TSL 641: COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE

LEARNING
Task 1 (10%)

Evaluate an ESL website

DEADLINE – 26-27/1/2011 (Week 4)

ESL WEBSITE EVALUATION

1. You are to evaluate an ESL website (on English as a

Second Language Teaching & Learning) by answering the
attached list of questions. Do not forget to include the
website’s address in your commentary. Remember to have a
good focus!

2. Your answers to each question must be at least one

paragraph in length.

3. This evaluation task is to be done individually.

1 TSL 641: CALL, TASK 1| Faculty of Education, UiTM.

 Evaluation Guide

1. What does the application attempt to “teach”?

2. What sorts of things is the application user expected to do

with regards to learning the content?

3. What sorts of computer skills is the application users

expected to have in order to operate/access/use the application?

4. 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?

5. Can you pinpoint some theories of language learning and/or

teaching underlying the application?

6. How well is the constructivist theory of learning applied to

the chosen website(s)?

7. In 1980s 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?

8. Would you like to use the application yourself in your future

work?
Yes? Give reasons:
No? Give reasons:

Suggestions/Recommendations.

2 TSL 641: CALL, TASK 1| Faculty of Education, UiTM.