ESL WEBSITE EVALUATION

       

Link: http://www.learnenglish.de/

1. The website that I found is called LEO Network, a website that teaches English online for free. The website attempts on teaching many aspects in English such as grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation. The website teachers the students on many aspects of grammar, for example, adverbs, noun, pronoun, verbs, and articles to name a few. For vocabulary, the website does not only provide vocabulary for specific field such as sports, career, clothing, food, and etc, but it also teaches the students the idioms related to the word (for example, under fruit; "she was the apple of his eye". For Pronunciation, the website provides lessons to pronounce some complicated spelling in English such as silent letters, intonations, and even accent. Other than that, it also includes the audio file of the correct pronunciation for the students to refer for their pronunciation. 

Website's front page

Many categories of vocabulary

For Grammar

Lessons in Pronunciation

There are many exercises that the students can do in this website. There are many forms of exercises, there are filling-in-the-blanks, crossword puzzles, and even tests where the learners are required to complete the exercise in a given time. The tests also vary for different proficiency levels, where lesson 1 is the most basic and it gets more advance in the next lesson. 

Test Units

An exercises with timer

2. The LEO Network is a free online English course that requires only a computer and an internet connection. Students are not required to make any subscription or payment and even any login ID. This makes it easier for the learners to access the website as there is no requirement whatsoever.

3. During my secondary school, I used an online learning course called 'Score A'. The learning style is almost similar, where the course provided notes and also exercises to prepare students for their examination. The course is a paid online learning course, where the students are required to pay for a login ID and password before hand. 

        The notes in the Score A programme is based on the National English Syllabus, making it easy for the students to refer to their textbooks and exercise books. However, the best feature that the course provide is that the parents or teachers have their own login ID, where they can login the program and monitor the students' progress in the course. 

4. As mentioned before, the website provides audio files of the words for the students to refer their pronunciation to. Other than that, the biggest difference that the website has compared to textbooks and exercise books is that the website provides a chat system, where the learners are able to chat and practice their English with the entire community. The chat system consists of Facebook chatting, Google Plus, and also video chat via Skype. With this system, the learners are able to practice their communication skills with the people in the same learning course. 

Chat System 

5. One of the best feature that this website offers is the chatting system, where the learners are able to chat and even video call via Skype. Unlike drilling and doing exercises, communicating with people is a more fun way for the students to improve their English proficiency, especially in listening and speaking. By chatting and Video calling, students are able to 'acquire' the language skills with a more entertaining and authentic method. This is similar to one of Stephen Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition; "the Acquisition-Learning hypothesis". 

       In Krashen's "Acquisition-Learning hypothesis", the 'acquired system' or acquisition is the product of a subconscious process, which is a very similar process that the children undergo when they acquire their first language; through communication. It requires meaningful interaction in the target language, a more natural and authentic communication in which the speakers are concentrated not in the form of their utterances, but in delivering their messages through the two-way communication. 

6. An important criterion for evaluating a CALL program, task or activity is the potential for language learning. In my opinion, LEO network has a big potential for language learning since is has many features that are exciting, and convenient for the students in improving their English language proficiency. It has the necessary notes and explanations on the subject matter, which could teach and clarify the students' confusion in the topic. Other than that, the many exercises (Lesson 1 to Lesson 50+) could be used as a drill for the students, similar as using and exercise books, but with more challenges (timer, puzzles). 

       Other than that, the best feature of the website, the Skype call, is the most useful feature that the students can use to improve their English, especially in listening and speaking. Most students are not able to use their English in their homes and schools as most of them are more comfortable to use Bahasa Melayu in conversing with each other. This feature does not only provide the students the opportunity to converse in English, but also giving the students to converse with people from foreign countries where they have so many things to talk about such as their culture, and their country. Students are able to expose themselves with different accents and also the correct pronunciation of words.

7. I would definitely use the website in my future work. First of all, in a world with advanced technology, students are more likely to prefer to do everything online, including learning English. Compared to using books, using this website is more exciting and fun for the students, and due to that, the students will be able to be more focused on completing their works. Secondly, this website is free without requiring any payment or subscription, which makes it easy for the students to access and learn at home. Their parents can also monitor their progress by doing the exercises together at home. Other than that, the students can also communicate with not only the other students, but also learners from foreign countries that are using the same website to learn. By doing this, the students can improve their listening and speaking skills with a more authentic and meaningful communication rather than a boring one-way communication in the classroom.