WEB EVALUATION

WEB URL: http://www.world-english.org/

1. What the application attempt to “teach”?

The application emphasizes all the four basic skills needed in learning or acquiring the English language, which are reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. Those skills are very important for the English language learners to be capable at in order to acquire the language and to have the gradual process of language learning or acquisition. Moreover, there are also additional learning aspects of the English language like grammar, vocabulary, literature and there are lots of quizzes, puzzles and etc. Those types of activities enhance learners’ interest and indirectly help them to improve or acquire the English language better in such fun, interesting but meaningful learning. Hence, this application provides learners with great opportunities to learn more about
language, strengthen their skills and upgrade their English language proficiency. Additionally, learners are able to explore more about English language by look at the literature component like the poetry and classic short stories. Learners are also able to enrich their vocabulary, since this application provides them with top 500 English words, vocabulary activities and tests.

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

This application is such a meaningful and effective tool for learners in order to learn or improve their level of proficiency in acquiring the English language. Learners are provided with notes, examples, exercises, quizzes and lots of additional activities which relate or benefit their language learning as a whole. All the four basic skills in learning English language are provided by the application with clear explanation, lots of example to help learners understand more on certain topics, numbers of exercises and quizzes to test learners understanding and achievement in learning certain topics or elements of language learning. Additionally, there are long lists of vocabulary and grammar topics to be explored in order to help the learners improving and acquiring English language better, since these two elements are very important to be mastered in learning the language. Notes, examples and exercises are also provided for those two elements in order to help learners gain better understanding in English language acquisition. The most important thing is, learners do not need to be well competence in using the computer, since the application is friendly user and easy to conduct, which it only needs the learners to click on the selected topics, scroll down while reading the notes and examples, and they have just to click the answers for the exercises. It is just a simple application, but provides learners with great benefits in acquiring or learning the English language.

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

This application does not need advance computer skills. The most basic skills of using computer will be enough to operate this application. Learners only need to click on the selection of topics and the exercises given just need the learners to click on the answer chose. All the exercises given need learners to only click on the answer box. Learners do not need any specific computer skills like downloading software. For the listening exercises, various types of videos provided and learners just have to click the link given and open the video by using real player or windows media player. Hence, learners have optional to open the video by using windows media player if they do not have the real player.

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

Absolutely. My mother is an English teacher at the primary school and she was my teacher when I was in standard 4 and 6. She gave me an English exercise CD-Rom which emphasizes on the grammar and vocabulary. The CD is actually produced by the English panel (panitia) of that school. So, I really like the CD because its application is very simple. There are some pictures and I just need to click on the correct answer. The other exercise that I remember is reading a text. I had to just click on the underline words and click to choose the correct answer (part of speech). For me, that type of application makes the learning process easier and simpler. Learners just have to click and no other computer skills needed like downloading, typing because not all the learners are the advance users. Rather than that, the age of users might be different, so by having the application which operates with the basic skills, it helps the younger learners, especially kids to learn the language through the application (website).

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

The first theory that I encountered in this application is the experiential learning. .This theory is applicable for learning the four basic skills in learning the language, which are reading, writing, listening and speaking. The reason why this application involves the experiential learning theory is basically it provides students with ‘concrete experiences’ through discovering the elements or principles of the language by trial and error, building their own hypotheses about the language learnt and revising the assumptions in order to become fluent in English language acquisition. Learners learn by ‘doing’ (active experimentation) and they ‘take charge’ of their own learning process.

The second learning theory discovered of this application is the use of deductive learning theory, especially when the learners explore the grammar topics or elements provided by this application. The deductive learning theory takes place when learners are given the rules or generalization (explanation/clarification) and then, they are allowed or being able to practice various instances of the target language.

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

Constructivism provides the learning environment which support multiple perspective or interpretations of reality, knowledge construction, context rich and also experience-based activities (David H.Jonassen). Constructivist takes place when learners are able to construct their own understanding by experiencing and reflecting the learning processes and finally learn something new, which they can relate to the previous knowledge learnt in the classroom. Besides, constructivist provides learners with inquiry-based activities, hence learners are able to formulate or test their understanding, making inferences and they will become the expert learners as they know how to learn (self-centered learning). So, this application is definitely provides learners with the constructivist learning. The learners can access and conduct the learning process by their own, understanding the topic/ subject learnt by relating the knowledge learnt in the classroom and strengthen them with own/experience-based learning, which they explore or find additional information or seeking for more clarification, which indicating the process of constructivist is took place. How? Learners can read the notes or clarification of certain topic studied provided by the application, learning or understanding through the lists of examples given and finally measure their understanding by testing their knowledge through answering the questions given or the quizzes provided in the application. Overall, this application does provides learners with constructivist-based learning through its authentic, clear, simple language notes or lots of examples to cater them with great understanding and finally measure their own level of proficiency through exploring the quizzes and activities provided by the application.

7. In 1980sband 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?

In my opinion, computer is never can be the replacement for the teachers. Teachers are the most important element when it comes to education. Honestly, how can a computer replace the teachers, since teachers are the one who operate the computers and not the other way around. In the simple words, computer needs a teacher to operate and function as the tools for teaching and learning process. Moreover, a computer does not have the functions as a teacher does, like consultation, further explanations, cannot be a good communication volume (one way communication only) and cannot interact with the students (in terms of enduring with students’ emotions, motivating them, solving problems and etc). Basically, computer just operates or functions limited to what they have been programmed for. Rather than that, teacher can endure with various or different level of students’ capability, compared to the computers which merely benefit students who really know how to operate them well. To be truth, it never comes across my mind that computers can replace the responsibilities of the teachers, since the teaching and learning process is more than academic business. Being a teacher is not only to teach, but to educate the students as a whole in order to produce well-rounded generation in the future. Will computer is able to do the same? The answer is absolutely not and computer is just one of the tools to help and support teachers in their teaching profession. For example, people can now further their study without going to the universities and having the actual classes like the actual universities students do. They can have their degree or master by learning at home or office through their computers. But, they still have the lecturers as their main source of reference and computer is used as the medium of communication only. So, there’s no other way that computers will be able to replace the teachers, no matter how sophisticated the technology is.

8. Would you like to use the application yourself in your future work?
Yes? Give reasons:
No? Give reasons:

Definitely yes. By having the application, it helps me to provide my students with attentive, effective and interesting teaching and learning processes. Being a teacher, sometimes I realize that I somehow fail to determine the proficiency level of my students and have the possibility to give the unsuitable exercises level, which do not benefit my students academically. Rather than that, sometimes, teacher is running out of the ideas to teach the students in fun, interesting ways, but still meaningful and effective lessons. So, by having the application, teachers are able to generate ideas and get various types of exercises to be used as their teaching materials, especially in the English language classroom. It is not easy to teach language, hence various teaching techniques must be used like providing students with interesting and fun learning environment, which is able to effect their motivation to learn English as their second language. I do not want to teach English language for the purpose of examination only, since acquiring a language is exploring. So, I want them to learn the language as they realize how importance the English language acquisition is, rather than learning the language for examination purposes only. Based on my experience, by having the technology or ICT application, it helps me a lot in attracting and motivating my students to learn English. I was able to prove them that English is not a tough subject, nor a boring subject to be learnt, which indirectly changed their perception towards learning that language.