Evaluation of 5 Websites

http://www.uic.edu is such a rich ESL online source for higher level learners, i.e. intermediate. Being established by University of Illinois Chicago, this website, indeed, has been very well designed as, in most cases, it could address a diverse need of ESL teaching and learning. Not only found useful by teachers, it is also beneficial for language learners. For example, ESL teachers can use this for a range of purposes, i.e. as a teaching source or ideas of classroom activities. Students, however, can rely on this website to further develop their personalized skill independently. It promotes learning autonomy. What also makes this website resourceful is because it covers the four major skills along with pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. The cultural contents and the authentic materials it has would enable students to enrich their understanding in using the language in contexts. For students struggling with academic English, this website is highly recommended as it presents clear writing steps of writing sentences, paragraphs and essays. Overall, this is such a one stop, and easy to navigate, ESL online learning.

The second really good website for  fostering, in particular, writing skill is Purdue Online Writing Lab (http://owl.english.purdue.edu). As an online source maintained by Purdue university, this website aims at helping learners excel their academic writing. Unlike the earlier website, its major concerns is only on the development of academic skill, such as essay writing or conducting research. It is especially beneficial for undergraduate and postgraduate students wishing to improve their knowledge about writing styles and convention in writing for academic  purposes.

Not only providing  ESL teachers and tutors with references, it also presents a broad range of writing guidelines for specified purposes or contexts, i.e. writing for nurses, engineering or in social sciences. It also gives sufficient knowledge about research skill, including referencing or citation. 

As the name suggests, the primary focus of this website, http://www.academicenglishcafe.com, is in fostering writing skills. There are a variety of activities that teachers can use for paired, group work, and whole class writing projects. It also allows students to work independently through a number of journal writing topics it provides. The target learners of this website seem to be higher level language learners. As it covers a range of academic essays, both teachers and students may use these as model for analyzing academic writing.  In addition, the website is easy to navigate making it users friendly.

http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/ is another example of university website offering advice on academic writing. It aims at giving precise information to language learners with higher language proficiency. It covers almost all aspects of writing academically such as planning, organizing, and using resources in writing. For those who want to learn about reading strategies when doing research, or to enhance their writing style when editing their essays, they can rely on this website. It will tell you in detail what criteria to check when proofreading your essays. Although it is not an interactive website, teachers would find this resourceful as it gives teaching ideas, for example, in planning their lessons regarding with academic writing. Also, it is very user friendly as it is easy to navigate.

Last, but not the least, online source is http://esl.about.com. A full coverage of language skills and addressing all levels of language learners become its main strengths  Not only giving teaching ideas, and ready-to-use and printable classroom  activities, teachers can use this to address a multi level language class. It does give teachers more flexibility. For instance, teachers can use this website for both classroom and home learning activities for students. It is quite encouraging website as it can help teachers teach students with different learning needs, level and style. However, the website looks “busy” which might not really appeal to some teachers or learners.