Digital ESL Material Evaluation - 1st CALL Task

1. What does the website or MOOC or app or tool attempt to “teach”? Are exercises or activities included in the website? What are the types of exercise or activities included? Are there immediate feedbacks? Are there different levels of difficulty for different proficiency levels? (You can add any other comments you think is important to point out).

The website that I have chosen is englishgrammar.org and it focuses on teaching writing and grammar exclusively. This particular websites encompasses numbers of relevant topics related to grammar such as pronouns, nouns, adjectives, conjunctions, adverbs and so on. It also covers the strategies of writing.These topics are useful for English learners who seek to learn more about grammar and writing There are numerous of exercises provided by the website to help the English language learners to accommodate their learning in grammar and writing. The activities and exercises are filled with sufficient examples that could improve one’s grammar and writing skill. After the users have finished each grammar exercise or activity, the users will be directly shown the correct answer and a brief explanation regarding to the question. This feedback will bolster the users to acknowledge their mistakes and learn from it. Thus, this website is absolutely impressive by promoting this immediate feedback. One can learn better by knowing his or her mistakes or errors immediately. Furthermore, the website offers exercises according to the level of proficiency of the users. The users can choose which level that they are belonged to and start answering the exercises. It is really helpful for the new language users as this website caters the exercises according to the level of proficiency. This website is not solely for children or school students as it caters to any ages of users. Thus, it really promotes self directed learning as the users can manage their learning styles with their own pace.

1.1  Example of immediate feedback provided by this website

1.2  Example of immediate feedback provided by this website

2. What are the learners/visitors required to do with regards to learning the content of the website or MOOC or apps?

The website is free for all, meaning that everyone has full access to every part of the website. The learners or the users do not have to spend their money to learn anything from this website. Plus, no sign-up is required to utilize the content of the website.The users also can download any files or exercises from this website without being charged even a cent. From the homepage, the users or learners can find out what to expect from this website as the owner or the editor of this website has immaculately presented the outcome of this website.

3. Does the website or MOOC or app or tools present learners with something that cannot be done in a face-to-face classroom? If yes, how so? 

Yes, it provides the users with some features that are not commonly done in a face to face classroom. One of them is grammar checker. The users can use this feature to check for their grammar errors in their essay. Ergo, this would help the learners to recheck again their writing whilst learning from their mistakes. This website also provides a feature where you count the total words in your essay. It surely promotes self-learning as the learners can navigate what they have and try to improve their writing style based on the suggestions given by the website.

3.1  One of the features that the website has to offer

4. Can you pinpoint some theories of language learning and/or teaching underlying the application?

One of the theories underlies in the website is Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis which denotes that a student’s anxiety, low self esteem, or lack of motivation can serve to cause a mental block preventing the successful acquisition of a second language. By using this website, the ‘affective filter’ will be lowered as the environment created for the users to learn is free from anxiety attack. The language users or learners are in control for their learning and they would not feel intimidated as they are progressing in their own pace and style. Next theory that is familiar for this website is autonomous learning by Henri Holler.This website really requires the learners’ own desires to learn as they manage their own topic for each time they have access to the website. They are in full control as they can do as many exercises that they want from this website.

5. An important criterion for evaluating a CALL program, task or activity is the potential for language learning (i.e. will student learn something?) Does the website or MOOC or app fulfill this criterion? If yes, how so? If no, why? 

Based from my experience through this website, I acknowledged that this website will fulfill the targeted criterion which is having potential for language learning. To be frank, this website has ample information needed for the learners to engage with English language. The users or learners will indubitably learn the language from bit to bit. Even if the learner is a slow learner, he or she can have the chance to set their pace as the exercises are differentiated by different levels of proficiency. It means that the users or learners can choose which level of exercise (Level 1-Level 6) that they tend to access and answer. But the website is not fully equipped with more interactive interfaces that the learners can engage with and the explanation for each topic is very dry.

5.1  Brief explanation yet too dry to look at

6. Would you like to use the application yourself in your future work? Yes? Provide reason(s), No? Provide (reason) Provide(reason) .

Apparently, this website or application will be useful for me in the future if I were going to be a teacher or an educator. Even though the website is still dry for its contents but I am giving it a chance as this website is still new and progressing towards a reliable website for ESL teaching and learning. I can foresee it is happening near in the future. For me, the content is ample and succinct for a new learner to get a gist of what grammar and writing in English are all about. In addition, any users from different ages can have access to this website and that is surely great for NEW LEARNERS of English language. Too old or too young, nothing can stop you from learning the language.