Software/Website
Title: “Learn English Teens” (Created by the British
Council, UK)
Website
URL:
http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/
Grade/Age/Proficiency
Level: Five levels: A1, A2 (Beginner), B1, B2 (Intermediate),
and C1 (Advanced).
Language
& Content: English.
Has 6 sections: 1) Language skills (Reading, Writing and Listening); 2)
Grammar and Vocabulary; 3) Exam Tips; 4) UK Now; 5) Study Break; and 6)
Magazine.
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Introduction:
“Learn
English Teens” is an interactive website for English language learners,
more specifically teenagers, created by the British Council, UK. Last time, I evaluated a language software,
so this time I chose to evaluate a language learning website. The main reason I chose this website was the
variety of the programs and tools inside, and the ‘modern’ look and teenage 'appeal' of the
website. Many teenagers today are handy with the digital world and have a wide scope of interests in a variety of digital
topics. This website seems to cater to
the teenage culture and specifically appeals to their particular interests, including
articles from the pop culture, current news, literature, recreation, and entertainment. The website tries to present the language
material in an authentic and natural context, and then tries to engage the
students in text analysis and exercises. Compared
to other websites, I thought the approach here was a bit unique in the sense
that it does try to appeal to the young Net Generation by focusing on topics of
interest to them. For example, under the
heading “Magazine” there are some “teen” sections including: Entertainment,
fashion, Sport, all of which are in line with teenagers’ interests and are sure
to engage them.
I
will start the review of this website by describing the general format,
describing some sections in detail. Then
I will present my impression and evaluation of the website.
Proficiency
levels and Content:
There
is a main bar at the top of the website that appears in all web pages. The menu bar shows six categories, and each
category has a drop-down menu that shows three or more sections. This website is free, and members can create
a free account that keeps track of their progress and assigns points based on
performance but registration is not required.
The seventh category ‘All” contains a free assessment test to determine
the student’s level of English. On the
top right corner, there are links to three sister sites: Learn English for
Kids, Learn English for Adults, and Teaching English. There are also links to
three sister social media sites: Facebook, twitter, and google+. Here I will focus on the main website Learn
English for Teens. The main page also
shows some recent and top posts from various sections to add some color and
hook for the viewer or student.
As
mentioned above there are six categories, here is a description of each.
1)
Language skills: a) Reading skill, b) Writing skill, and c) Listening
skill.
2)
Grammar and Vocabulary: a) Grammar videos, b) Phrasal verb videos, and
c) Vocabulary exercises.
3)
Exam Tips: a) Reading exam tips, b) Writing exam tips, c) Listening exam
tips, d) Speaking exam tips, e) Grammar and Vocabulary exam tips, and f) Exam
study tips.
4)
UK Now: a) Read UK, b) Video UK, c) Film UK, d) Music UK, and e) Science
UK.
5)
Study Break: a) Video zones, b) Games, c) Photo captions, c) What is
it?, d) Easy reading. And
6)
Magazine: a) Books, b) Entertainment, c) Fashion, d) Life around the
world, e) Music, f) Science and Technology, g) Sport.
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Next I will describe some
sections in more detail. Most of the
material presented (reading passages or videos) are authentic and given in a
natural context. First the multimodal
text is presented, followed by exercises for practice, which include matching,
gap filling or cloze, true or false, and multiple choice. The website provides an immediate feedback
after an exercise is done. There are
some nice downloadable worksheets too.
At the end, students can share their thoughts about a ‘discussion
question’. There are five proficiency
levels: A1, A2 (Beginner), B1, B2 (Intermediate), and C1 (Advanced). Some sections have only two proficiency
levels A1 and A2, while other sections may have more.
Language skills, a) Reading
skill: The reading material is presented in a multimodal
format, and not simple text, including posters, tables, menus, newspaper
clippings, signs and notices. The
material is authentic and genuine. The
students is expected to practice what he sees and deals with in real life
situations. The discussion at the end offers an extra
venue to extend the conversation beyond the exercises and worksheets.
Grammar and Vocabulary, a)
Grammar videos: Although the grammar videos use cartoon
figures, the situation is authentic and the grammar is presented in a natural
context. After the video, there is a
brief explanation of the grammar rules, followed by exercises, then a
‘discussion question’.
UK Now, Literature UK: There
are some short versions of Shakespeare’s plays, some modern poems, and few
reading passages. The plays are given in
a video format, and presented by a native speaker in a simplified form. This multimodal text is followed by exercises
and the read aloud text.
UK Now, Science UK: Although
it specifies UK, many reading passages are general and not related to the
UK. The same pattern is given: text,
then exercises and downloadable worksheets, and then a ‘discussion
question.’ The scientific piece is not
authentic, but written in a simple language and explained in simple terms to
appeal to the reader.
Study Break, Video zones: I
found the study break section to be very entertaining and interactive. The multimodal text is presented in an
authentic and natural context, followed by exercises, downloadable worksheets,
and a ‘discussion question.’ An example
is “Space Snack Time”. We can see such
topic will appeal to a teenager and the authentic text, a demonstrative video
in this case, will engage the student.
