities are coming together to play, have fun and share ideas . without ever meeting.







The Dark Side of Game Play


Book Description

Games allow players to experiment and play with subject positions, values and moral choice. In game worlds players can take on the role of antagonists; they allow us to play with behaviour that would be offensive, illegal or immoral if it happened outside of the game sphere. While contemporary games have always handled certain problematic topics, such as war, disasters, human decay, post-apocalyptic futures, cruelty and betrayal, lately even the most playful of genres are introducing situations in which players are presented with difficult ethical and moral dilemmas. This volume is an investigation of "dark play" in video games, or game play with controversial themes as well as controversial play behaviour. It covers such questions as: Why do some games stir up political controversies? How do games invite, or even push players towards dark play through their design? Where are the boundaries for what can be presented in a games? Are these boundaries different from other media such as film and books, and if so why? What is the allure of dark play and why do players engage in these practices?




Pippin No Lickin'


Book Description

In this hilarious children’s book, a cat who refuses to take a bath learns important lessons about personal responsibility. Pippin the cat won’t take a bath. And since he refuses to wash himself, all kinds of funny (and stinky!) things start happening to him. In fun and lighthearted situations, Pippin learns that his actions not only affect himself, but others, too. Will his parents and classmates get him to change his mind? Pippin No Lickin’ teaches children lessons about personal responsibility and the importance of listening to parents for their own health and safety. Pippin’s adventures even teach colors to very young readers along the way! Parents and children alike will enjoy this tale featuring the charming and memorable cat, Pippin.