Task 1: ESL Website Evaluation

WEBSITE: Anglomaniacy.pl
URL: http://www.anglomaniacy.pl/index.html

Q1.       What does the application attempt to teach?

This website/application is specially designed for kids (pre-learners) who are learning English as a foreign or second language. It focuses on grammar and vocabulary as well as educating learners in a fun way. Having a wide range of teaching activities such as games and exercises make it more interesting and enjoyable for the youngsters to learn. Unlike a normal website which consist only texts and information, this website comes in a full package of colours and pictures/icons in order to get the learners’ interest/attention. Young ESL students will find a lot of online activities and hundreds of printable worksheets that can help them with their English. Furthermore, the website can also be a source for the parents and teachers of ESL learners. They are free to download the activities and enjoy the teaching materials including flashcards, quizzes, games, song lyrics as well as a big collection of useful links to other ESL/EFL websites. This makes it even better since it is a free-access website. The structure of the website itself is well-organized. Everything is just a click-away.  Learn, practice and play; a good way of learning and three simple steps for beginners (preschoolers).

Q2.       What sorts of things is the application user expected to do with regards to learning the content?

            Learners can freely access this website without the need of registering or purchasing in order to use the learning course. It is a self-study courrse which allow the learners to choose the topics freely and do the exercises at their own pace and according to their profiency level. Plus, the exercises are not boring. It consists of pictures and word games which are more interesting and suitable for the preschoolers. This way it would be easier for the kids because they could learn a word (vocabulary) and at the same time see the picture because this way, they could easily relate the lesson with their daily life. Learning through experience (Experiential Learning) had always been the best way of manifesting informations or knowledge. This has been proven by David A. Kolb, founder of the theory itself. Relating what we learn with our own experience is easier because one can apply what they learn instead of just learning and storing inside the brain. It does not work that way with kids because they need things that can trigger their mind, unlike adults who can easily digest what they learn. This application is well designed because each application has its own use. “Learn Practice and Play”; as we can see it is structured that way because the first step must involve learning, and when learning had take place, learners will then practice what they’ve learned through the exercises. Play is not merely playing games without any input from the activity, but each activity has its own benefits where learners could learn a new vocabulary throughout the games. This way it would be more fun for them and it is important for them to enjoy the learning session in order for the objectives to be met, which is to teach.

Q3.       What sorts of computer skills is the application users expected to have in order to operate/access/use the application?

In order to operate/access/use the application, learners do not need any computer skills because it is a self-guide application. It is a user-friendly website which is fully guided through a step by step instruction. Each activity is categorized differently according to the topics. Learners can practice online without any trouble of downloading the exercises. But, if they want to download it, the downloading section is clearly seen by the users. The songs provided in the application can be played easily and it does not need the users to browse like what we usually do with “Youtube”. Songs names are provided on the left side of the page and learners only need to click on the name given in order to play. It is as easy as that. Just like I said, everything is just a click-away.

Q4.       While you are “playing” / “accessing” / “assessing” the application, does it remind you of anything you do in a classroom, or with a teacher, or with a fellow classmate, or in self-study?

            The thing that i remembered most would be memories that i had during my practicum. I remember browsing the web and looking through books for activities for my students. I knew that teaching using the textbook would be very boring, that is why i had tried my best to insert more activities during my lessons. The best part is that it works! My students love the activities. I had used some word games (such as snakes) to improve on their vocabulary, bringing audio cd to class and sing songs with the students and share stories with them. My students and I had enjoyed it very much and we had so much fun during the lessons. Singing actually helps the students to improve on their pronunciation. Some may see it differently or useless, but from my experience, it is one way of making the classroom learning more interesting. I am very happy to see there are songs provided in a section of the website application (popular children songs). It is a good way of exposing the language to the young learners.

Q5.       Can you pinpoint some theories of language learning and/or teaching underlying the application?

            From my evaluation, i could see that this website leans more towards the Deductive Approach, an introduction of a structure and followed by presentation of the rule that governs the structure. The presentation is followed by examples which show the students how the rule is used in context. (according to the Grammar Translation Method). For example, the learners are first taught about a certain topic; Simple Present Tense. They are exposed to the rules and structure and in order to see whether they have understood the lesson, they are given exercises as practice. When they have understood and complete the exercises, they could then test themselves with the test sheets provided and from there they could determine their strengths and weaknesses. Pictures are given below as examples taken from the website itself.

LEARN

PRACTICE

TEST

            

            The second theory involved would be the Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) by David A. Kolb. This theory involves relating what students learn with the real world or everyday life. Topics such as fruits, holidays, and feelings can be easily related to the students. This is because these things can be seen in their daily routine. Explanation itself is not enough, which is why most teachers bring authentic materials to class, for example like what my teacher did during my school days was a basket full of fruits. It is to cater the need of the visual learners. We learn better when we are able to see things than using merely imaginations. What this website provides are sentences that come together with pictures. It is very helpful for the pre-learners to identify each word and relating what they learn with a real life situation, which is the home environment.

