CALL Software/Website Evaluation 2

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.



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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