The purpose of the presented study was to identify the effect of using the e-mind maps strategy at the academic achievement level in learning Arabic vocabulary skills among six-grade primary male students in Iben Al-Atheer School for Intermediate Education in Kuwait in the 2017/2018 school year. The sample of the study consisted of 60 male students, equally divided into two groups, experimental and control ones. The result of the study indicated that there were statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group and the control one in the post achievement level test scale in favor of the experimental group. The effect size of using mind maps was high. There were statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental and control group scores in the post achievement test of the Arabic vocabulary learning in favor of the experimental group. The study concludes with recommendations for future mind-mapping in other contexts.

The Betrothed in 10 minute. Authentic materials in language teaching

The teaching of grammar cannot be separated from the teaching of vocabulary, but it is often the case that teachers fail to treat vocabulary with due importance and prefer to focus on explaining grammar instead. Very often the same attitude is reflected in textbooks, which do not teach lexicon in a systematic and organized manner, offering merely sporadic exercises presenting new words and neglecting those aimed at retention and re-use of newly acquired vocabulary. Recently, many scholars in the field of Italian as SL/L2 have undertaken regular studies on the “living language” and its application in teaching. In fact, authentic materials present various examples of language, registers, dialects, regional variations, diversity of styles and multiple thematic situations. What is more, contextualisation of the language increases the level of comprehension and, in consequence, learner’s motivation. The aim of the article is to present a proposal of using a video material available on youtube, which summarizes the historical novel par excellence of Italian literature, for didactic purposes.

This article presents a content analysis of vocabulary activities in selected lower-secondary coursebooks used in the Czech Republic in Years 6 and 7. The analysis is based on I. S. P. Nation’s classification of aspects of word knowledge that learners should acquire to master vocabulary knowledge. Accordingly, the aim is to discover which aspects of vocabulary knowledge are covered in the selected coursebooks. Levels 1 and 2 of Project Explore and Your Space are analysed, and vocabulary activities are classified based on the primary goal of each activity. The aspect of grammatical functions and that of form and meaning are covered most, whereas the aspect of concept and referents is not covered in Years 6 and 7 at all, and the aspect of constraints on use is not covered in Year 6. The present research can benefit the authors of coursebooks and other teaching materials and the teachers who use selected coursebooks.