Q6.       How well is the constructivist theory of learning applied to the chosen website(s)?

 Constructivist theory by Jean Piaget and John Dewey explains that knowledge has a personal meaning and it is created by individual students. Learners construct their own knowledge by looking for meaning and order; they interpret what they hear, read, and see based on their previous learning and habits. Students who do not have appropriate backgrounds will be unable to accurately “hear” or “see” what is before them. It basically means that individuals construct new knowledge from their experiences.

On the other hand, a theory by Lev Vygotsky involved private speech, where each step of the theory plays an important role towards the learner. The first one is imitative learning, where one person tries to imitate or copy another. The second way is by instructed learning which involves remembering the instructions of the teacher and then using these instructions to self-regulate. The final way that cultural tools are passed to others is through collaborative learning, which involves a group of peers who strive to understand each other and work together to learn a specific skill (Tomasello, et al., 1993). Through private speech, children speak to themselves to plan or guide their own behavior. This is most common among preschoolers, who have not yet learned proper social skills but rather explore the idea of it. Children often use private speech when a task becomes too difficult and the child doesn't know how to proceed. Private speech helps the child accomplish a task. Vygotsky believed private speech changes with age, by becoming softer or being just a whisper (self-talk).

The importance of private speech can be related to the website where the self-study done by learners includes the absence of a teacher. The learning occurs only between learner and the website. It may be a bit difficult since the target group is the preschoolers. Learners at this age need assistance and some scaffolding from an adult/teacher. This is because they are not well exposed to the nature of learning through self-study learning.

Q7.       In 1980w and early 1990s, there was a major debate on ‘whether the computer was “master” of or “slave” to the learning process (Higgins and Johns, 1984). In relation to your evaluation – was the computer a replacement for teachers, or merely an obedient servant to students?

Neither. I personally think that the existance of computers/gadgets is for assisting mankind, not to be the master or the slave. We do not rely hundred percent on computers because we have teachers as or prime educators. Just like this website, it is used as an alternative for the learners to learn. This proves that we do not depend fully on teachers as well because teachers are not with us 24/7 instead we have electronics at home such as television and computers to help us discover more on what is not taught by the teachers.

The western people have created many examples of movies in related to the topic itself. Three examples that i could think of at the moment are Resident Evil, I. Robot (I.R) and Artificial Intelligence (A.I). Three very famous movies and I could say that it is well known as well. When the computers are programmed to be in charge of something big, it would be harmful for us which can be seen in I. Robot which had Will Smith as the main actor. That is the message the movies had been trying to tell us basically. Futhermore, in that particular movie, Will Smith hated robotics so much until he could not accept them at all. He could see the negative side of having robotics doing chores for people. At the end of the story, he proved that his assumptions were true and man should not rely that much on complexities such as computer programming. The nature of robotics is that they can never think like us, no matter how real it looks on the outside, the programme set in the brain is different. We are God’s greatest creation and as we know, we are different because of the way we think and that we have a heart.

I am not being paranoid but somehow I feel that it is creepy if it really happens in real life, I mean having robotics around doing chores for us and controlled by them. Well, this is a point of view from a movie fanatic. Back to our discussion, I am still with my stand that computer is neither a master nor the slave of people. Just like this website that I have evaluated, it is an assistant for us to learn more and something that could help us broaden our view in learning.

Q8.       Would you like to use the application yourself in your future work?

Yes, why not. Although the website is designed for kids (pre-learners), parents and teachers can also use the application as resource. If I happen to be teaching one day,I might be using it. There are all kinds of word games, songs, quizzes and tests provided in the website which can be used as guidance in teaching. Plus, there are links provided for further needs of information.

Suggestions/Recommendations.

Overall, i love every detail of the website. It suits the theme; “The place for fun learning”. It is well structured and placed accordingly to the topics. I’m sure users would love it too. The icons are adorable. Well, that is from the layouts’ evaluation. As we all know the presentation is very important in order to gain users’ interest in using the application. So here, i would suggest that the creator to update the graphics being used in the website so it would be more eye-catchy. This is because, kids nowadays are well exposed to the world of computers (computer savvy) and most of them have internet access at home. By updating the softwares would strengthen the application and it will be more interesting. Maybe by adding some audio clips such as videos for example could make the learning more meaningful. I love the part where there are popular children songs that come together with lyrics and pictures (such as London Bridge). Those are the types which are all-times favourite. Secondly, I would recommend the creator to design a website for adult learners of ESL as well. It would be better if both pre-learners and adult learners to learn from the same website. Futhermore, the website do provide links and become a resource for parents/teachers, why not widen the scope.


References


http://www.anglomaniacy.pl/index.htm

Brown, H.D (2000). Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approack to Language Pedagogy


http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Teachers_Page/Language_Learning_Articles/constructivist_learning.htm.