Women Teaching Women English (WTWE)

Welcome to the Women Teaching Women English (WTWE) supporting site from the authors at University of Oregon.

Women Teaching Women English is designed by women, for women. We want to help women become more skilled in English in order to help themselves build a better future for themselves and their families.

You can visit the Printables section to access and download textbook and teacher’s manual materials from the 2011 original version.

You can visit the Voice of America section to access and download materials produced in 2017 for teacher training purposes.

The focus of this book is on integrated skills, so it includes readings, listening, speaking, vocabulary, and writing activities. The topics are designed to be of interest to women of a range of ages, from a variety of family types, living in both cities and the countryside.

The book includes 10 units and an optional set of preparatory materials for true beginners. In each unit, you will find many different activities. All of the units begin with a discussion of what learners know about the unit topic. This warm-up helps them prepare to work with the topics in the book. The initial warm-up typically includes a photo and some questions to answer about the photo. Next, there is a dialogue with people whose lives you can follow throughout the book, The Hilwe w Morra Story.

Throughout, learners are asked to think about how what they are reading relates to their own lives. Each unit also includes a short reading. Interviews with real women in contemporary society and current news events form the foundation for additional vocabulary, reading, and writing activities.The readings are based on authentic material, but modified to be at the appropriate level for the learners using this book. Vocabulary, grammar, listening, and speaking activities are built from Hilwe w Morra and from the reading for each unit. Interaction in pairs and small groups, as well as whole-class activities, are part of every unit. Follow-up activities use the English skills learned during the lesson. Activities include projects to make something such as a card or poster, writing or recording a report, and more. The units also have surveys for learners to ask each other, as well as their friends and families.

We hope that you will find the book enjoyable and helpful. We’d love to hear from you! Please email us through the Contacts page and let us know what you think about the topics, the activities, and possible topics for a future book.

We offer sincere thanks to our sponsors at the U.S. Embassy Beirut and our esteemed partners at Hayya Bina in Lebanon for making this project possible.

Respectfully yours,

Leslie Opp-Beckman, Project Coordinator
Rawan Yaghi, Lebanese TESOL Specialist
Jill Cargile, TESOL Specialist
Deborah Healey, TESOL Specialist and Copy Editor
Linda Wesley, TESOL Specialist and Copy Editor
Deanna Hochstein, TESOL Specialist
Lys Opp-Beckman, Illustrations
Rebecca Force, Narration