Name: Interactive Online Grammar Quizzes
http://www.cityu.edu.hk/elc/iowa/quiz/
Level and Skill: This site has grammar activities for all levels.
Interactive: Yes, all of the activities are interactive.
ESL/Non-ESL: This resource is specifically designed for ESL users.
What makes it good?
This is a very straightforward and easy to use online resource. The activities on this site offer quick activities that are useful in supplementing a larger lesson in various grammar topics. These activities are all practice exercises that require students to produce. Before using this resource a more comprehensive lesson in the topic is necessary. Not all of the activities are equally useful. Some of them are a little vague and unclear as to what is required of the student. However, overall there are many useful quizzes on this site.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Review #5
Name: CNN Distance Learning Adult Education Menu
http://literacynet.org/cnnsf/
Level and Skill: This site would be quite useful for intermediate to advanced levels.
Interactive: Yes, it is a reference resource
ESL/Non-ESL: This resource is specifically designed for ESL users.
What makes it good?
I think this website is a great TESL resource. The website provides great reading and writing activities for the student. There is a wide selection of articles updated often and there is a good range of interactive activities that are just long enough to challenge but not bore the students. The activites for the most part are simple multiple choice that allow the students to practice word choice and sequencing. However, the last activity allows for writing practice in which the students make an online entry relating to the article. Overall, I think this website is a very useful as an activity for students as well as a valuable resource for the teacher who can easily adapt material from the various activities to work on other skills.
http://literacynet.org/cnnsf/
Level and Skill: This site would be quite useful for intermediate to advanced levels.
Interactive: Yes, it is a reference resource
ESL/Non-ESL: This resource is specifically designed for ESL users.
What makes it good?
I think this website is a great TESL resource. The website provides great reading and writing activities for the student. There is a wide selection of articles updated often and there is a good range of interactive activities that are just long enough to challenge but not bore the students. The activites for the most part are simple multiple choice that allow the students to practice word choice and sequencing. However, the last activity allows for writing practice in which the students make an online entry relating to the article. Overall, I think this website is a very useful as an activity for students as well as a valuable resource for the teacher who can easily adapt material from the various activities to work on other skills.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Review #4
Name: Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com/
Level and Skill: This site would be useful for any level beyond a complete beginner, provided they are given some training on how to use it effectively.
Interactive: Yes, it is a reference resource
ESL/Non-ESL: This resource is not specifically designed for ESL users but is instead for use by all speakers of English.
What makes it good?
This is one of the most comprehensive, free online reference sources I have found. I have used it all the way through high school, university and college. The website offers a range of services and programs ranging from language games to the actual dictionary and thesuarus references. Every word that you look up has a comprehensive list of different meaning the word can have and the interface makes it easy to make a transition between dictionary and thesaurus. Especially handy for ESL students is the list of suggested words that appears when you enter a word misspelled. There is also a small program available called 'CleverKeys' that allows you to just press Ctrl 'L' in any web browser or word processing program and automatically open up a browser page to the reference webpage of that word.
http://dictionary.reference.com/
Level and Skill: This site would be useful for any level beyond a complete beginner, provided they are given some training on how to use it effectively.
Interactive: Yes, it is a reference resource
ESL/Non-ESL: This resource is not specifically designed for ESL users but is instead for use by all speakers of English.
What makes it good?
This is one of the most comprehensive, free online reference sources I have found. I have used it all the way through high school, university and college. The website offers a range of services and programs ranging from language games to the actual dictionary and thesuarus references. Every word that you look up has a comprehensive list of different meaning the word can have and the interface makes it easy to make a transition between dictionary and thesaurus. Especially handy for ESL students is the list of suggested words that appears when you enter a word misspelled. There is also a small program available called 'CleverKeys' that allows you to just press Ctrl 'L' in any web browser or word processing program and automatically open up a browser page to the reference webpage of that word.
Review #3
Name: Rosetta Stone
http://www.rosettastone.com/en/
Level and Skill: This site offers material that is useful mostly for beginners. It offers activities that cover all the language skills.
Interactive: Highly. It is an entirely interactive program.
ESL/Non-ESL: ESL
What makes it good?
The reading and listening activities center around a point and click approach. Writing activities include typing and drag and drop activities. Speaking allows the user to use a microphone to compare their own samples with the pre-recorded ones. All of the activities are easy to use and very straightforward. They are somewhat repetitive by nature; however, the use of photos, real voices, and variety of exercises make this online resource on of the better ones I have seen.
http://www.rosettastone.com/en/
Level and Skill: This site offers material that is useful mostly for beginners. It offers activities that cover all the language skills.
