Using the Web Guidelines for ESL Teachers

8/8/2019 Using the Web Guidelines for ESL Teachers

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LC, SQU. Language FORUM - Farah Bahrouni, Feb. 2006

Using the Web: Guidelines for ESL/EFL TeachersBy Farah Bahrouni

LC, SQU Feb. 06

Overview

This article provides practical hints to how to use the World Wide Web to help our studentspractice more what we give them in class in any of the language skills. It has threesections. The first is meant to touch upon the readers inquisitive and adventurous spiritsto incite them to create their own interactive pages as it is the best way to present onlinematerials that meet ones students needs. The second shows the advantages of using theWeb for language institutions as well as their students, while the third cites some websitesas examples of what the Web can offer ESL learners. By providing useful informationabout the Web, I hope to provide them with its greatest advantage the ability to seekout and learn by using this virtual infinity of world-wide knowledge. (Wilson 2004)

Interactive Web Pages

More and more ESL teachers are realizing that the Web can be, and actually is, amagnificent resource for language instruction, to quote Meloni (2005) a gold mine ofmaterials for ESL teachers. There are oodles of Websites that offer students instantaccess to a wide range of authentic material, from newspaper and magazine articles toradio broadcasts and informal chat-rooms, and also to material prepared specially forlearners, such as grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary exercises and tests Moras(2001). Web proponents have researched, collected and, sometimes, even cataloged suchsites. The most valuable ESL sites are those which call for incorporating Web activitiesinto classes, including at times detailed lesson plans and teaching tips.

To get started, one had better start browsing through some of the Web pages alreadycreated by other ESL teachers to have an idea of what is up there. There are a greatvariety of approaches to using the Web, and it is very helpful to sample some differentsites to get a sense of what is possible. Before sending our students online, we need tounderstand the types of [Web] sites and their uses to help [them] improve their Englishabilities, and the basis of pessimistic views and myths that have stymied the use of thecomputer-Internet combination for ESL/EFL learning. (Wilson 2004)

Once you are acquainted with what is available on the Web, and you have collectedenough sites to help you shape your opinion about the nature, the approach and thecultural aspects of the online materials, the next step is to create your own interactivepage, where you include your own tailored course materials that truly fit your studentsneeds.

We are all aware that language teaching requires a more active kind of learning than mostother disciplines. You can't learn to use a language by listening to lectures or by juststudying the theory (or the grammar) (Jones, 1998). Put succinctly, practice isfundamental. It is therefore rational to solicit the Web as a strong L2 learning assistant thathas a great potential. As ESL teachers, we are at a greater advantage than our colleaguesof other languages since most of the online stuff is put in English. We need to empowerthat assistant to interact with our students. We aim at having our students work with

authentic language materials as much as possible, and to assess their understandingthrough some kind of evaluation matrix (ibid). By dint of frequent and consistent exposureto authentic materials presented in the target language (in both oral and written forms), we

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aim at having students use the language as much as possible, both inside and outside theclass, through writing and speaking. Once we have reached that stage, we can confidentlysay that we have succeeded in helping our students learn how to learn, which is the firstessential step in acquiring and developing the strategies of self directed learning ... [and]the skills necessary to go on their own when they leave school (Knowles, 1976). All thiscan be done, to a certain extent, on the Web. Needless to say, however, that computers

and the Web, per se, can never provide as effective or efficient a means of learning alanguage as one-on-one human interaction. With all the hype about technological change,language teachers neednt be concerned about losing their jobs as computers can and willnever replace human beings in a discipline devoted to human communication in all itslinguistic, social and cultural aspects. (Jones1998).

Having said this, we all have to admit that technology is causing and accelerating majorsocial and educational change. Sooner or later, all teachers will have to take advantage ofsome aspects of technology in their teaching; if not, they will be at a great disadvantagewith their students. Jones (1998) put it this way, Those who do not get ahead of the curveand find ways to get the technology to do what makes sense in their discipline will down

the road find themselves using pre-formatted, pre-digested, one-size-fits-all models, which,compared to others, make little sense for language learning. On the other hand, once youbegin creating interactive, dynamic Web pages, you will discover you are operating in anopulently flexible environment that allows you not just to emulate others, but also to createnew patterns (ibid). Essentially, I am not invoking a total rely on the Web, home schoolingor the like; I am just calling upon the use of technology to supplement what we do in classand to help doing what we cannot do very well now_ share multimedia, collaboratelearning and making authentic materials comprehensible.

One last word before I wrap up this section. Before you are ready to create your owninteractive learning materials, make sure to spend some time learning the basics. It is afact that computer programs and operating systems are getting simpler and easier to useall the time, yet it still takes some effort to develop something of your own, especially if youhave learned things yourself stumbling through trial and error. A canned program createdfor you by a guru may not be easily updated or customized if you have little idea how itwas put together. But if you do it yourself, you know all its tidbits, you tailor it to what youwant, and you can change it the time and the way you like. Of course, the most importantreason for doing it yourself is that you have the teaching experience and knowledge that isrequisite in creating programs for language learning, which a guru might not have (ibid).

