ESL Website Evaluation

1. The website grammar.ccc is a website which teaches the surfers on two aspects: Grammar, and writing. Since grammar and writing are highly connected to each other, both are necessary in teaching both aspects. The website could not focus just on matter and leave out the other. The good thing is, this website is equipped with text boxes for the visitors to key in their answers to the exercises. The exercises are also equipped with immediate feedbacks, but some feedbacks are obtainable even without filling in the boxes with the users’ own answers first. 

As seen in the picture, I did not key in my answers, yet I could obtain the correct answers by clicking the button. The drawback in this feature is, the users will have the tendency to just display the answers without even trying to test their knowledge. Another comment I would like to make about this website is about the amount of words displayed regarding the topic. I understand that the author is trying to explain the concept in detail to the users, but it will actually make me skip the explanation part and only do the exercises. Too many words will actually strain my eyes given that the size of the font is quite small. Regarding the level of difficulty of the subject taught in this website, I noticed that the website tackles all levels of the matter. It offers explanation and exercises from the basic till the difficult part of the matter. Unfortunately, they do not clearly state labels such as “Beginner”, “Intermediate” and “Expert” in showing the different levels. However, I believe that the users will be able to progress step by step by doing such exercises.

2. As I have mentioned in the previous answer, the explanation was too lengthy and wordy. As an online user, I would be demotivated to read the explanation and skip everything. I would even leave the page if I don’t find it interesting at all. It would be better to have bigger fonts, and keep the explanation simple and understandable. At first, upon entering the website, the users were given a choice of what they wanted to learn. The website has broken down all of its content into subtopics, making it easier for the users to choose their area of interest. The type of exercises vary according to the respective quizzes. There are multiple choice questions, arrangement of sentences, fill in the boxes and many more. As I have mentioned before, the feedback was immediate, but there are tendencies that the users would simply check the answers without doing the exercises.

3. The website reminds me nothing of what I did in school, be it with a teacher, friend or even during self-study. I think this will be very good for teachers to use in class. This is due to the fact that the content is way beyond than what we have in the school syllabus. So, this website will be a great tool for students to broaden their knowledge. However, some of the exercises might be a bit difficult for those in school, so the teacher needs to choose exercises which are suitable for the students’ level of proficiency.

4. Well, I would say that the immediate feedback is the one of the things you would not get from the normal pen and paper exercises in school. I am pretty sure that my exercise papers could not respond that quickly while I was doing the exercise. The earliest response would be in the following week, not at that moment. Multiple-choice questions are common in traditional exercises, so there is nothing so special about that. There are also exercises in which you drag the words to complete the exercise. This is something that could not be done on paper. I would actually say that there are not much difference, but somehow it was made easier for the users to answer all the exercises. Well, perhaps there are one or two things that could be considered as a new experience for the users, but I still think that it was nothing special.

5. This website uses a drilling method in which after the explanation of the grammar elements, the users do the exercises repetitively. This is done to ensure that the users understand the topic well. The users could also do repeat the same exercises again and again. Moreover, the website uses the deductive approach in explaining grammar. The users read the explanation and try to understand the concept first, before they proceed with the exercises to apply what they have learned. A more inductive approach is needed sometime to actually encourage the users to figure out the rule or pattern by themselves.

6. Well, in a way, this website does have the potential for language learning. As I did some of the exercises, I gained some knowledge which I do not get from school. However, they should have presented the information in a more user-friendly way. The interface itself would actually set the mood of the users and somehow motivate or demotivate them.  The website also provides the basic fundamentals of writing up to the complex procedure. Therefore, a frequent user of the website could improve their skills in writing and grammar.

7. Well, that depends on the type of students that I would get in the future. However, there is a high chance that I will not use this website in my teachings. Instead of using it as a main reference, I would recommend it as another website which they could use to explore. One of the reasons why I do not prefer to use this website is the massive amount of words and lengthy explanation of the topic. It will be a turn off for my students and might not proceed with the exercise. Another reason might be the accurateness of the feedback. Rather than saying accurateness, it might be better to say that the feedback comes with no explanation. The explanation does not have to be lengthy but they could simply state the grammar rules and highlighted the correct part with a different colour.

Link to website: Grammar