Interactive: Highly. It is an entirely interactive program.
ESL/Non-ESL: ESL
What makes it good?
The reading and listening activities center around a point and click approach. Writing activities include typing and drag and drop activities. Speaking allows the user to use a microphone to compare their own samples with the pre-recorded ones. All of the activities are easy to use and very straightforward. They are somewhat repetitive by nature; however, the use of photos, real voices, and variety of exercises make this online resource on of the better ones I have seen.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Review #2
Name: Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab
http://www.esl-lab.com/
Level and Skill: This site offers material that is useful for all levels. As the name implies, Listening is the skill that this website focuses upon.
Interactive: Slightly. There are some multiple choice questions that can be be completed with every listening sample.
ESL/Non-ESL: ESL
What makes it good?
There is a large selection of sound clips (some better than others) on this website all designed around specific contexts that make it great content for an ESL listening class. However, the value of the content in this website is primarily what the individual ESL teacher can do with it. The Pre- and Post- Listening activities suggested are ok but not comprehensive or necesarily valuable. In addition to the negligable interactivity, the onus is completely upon the instructor to form a lesson and activites around the individual sound clips, which is not a bad thing. This web site is what it is, a collection of material for ESL teachers.
http://www.esl-lab.com/
Level and Skill: This site offers material that is useful for all levels. As the name implies, Listening is the skill that this website focuses upon.
Interactive: Slightly. There are some multiple choice questions that can be be completed with every listening sample.
ESL/Non-ESL: ESL
What makes it good?
There is a large selection of sound clips (some better than others) on this website all designed around specific contexts that make it great content for an ESL listening class. However, the value of the content in this website is primarily what the individual ESL teacher can do with it. The Pre- and Post- Listening activities suggested are ok but not comprehensive or necesarily valuable. In addition to the negligable interactivity, the onus is completely upon the instructor to form a lesson and activites around the individual sound clips, which is not a bad thing. This web site is what it is, a collection of material for ESL teachers.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Review #1
Name: Learning Resources
http://literacyworks.org/learningresources/4_networked_indiv/lr_networked_indiv_home.html
Level and Skill: I think this website would be most useful for Adult Learners levels 4-5. While this site emphasizes vocabulary understanding and use, the actual material could be applied in as wide a range as the teacher could imagine.
Interactive: Yes, There are evaluation exercises available upon reading, viewing and listening to the various articles that practice vocabulary, word order, word choice, and comprehension of article. There is also an open forum that allows all participants to review the article.
ESL/Non-ESL: Learning Resources is specifically designed to "help adults improve basic skills like reading and spelling using real-life stories on topics of interest to adults."
What makes it good?
This website uses current, interesting material with a higher level vocabulary that make it very useful for an advanced, adult class. The site is very easy to use and the stories make use of authentic language and provides it in a full version, abridged, and outline format. The applications of this material for an instructor to use in the classroom are manifold. The interactive activities included within the website are useful in practicing and testing vocabulary, reading and listening comprehension. The added feature which allows the users to comment on the article also provides a useful writing component. Overall, I would rate this website highly for the learner/teacher group it targets.
http://literacyworks.org/learningresources/4_networked_indiv/lr_networked_indiv_home.html
Level and Skill: I think this website would be most useful for Adult Learners levels 4-5. While this site emphasizes vocabulary understanding and use, the actual material could be applied in as wide a range as the teacher could imagine.
Interactive: Yes, There are evaluation exercises available upon reading, viewing and listening to the various articles that practice vocabulary, word order, word choice, and comprehension of article. There is also an open forum that allows all participants to review the article.
ESL/Non-ESL: Learning Resources is specifically designed to "help adults improve basic skills like reading and spelling using real-life stories on topics of interest to adults."
What makes it good?
This website uses current, interesting material with a higher level vocabulary that make it very useful for an advanced, adult class. The site is very easy to use and the stories make use of authentic language and provides it in a full version, abridged, and outline format. The applications of this material for an instructor to use in the classroom are manifold. The interactive activities included within the website are useful in practicing and testing vocabulary, reading and listening comprehension. The added feature which allows the users to comment on the article also provides a useful writing component. Overall, I would rate this website highly for the learner/teacher group it targets.
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