Moving Digital

More often than not, language centers tend to develop huge amounts of in-housematerials. Yet, ESL teachers by and large still supplement class work with handoutscontaining verb charts, additional exercises, pictures, readings or photocopied media. Thein-house materials are meant to supplement the main textbooks, but actually both the maincourse and the in-house materials books end up by being supplemented, which is neithercost nor time effective. Thus, moving digital, I think, would definitely save languageinstitutions a lot and serve their students far much better. Basically, I am talking aboutelectronic versions of what language teachers are already using. The Web offers thepossibility of making these materials available electronically and putting them into aninteractive environment. Think about Moodle, for example, and the great possibilities it

offers, let alone the multimedia facilities that cant easily be used elsewhere, as well asteachers creative ways used on their Web pages. Moving digital would entail a reductionin the teaching hours since all the in-house materials will be put on the web paralleled by

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an increase in the weekly computer-lab lessons allocated to each section. This upshotalone would be enough to bring about a slew of advantages: freeing more teachers androoms to accommodate the institutions new intake, cutting down considerably on paper,ink and the printing equipment, and most of all reducing both the students and theteachers load, hence learners will have more time to focus, hold the reins of their ownlearning themselves and direct it towards their majors, and so will teachers, in their turn,

have more time to be creative not only as the main course teachers, but as cyber guidesand facilitators. Implementing this would necessarily require that the Language Centershould invest some of the above mentioned savings on well maintaining the presentcomputer labs and equipping few more according to the needs.

Following are what I see as advantages of moving digital:

1. Cost and Time Effective.2. Free the learning process from time and space constraints.3. Students have 24-hour, remote, independent access.4. Wean students off their teachers and on self-reliance.

5. Materials can be edited and updated easily.6. Hypertexts include links to other related pages, which, in their turn, take users to

other related ones, and so on, ending up by having a web of related pages/sitesapproaching the same topic/issue from different angles.

7. As they go through the information, students develop and improve their readingskills: skimming and scanning.

8. Teaches students essential life-long skills that prepare them for their future life_basic computer skills, critical thinking and how to be selective.

9. Create an ever-snowballing Bank of Learning Materials (Id suggest to refer to it asLANCBALM). LANCBALM could be categorized either level-wise, subject-wise,topic-wise or major-wise. Fox (1998), Singhal (1997) and Warschauer (1997).

Launching-Pad Web Sites

A vast array of basic language skills can be enhanced using Web-based activities.Vocabulary practice, grammar lessons, comprehension exercises, reading and writingtasks, and even pronunciation exercises can be put on the Web and made interactive in avariety of ways.

Listening and Pronunciation

Modern technology has had a tremendous impact on listening, more than any otherlanguage learning area. The development in sound and graphics technology hasconsistently been nullifying problems and obstacles that have long stood as impedimentsto effective listening. Nowadays the Internet enables students not only to choose theWHEN and the WHERE, but, and may be more importantly, the HOW, the WHO, and theWHAT to listen to. They can choose the level of difficulty they fit in, listen as many timesas they need, do as many tasks as they want, and best of all get immediate feedback.

The following links have variety of listening activities from sentence level to longconversations. The use of Real Audio programs as well as Real Video programs is meantto motivate the learner and makes listening as enjoyable as possible. The topics are also

so varied to choose from that they can be categorized in themes. These sites are veryuseful as they provide opportunities to practice and improve the listening comprehensionskills.

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Randalls ESL Cyber Listening Lab

Listening Page 1

As for the speaking, the links below have every possible means to help learners speakEnglish correctly. Some even offer the chance to record ones own voice and compare

their pronunciation to that of a native speaker.

English Pronunciation

American English Pronunciation Practice (minimal pairs +) - On-Line Lessons

Pronunciation Skills /p/ vs /b/

ESL Independent Study Lab - Pronunciation

Pronunciation Resources on the WWW

Listening comprehension exercises, such as fill-in-the-gap exercises done while listeningto audio, can be nicely uploaded on the Web. Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab andDaves ESL Caf, to mention only these, provide excellent examples of how audio filescan be used for listening comprehension.Audio clips can be put into Web pages to provide exercises for listening comprehension,pronunciation practice, and vocabulary development. Audio files must be put into anappropriate format, such as MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), and then put on aWeb page. When the user clicks on the audio link, the clip is played via a plug-in(Warschauer, Shetzer, & Meloni, 2000).