Study Break, Video zones: Another
entertaining and interactive section under the Study Break category. The games are not only entertaining and
appealing to the teenager, but they also provide a chance to practice
vocabulary, and test comprehension. I
think this section is very interactive and serves a dual purpose and having
‘fun’ but learning at the same time.
Magazine, Sport: I
think this category is the least interactive.
Each section here just present a short text related to the topic, then a
‘discussion question’ is given. There no
exercises or worksheets. Some of the
topics are interesting, but some may not appeal to all readers. Topics include: my first volleyball match,
learning how to ride a bike, Squash at the Olympics and others.
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Evaluation:
The
main attraction of this website lies in three important features: first its
modern look, second its authentic text, and third its focus on teenage interests
and relevant topics. I think the website
has done a good job presenting the material in a way that appeals to its young
audience. The topics are carefully
selected, and presented in a multimodal way, something many teenagers are used
to, and would identify with.
Furthermore, many articles are authentic, taken from everyday life, and
can be used for everyday life. This
authenticity of material is important to engage the language learner’s interest
and provide him with an opportunity to learn the language naturally.
The number
of exercises that follow every lesson is another good feature of this
website. These exercises ensure
comprehension and allow deeper reading and analysis of text on the part of the
students, but sometimes the exercises are easy and seem to be designed for
beginning level ELLs. Moreover, many
lessons, especially in the reading and listening section can be incorporated in
an English learning classroom. As a
matter of facts, a couple of students note in the comments that their English
teacher used some of the website’s listening lessons in their class. Using a language website or an app for a
classroom may be called external documents, and I will design an external document
based on the literature section of this website.
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| Main Page |
On
the other hand, I found the main page to be cluttered. There are so many links to other articles, so
many titles that the user may get confused at first. I think just few links should
be enough. Besides, the menu bar can be better arranged. Under ‘Skills’, there are reading, listening
and writing sections. The reading
section only presents short texts, mostly in the form of posters, menu
etc. The user is left to wonder where to
find the long reading passages. After
some search, the reading passages can be found under ‘UK Now’. I found this to be confusing, especially that
many articles are not related to UK, but are grouped under ‘Read UK’.
The writing section also
only focuses on short text, like writing an email, an invitation, a postcard,
etc., but no mention of any longer articles. And the list of writing topics is
too short. While many students are
expected to write extensively during an academic year, only 10 writing
assignments are given, and none of them include a regular essay type prompt.
The listening section
contains both British and American English, but again it is too brief, with a
limited number of topics. But for each
text, there are follow-up exercises that ensure comprehension and practice. And it is nice to have both British and
American English and not focusing on UK only.
The Grammar section presents
grammar in authentic situations. I found
the stories interactive and a fun way to learn grammar. But the explanation is brief, and there are
not enough examples. There are some good
follow-up exercises that allow the student to practice the grammar rule
learned.
The ‘Phrasal verb videos’
section only uses British English. This
section is limited and the conversation is monotonous and involves the same
topic. I think this section can be
expanded and can be improved by adding a variety of situations with different
phrasal verbs.
The ‘Exam’ section is a
misnomer. There are no exams under this
section, but tips to take exams. Again
this section can be improved by adding some exams here. After presenting the tips, maybe the website
should offer some exams or links to those tests.
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The ‘UK Now’ section is
another misnomer. It has many topics
that are not directly related to the UK, but grouped together under this
category. I think it would be better to
break down this category in individual categories. So instead of UK Literature
and UK reading, both can be grouped under the reading skill section. A good feature in this section is that all
texts are followed by exercises that ensure comprehension and practice.
The ‘Study Break’ and
‘Magazine’ sections are very entertaining and provide an opportunity for having
fun and learning at the same time. It is
interactive and challenges the student.
This section contains videos, games, mystery picture, photo captions,
and some interesting articles. The
student is asked to figure out the mystery picture, and come up with a caption
for a mysterious photo. The games are
language games and can be a fun way to learn a language. Some sections are short and can be expanded
by including a variety of topics that appeal to the teenage group. I think the website is very picky about the
topics they choose for their particular audience and thus many time the list of
topics offered in the section are too brief.
But arguably, teenagers have different interests and tastes just like
adults in that regard.
Finally, the ‘All’ section
provides an assessment test that is supposed to determine the student’s level
of English. The test has only one
version, and can be retaken. I think
this test is a not a good measuring tool. The questions are too brief, and it
is a comprehensive test. Besides, maybe
different versions with different questions should be provided.
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Overall, although the website has some good
features it can use some improvement. To start with, I think there should be
some clear objective and study plan at the outset. The students should see what they are doing
or need to do. This website, although
authentic and great for learning English, lacks that clear guidance on how to
approach the great number of articles and text.
The website tried to divide the material into six categories, but that
did not work very well, as some sections are misnomer or not properly
categorized. Thus, I think categories
need to be rearranged.
In addition, the main page needs to be
organized for easier navigation. The
pages on the website are cluttered with many links that leave the user confused
and overwhelmed at times. I think many
of these links can be safely removed and kept in their appropriate sections.
But I still find the website an amazing and a
novel site for its intended audience; teenagers. I think the website was successful in appealing
to the teenage group through its multimodal texts, authentic text and selective
topics. I believe the website can be a
valuable tool for the classroom, especially for ELLs.
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