Editorial This is a particularly practical issue of ETp, with lots of activities for you to try. It is also very colourful. This is partly thanks to Kendall Peet, who has devised a simple yet efficient colour coding scheme for training his students to write essays which are well structured and contain all the features that readers expect to find. Thanks, also, to Peter Viney, who considers the names of the colours that we teach our learners and wonders whether these actually reflect those most commonly used in everyday life. He has trawled through paint and clothing catalogues to find out whether taupe is the new black.
Even though it is January – here in the UK, rather a dismal and colourless month – there is plenty in this issue to help you add a little colour to your teaching. Michael Friel’s soggy tissue tossing game and Kent Hill’s two conversation activities should keep your students on their toes and provide some fun in the classroom – as will Russell Stannard’s use of old UK government information videos, available freely on the internet, to make listening comprehension and vocabulary learning amusing and engaging for students. Russell delves into the past for these activities, while Jeff Stanford introduces us to Moodle, a comprehensive e-learning tool, which is very much something of the present and the future. Helena Gomm Editor
Contents MAIN FEATURE DEVELOPING RAPPORT Rose Senior sees rapport as a fundamental factor in successful classroom teaching FEATURES FROM THEME TO THESIS ... AND BEYOND Charles Jannuzi makes essay writing easier with collaborative mapping of ideas and vocabulary PERFECT MATCH Kent Hill offers two conversation activities to get students talking PAINTING THE CLASSROOM PINK 17 (OR SALMON) Peter Viney considers colour GETTING TO GRIPS WITH GENRE 2 Siân Morgan looks at genre awareness in the context of business THE LAZY MOUTH TRICK Yen-Ling Teresa Ting suggests a strategy for helping students with the pronunciation of suffixes NAVIGATING THROUGH ACADEMIC WATERS Kendall Peet helps his students by colour coding their Essays IMAGES 6 Jamie Keddie finds advertising a rich resource for creative writing FUN WITH LONG SENTENCES Mike Friel outlines some games to help students cope with complexity MAKING SENSE OF IT ALL Marc Helgesen harnesses the senses to match teaching to learning preferences NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION Adam Brown offers activities to increase awareness of how we speak without words TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS CLIL, OF COURSE! Bruce Milne recommends integrating teaching topics and activities on holiday courses BUSINESS ENGLISH PROFESSIONAL THE ‘TALKING ABOUT YOURSELF’ TOOLKIT Vanessa Street develops a device to make first lessons productive
TEACHER DEVELOPMENT FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED Neil Roberts thinks specific language awareness training for teachers would pay dividends PREPARE YOURSELF FOR CLASS Paul Bress suggests you prepare your mind as well as your materials
TECHNOLOGY IN THE MOOD FOR MOODLE Jeff Stanford explains what Moodle is and what it can do for you WEBWATCHER Russell Stannard finds a wealth of entertaining material in old government information films
REGULAR FEATURES PREPARING TO TEACH ... Present perfect and for/since John Potts ACTIVITY CORNER: TWO ACTIVITIES FOR PRACTISING THE PRESENT PERFECT Jon Marks UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT Rose Senior IT WORKS IN PRACTICE REVIEWS
