Challenge 1
Evaluating Tools and Resources
This week, my group decided to develop a checklist for tools that can be used for listening skills.
We came up with six criteria and they are:
1. Content appropriacy
2. Authenticity
3. Accessibility
4. Representativeness
5. Adaptability
6. Motivational/Engaging
I have looked at a website dedicated for language teaching, englishcentral.com. Based on the six criteria, here is my evaluation for EnglishCentral.
For the first criterion, content appropriacy, this site has a lot to offer. Since there are hundreds of different topics to choose from, it is quite easy to find a topic that you are interested in. Also, since the site is developed for teaching purposes, all the content is appropriate for younger learners. They are on daily topics such as travel, education, sports, food etc. Therefore, it would be appropriate for learners for all ages and purposes.
All the materials the site provides are authentic. They are all real life videos collected from different online sources or TV shows. Thus, it is appropriate for our second criterion, authenticity.
Users do need to sign up for an account using an email address. So this is a little bit extra work for students. Still, with your username and password you have unlimited access to the majority of the materials. For more personalized lessons, students might need to get the premium account. Yet, overall, this website is easy to use and access.
For representativeness, we wanted to look at the coverage of different accents the source offers. This site has many different videos and they mostly belong to Americans. There are some videos in British accent but it is mainly American. So, it does not represent all different accents of English, but still provides different variations.
In terms of adaptability, this site can be used individually or can easily be applied to class. They have explanations and instructions for all activities so students would know how to use this source even on their own.
Lastly, I find it motivational because materials are authentic and learners get to see the celebrities or other important people they possibly know and they can practice by using their speeches. Thus, this will be motivational for them.
Overall, based on our criteria. I find EnglishCentral appropriate although it does not really represent a wide range of accents.
A very thorough review! As a teacher, how important do you think representativeness is compared with the other factors in your list?
ReplyDeleteDepending on the purpose, I believe representativeness can be important or not so important.
DeleteIf students are learning English just to be able to communicate in the United States, then they do not need to be exposed to, for example, British English since it is not in their target domain.
However, today, since English is a global language, we hear different accent all the time and I think it is important to be exposed to different variations for a better communication.
So, compared to other factors in our list, I think representativeness is a flexible one.