If a teacher finds that these sites do not serve their students needs and want to tailor theirown materials, their task has been simplified even further. The newest technology in audioon the Web is streaming audio, which provides real-time playing of clip files (Warschauer,Shetzer, & Meloni, 2000). This allows the user to play the clips immediately, avoiding thesometimes time-consuming download of RealAudio clips. It is a new way of connectingstudents with native speakers and authentic materials. It virtually transports the targetlanguage environment to the second language classroom without waiting for huge files todownload. Students can listen to live radio stations from around the world or hear pre-recorded broadcasts of music, news, sports, and weather.

Reading and Writing

The following links provide different activities to help ESL learners improve their writing.

Paragraph Punch

Guide to Grammar & Writing

Paragraph Builder

TESOL Internet Resources (all skills)

Writers Guide Paragraph Essentials

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http://www.esl-lab.com/http://www.lclark.edu/~krauss/toppicks/listening.htmlhttp://international.ouc.bc.ca/pronunciation/http://www.manythings.org/pp/http://eslus.com/LESSONS/PRONUNCI/PRONUNCI.HTMhttp://www.soundsofenglish.org/Presentations/TESOL2002/handout.htmhttp://home.apu.edu/~rrobison/Pronunciation%20Web%20Sites.htmhttp://www.paragraphpunch.com/cgi-bin/pp1.pl?step=1http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/http://www2.actden.com/writ_den/tips/paragrap/index.htmhttp://gao-web.com/esl.htmhttp://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/MasterToc.htmlhttp://college.hmco.com/devenglish/wong/paragraph_essentials/1e/students/exercises/index.htmlhttp://www.esl-lab.com/http://www.lclark.edu/~krauss/toppicks/listening.htmlhttp://international.ouc.bc.ca/pronunciation/http://www.manythings.org/pp/http://eslus.com/LESSONS/PRONUNCI/PRONUNCI.HTMhttp://www.soundsofenglish.org/Presentations/TESOL2002/handout.htmhttp://home.apu.edu/~rrobison/Pronunciation%20Web%20Sites.htmhttp://www.paragraphpunch.com/cgi-bin/pp1.pl?step=1http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/http://www2.actden.com/writ_den/tips/paragrap/index.htmhttp://gao-web.com/esl.htmhttp://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/MasterToc.htmlhttp://college.hmco.com/devenglish/wong/paragraph_essentials/1e/students/exercises/index.html


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Along These Lines: Writing Sentences & Paragraphs

Learn English (all skills)

OWL Handouts : Complete Index by Topic

E-Mail

Research shows that e-mail is a very useful vehicle for teaching English (Lee, 1998;Warschauer, 1995), reading and writing in particular. E-mail can provide teacher-student,student-student communications including formal and informal discussions, exchange ofdialogue journals and writing conferencing (Belisle, 1996). Some students find it difficult todiscuss issues with a teacher because of timidity or lack of time. Using e-mail enablessuch shy students to communicate their ideas and express their opinions without anyembarrassment.

In ESL environments, the messages that the teacher sends back to students are very

important to them. They reinforce students acquisitions and provide the requiredinformation. Warschauer (1995) presents three other benefits of e-mail. First, e-mailprovides students with an excellent opportunity for real and natural written communication.Most ESL students lack sufficient opportunities for communicating in English. E-mail canput students in contact with native speakers or other English learners around the worldinstantaneously and provide authentic contexts and motivations for communication.Second, e-mail supplies opportunities for independent learning which is essential forsecond language writing. Using e-mail involves a wide range of other skills pertaining tocomputer literacy_ knowing how to use a personal computer, knowing how to navigatethrough the web, and becoming familiar with the netiquette of the e-mail communication,are only examples. Mastering these skills can empower the students to use e-mail and

other types of telecommunications for the rest of their lives. Third, e-mail allows thestudents to communicate easily with hundreds of students. It can provide information,contact, and stimulation for the students to read and write more and more. Succinctly, e-mail enables students to have many opportunities for communication, collaboration, andinformation while improving their reading and writing skills.

As for the reading, there are increasingly more wonderful resources available on theInternet for students to use to improve their reading skill. During the last two years, mytenure at the Language Center, I have eagerly introduced my students to websitesteeming with renewable authentic materials that could be of any use to help them in theirEnglish language learning. Most of the stuff provided on the web is presented in a writtenform. Therefore, whatever the task is, students can not accomplish it unless they READ..instructions, rubrics, texts, captions, let alone stories, reports, biographies, news ..especially when it is about their model stars or sportsmen.

Now, Im Reading!

Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension Worksheets

Reading Comprehension Exercises

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http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_biays_sentences_2/0,7986,821843-top,00.htmlhttp://www.learnenglish.be/learneng.htmhttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/index2.htmlhttp://www.starfall.com/n/level-c/index/play.htm?fhttp://www.rhlschool.com/reading.htmhttp://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/language_arts/reading_comp/http://www.miguelmllop.com/practice/intermediate/readingcomprehension/readingcompindex.htmhttp://wps.prenhall.com/hss_biays_sentences_2/0,7986,821843-top,00.htmlhttp://www.learnenglish.be/learneng.htmhttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/index2.htmlhttp://www.starfall.com/n/level-c/index/play.htm?fhttp://www.rhlschool.com/reading.htmhttp://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/language_arts/reading_comp/http://www.miguelmllop.com/practice/intermediate/readingcomprehension/readingcompindex.htm


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Vocabulary and Grammar

Games and exercises designed to help students learn new vocabulary are easily put onthe Web. A typical Web-based vocabulary activity might be a matching exercise where

words or phrases are matched with definitions via a pop-up menu created with a Webform. Students click on a link at the bottom of the page to see the correct answers.Extensive grammar explications, practice exercises and quizzes are created in the sameway. There may also be a "hint" button for help.

Interesting Things for ESL Students

English-Zone.Com

ESL: English as a Second Language

World-English

Activities for ESL Students

Learn English

ESL-images

Conclusion

The development of Web-based language teaching and learning activities is sure tocontinue to be an exciting and growing field. While computer programmers, instructionaldesigners, and computational linguists steadily push the extremes of the field, language

instructors can still use the basic tools to creatively design and tailor their own interactivematerials that serve their students needs and upload it on the web, thus contributing to theever-snowballing cyber ESL wealth.

References

Belisle, R. (1996). E-mail activities in the ESL writing class. The Internet TESLJournal http://iteslj.org/Articles/Belisle-Email.html retrieved 2/16/06

Fox, G. (1998). The Internet: making it work in the ESL classroom.http://iteslj.org/Articles/Fox-Internet.html retrieved 2/20/06

Jones,G.(1998). Language Interative: Language Learning and the Webhttp://www.fln.vcu.edu/cgi/1.html#how retrieved 2/20/06

Knowles,M.(1976). The Modern Practice of Adult Education. NY. Association Press.

Lee, E-K. (1998). Using E-mail in EFL Writing Classes The Internet TESL Journalhttp://iteslj.org/Techniques/Lee-EmailWriting.html retrieved 2/16/06

Meloni,C.(2005). The Internet in the Classroom A Valuable Tool and Resource forESL/EFL Teachers. http://www.eslmag.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10 retrieved 12/21/05

Moras,S.(2001). Computer-Assisted Language Learning (Call) And The Internethttp://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/CALL.html retrieved 3/0603

Singhal, M. (1997). The Internet and foreign language education: benefits and

challenges. http://iteslj.org/Articles/Singhal-Internet.html 3/15/05

Warschauer, M. (1995). E-Mail for English teaching. Washington, DC: Teachers ofEnglish to Speakers of Other Languages.

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http://www.manythings.org/http://english-zone.com/index.phphttp://www.eslgo.com/http://www.world-english.org/http://a4esl.org/http://www.learnenglish.de/http://www.esl-images.com/http://iteslj.org/Articles/Belisle-Email.htmlhttp://iteslj.org/Articles/Fox-Internet.htmlhttp://www.fln.vcu.edu/cgi/1.html#howhttp://iteslj.org/Techniques/Lee-EmailWriting.htmlhttp://www.eslmag.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10http://www.eslmag.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/CALL.htmlhttp://iteslj.org/Articles/Singhal-Internet.htmlhttp://www.manythings.org/http://english-zone.com/index.phphttp://www.eslgo.com/http://www.world-english.org/http://a4esl.org/http://www.learnenglish.de/http://www.esl-images.com/http://iteslj.org/Articles/Belisle-Email.htmlhttp://iteslj.org/Articles/Fox-Internet.htmlhttp://www.fln.vcu.edu/cgi/1.html#howhttp://iteslj.org/Techniques/Lee-EmailWriting.htmlhttp://www.eslmag.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10http://www.eslmag.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/CALL.htmlhttp://iteslj.org/Articles/Singhal-Internet.html


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Warschauer, M. (1997). The Internet for English Teaching: guidelines for teachers.http://iteslj.org/Articles/Warschauer-Internet.html retrieved 2/20/06

Warschauer, M., Shetzer, H. & Meloni, C. (2000). Internet for English teaching.Alexandria, VA: TESOL Publications

Wilson, R.(2004). Computers and the Internet: Together a Great Tool for ESL/EFLLearners

http://www10.cs.rose-hulman.edu/Papers/Wilson.pdfretrieved 2/19/06

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http://iteslj.org/Articles/Warschauer-Internet.htmlhttp://www10.cs.rose-hulman.edu/Papers/Wilson.pdfhttp://iteslj.org/Articles/Warschauer-Internet.htmlhttp://www10.cs.rose-hulman.edu/Papers/Wilson.pdf

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Using the Web Guidelines for ESL Teachers