A WEBSITE REVIEW

website review

I was asked to have a look at the website: www.2netlanguage.com and give a professional review on the site so that a decision can be made. Here is my review on the site

This site definitely  appeals to the average language learner because the layout is so  simple  but very  effective.  It is a clean  site  with a flawless  look, and someone  without any  technical  background  would definitely  appreciate  it.  The layout makes anyone feel  comfortable because it is so well done and clean  looking.  You feel as if you are in good hands and you as -a student and/or  as a teacher-know that you will be able to find  anything you need on this site.

The design is very  professional and well done.  It is easy to navigate  this site  because  all of the links are right there and easily tracked, and people without image-loading browsers can access the links via the text at the  middle of the page which is very  handy and essential  for a good site.  

I especially like the “English4teens” section which covers 20 teens-oriented themes (units) with interactive tasks and immediate feedback.  I browsed two units (U9:animal rescue and U10:shopping) and strongly believe that the way the activities presented, sequenced  and structured appeals to our learners.

The activity bank section would save our teachers’ efforts and time to navigate different websites in order to find relevant materials that suit the learning objectives and the KPIs. Every thing is there and is categorized according to the level and the language domain which makes it easy for the reviewers (teachers or students) to pick up the activity that suit his/her needs and level

The “English for Work” part has two different levels and I think is very significant  in facilitating and promoting our students presentation skills if effectively incorporated in the English curriculum. I think this part can replace or integrate with the enrichment program. Especially for grades 11 and 12.

      The IELTS test preparation sections are just wonderful and in my opinion are very beneficial. Again, the way each unit/skill is organized reinforces self-learning strategies among our students, gives adequate time for online practice and above all leaves a room for self assessment. Each IELTS test preparation skill contains 10 units and takes the learner from the word level to an essay level smoothly (writing) and from matching “word to an image” to present a topic of his own. Students can record their speech and evaluate their performance during and after completing certain tasks. 

On the top of all is the Methodology for Teachers section which is divided into parts: primary and secondary methodology. If you click on the secondary /adult methodology, 10 of the most well-liked units in methodology will be displayed. In each unit there are 9 interactive lessons that are serially and purposefully sequenced for teachers to practice. I guess ESL teachers need to have a look at them and even teachers with long experiences can benefit from doing them; they can also be a good source for training materials-if the license permits-.

The only challenge  in my opinion is how to squeeze the activities into the English curriculum document and what role is to be given to the teachers to balance the course book materials with the bulk of soft materials available on the website.

Yah, I spent some time navigating the web site and I like it but others need to browse it and judges its worth. Two heads are better than one.