| |
e-bulletin
- two
Contents
The
Internet and Business English
(Summertown 2003) ISBN: 1-902-74177
- 3
http://www.summertown.co.uk/internet_business_english.html
Reviews
Reviews of "The Internet and Business
English" (Barrett / Sharma 2003, Summertown) are appearing.
1 - EL Gazette, October 2003
“There
have been several excellent introductions to the internet
for language teachers, not least David Eastment's The Internet
and ELT, also from Summertown. The Internet and Business English,
though, is the first to go beyond generalities and apply use
of the web to a specific and expanding area of ELT”.
“Sharma
and Barrett have produced an impressive book that would be
a valuable addition to the staffroom bookshelf for business
English teachers of all levels - from IT ignoramuses to more
savvy users - and also for ELT generalists”.
By: Wayne Trottman, teacher of EAP at
The Institute of Technology, Izmir, Turkey
2 - IATEFL Issues 176
Review also by Wayne Trottman
3 - ESL.About.com
Kenneth Beare's on-line review can
be found at:
http://esl.about.com/cs/englishworkplace/gr/r_inetbus.htm
4 - BESIG Issues
You can read Duncan Baker's review
in the first 2004 edition of BESIG Issues. Here is an extract:
“Anyone
who has to assist learners within the sphere of English for
business and who uses, or wishes to use, the vast amount of
information available on the internet (and who doesn't these
days?) needs to have a copy”.
Duncan Baker is the Marketing and
Administration Partner of the Lydbury English Centre.
Buy this book
Please find a list of stockists on
the Summertown site. Click
here to find the link.
E-language
learning
This e-lesson overview page attempts
to map out what is happening in the area of e-language learning.
It is a guide for teachers and teacher trainers and could
be adapted as a handout for a teacher training session on
T.E.L.L. (Technology-Enhanced Language Learning). It is not
completely comprehensive and it would be interesting to expand
it in the future. It is based on the fact that many teachers,
trainers and software producers view this area in different
ways and hold positive, negative and neutral attitudes. The
categories are designed to be helpful and are not mutually
exclusive. Comments welcome!
E-language learning scenarios in
general and Business English
|
Type:
|
Description:
|
Comment:
|
|
Virtual schools / on-line providers
e.g. IH Barcelona, Global English
and Englishtown.
|
This could
be a free-standing, complete course where tuition is done
wholly by distance learning, e.g. learners do a writing
skills course on the Internet. They log on, type in their
credit card details and take the course. A range of CMC
(Computer-Mediated Communication) tools may be used, synchronous
(chat) and asynchronous (e-mail / bulletin boards). It
could involve voice recording / desktop video-camera /
the teacher and the learners with access to a shared whiteboard.
A cross-border Internet project could link students in
different parts of the world. A VLE (Virtual Learning
Environment) or LMS (Learning Management system) could
provide a platform for the learning. |
A teacher
is available to run an on-line lesson. Sometimes, the
teacher is assigned to a particular student, and knows
them in an on-line capacity. Sometimes the teacher is
whoever is available, 24 / 7. |
|
Blended learning solutions
(F2F plus technology)
e.g. Dyned, Abacus and Tell me more.
|
These are
hybrid solutions which combine the Web with some kind
of learning through technology, e.g. learners participate
in a course which comprises a mixture of F2F (face-to-face)
and on-line study. The technological component may be
individualised for a specific group. A learning campus
(VLE / LMS) can also provide the Web support and be used
in conjunction with classroom teaching. |
One development
is that the technology providers offer tools and customised
Web-materials to schools: the school itself provides teachers.
The technology could complement the F2F, or the course
could be technology-driven with the teacher in a perceived
“subservient” role. |
| Classroom
teaching (with optional
support in self-access) |
The students
use a SAC (Self-Access Centre) with, say, CD-ROMs.
Pre-lesson: e.g. learners
research facts and figures on-line before giving a presentation.
During a lesson: e.g.
teacher sets an on-line task which learners do in self-access.
Post lesson: e.g. learners
research on-line in order to write a summary, e.g. Post-course
support can be more focused on the individual's language
needs.
Note: Can also be done
off-line. |
There is
often no link between classroom and self-access work.
It is always a good idea to try out the web-sites to be
used beforehand, to check they are functioning and to
have a back-up activity in case of problems, e.g. the
teacher uses material from the Internet to enrich lessons
/ give face validity. Materials are easily customisable
in word processing packages, e.g. gapped / simplified. |
| The
Internet / web- sites offering
language support |
Free e-lessons
are available on the Internet. They come in various formats,
e.g. PDF. They include teacher-produced materials using
authoring tools, e.g. Hot Potatoes. Quizzes / games. Publishers
web-sites offer support for BE course books. Learners
can type in a grammar question to a clinic; look up a
word on a Web dictionary; use a translation tool; look
up the “idiom of the day”; join a discussion
forum; listen to the news daily on the BBC or other TV
news web-sites etc. |
There is
a lot out there but quality varies. In some cases there
is no editing. Some or any of these activities could be
an enrichment to something else a learner is doing, such
as going to classes or as a follow-up to a course, or
just something out of interest. It is important to be
aware that much ad hoc material has been re-purposed from
a paper-based original. |
If you have any questions about the
content of this e-bulletin or ideas about what should be in
the next one, please click
here, fill in the form and send it to Pete.
Thank you for your interest.
|
|
