Current issue: 20:4 October 2011

The current issue of Modern English Teacher has been published and posted to subscribers.

In this issue of Modern English Teacher:

KEYNOTE
The CEF: walking ‘can do’backwards
Robert Buckmaster looks into the problems of implementing the Council of Europe’s Framework of Reference

ABOUT LANGUAGE
ELFER or SNAC? Which side are you on?
How much should our teaching be based on native-speaker norms, and how much on variants? Who owns English? Nick Shepherd wrestles with this thorny question.
Language Scrapbook

PRACTICAL IDEAS
Explaining grammar with Microsoft SmartArt
Simon Mumford creates some new ways to explain grammar.
Creativity in the language classroom
Jill and Charlie Hadfield look at some ideas for genre writing.
Critical thinking activities for the language classroom
In this third and final instalment of his series on cognitive skills, Hall Houston looks at critical thinking and its relevance to language teaching.
Task-based language teaching: Principles, perceptions and practice
James W. Porcaro focuses on the aging family as a topic for task-based learning.
Giving feedback online: Pros and cons
Robin Turner looks to close the online circle with feedback.

TECHNOLOGY MATTERS
Tech News & Events
Michael Carrier
Helping students notice how to word their own meanings
Grant Hartley shows us how we can help learners acquire language and become active members of a social group.
Pedagogical uses of blogs in English writing classes
Masoud Hashemi explains the advantages of using blogs in writing.
Meaningful English through multimedia projects
Mary Hendrson describes how to use multimedia to motivate classes.
Webwatch
Michael Carrier.

BUSINESS ENGLISH
The language of business and the business of language
Donald Jack asks us to look more closely at the real language of business.

IT MADE ME THINK
Spoken fluency – putting it into words
Lesley Lanir concludes her series on learning disabilities looking into oral fluency.
Can phonics support young EFL learners?
Gill Budgell looks at the experiences of L1 language learners and asks whether phonics can aid L2 development too.

TEACHER DEVELOPMENT
Department-based seminars: a forum for higher education
Chunmei Yan suggests an alternative approach for EFL teacher development in China.
Positive feedback in the English language classroom
Clare Fielder looks at the effects of different types of feedback.

EXAMS
IELTS reading without tears
Christine Dowling examines some of the problems and possible solutions for the IELTS Reading test.

REVIEWS
A Book I’ve Used
Little Friends
Alex Case
Get Ahead in FCE
Jonathan Shave
From Reading to Writing (1-4)
Sandee Thompson
Fiction in Action: Whodunit
Glenda Inverarity
New Headway Academic Skills (Listening, Speaking and study Skills)
Mark Lowe
Communicative Activities for EAP
Jo McDonough
 Practical Grammar (Level 3)
Simon Andrewes
Communication Strategies: Learning and teaching how to manage oral interaction
Ece Eryendi

Background Books
Functional Grammar in the ESL Classroom: Noticing, Exploring and Practising
Wayne Rimmer
Teaching the Pronunciation of English as a Lingua Franca
Alex Tilbury