|
Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
carnac
Joined: 30 Jul 2004
Posts: 310
Location: in my village in Oman ;-)
|
 Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2005 4:58 pm Post subject: CALL - need software! |
 |
|
Looking for a good vendor package for installation in a new learning center, covering Beginner through Intermediate. Individual carrels, PCs, headphones, the works, but need suggestions for software for General English learning.
Any ideas? Do not want to do Internet-based exercises if in any way avoidable. Want locally-based program.
Thanks in advance for any help with this! |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
|
| Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2005 6:02 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I've set up a few CALL labs.
If you contact me I will update my last hardware specs, and send you a list of what software I know. Frankly there is little that is much good, and what you need to do is to make your own exercises to go with the course you are using, but this is incredibly time consuming. Count around ten hours to produce one hour's material.
There are a couple of specialized programs, Ellis is one, but they come out at $1,000 a computer and frankly the only advantage they offer over much cheaper programs is that you can track what the student does, which appeals to control freaks but has little practical use. Unfortunately the non-online material they include is pretty poor, so you can't actually use them as your primary course. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Starglass1
Joined: 14 Feb 2005
Posts: 9
Location: The Amalfi Coast
|
| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2005 6:31 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Try 'Tense Buster' from Clarity.
Google to find info on the program and where to order it. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
carnac
Joined: 30 Jul 2004
Posts: 310
Location: in my village in Oman ;-)
|
| Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 9:47 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Thanks very much. More? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Celeste
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Posts: 814
Location: Fukuoka City, Japan
|
| Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 10:07 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I use a CALL lab at my workplace, but the only software on it is SMART HTML and Soft Teleco. SMART HTML is just an HTML quiz template that I wouldn't recommend because is is so rigid in its structure. Soft teleco is just a wave file recorder program that the students can use to listen to provided dialogues and record themselves as they speak along to the recordings. I have to actually write all of the material myself. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Kent F. Kruhoeffer
Joined: 22 Jan 2003
Posts: 2129
Location: 中国
|
| Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 3:09 am Post subject: Hot Potatoes |
|
|
http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/halfbaked/ (Hot Potatoes c/o Half-Baked Software Inc.)
"The Hot Potatoes suite includes six applications, enabling you to create interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering and gap-fill exercises for the World Wide Web. Hot Potatoes is not freeware, but it is free of charge for those working for publicly-funded non-profit-making educational institutions, who make their pages available on the web. Other users must pay for a licence."
Haven't used it myself, but a friend of mine who uses CALL says it's good.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
been_there
Joined: 28 Oct 2003
Posts: 284
Location: 127.0.0.1
|
| Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 6:08 am Post subject: |
|
|
I've used Rosetta Stone which is not bad for vocabulary.
Remember that a computer lab is only one tool in a teachers box..... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Tamara
Joined: 24 Jul 2004
Posts: 108
|
| Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 3:55 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Our computer lab is for adult ESL students in North Carolina. We're a community college Adult Literacy program, and ESL is a large part of our student body.
Here is a copy of a review I just handed in to my supervisor. It may be helpful.
| Quote: |
NovaNET
A comprehensive curriculum used for every area of Adult Literacy (ESL, Adult High School, GED, ABS, Comp. Ed.). For AHS, we used the North Carolina State-Aligned curricula. For ESL, we use the National Curricula: English as a Second Language (on site students) or the Adult Basic Skills-English as a Second Language (distance ESL students). ESL students gain reading, writing, and grammar practice using NovaNET. For GED, we use the Test Prep, GED 2002 � Prescriptive curriculum. Adult Basic Skills and Compensatory Education students use the North Carolina Site Catalog, Adult Basic Education Curricula.
NovaNET has several features which makes it a favorite of both students and teachers. As students work through the problems, NovaNET gives instant feed back, helping them achieve mastery of the lesson quickly. NovaNET also offers reporting options to help keep records of student progress, improvements, and achievements. NovaNET tests cover information taught and learned in units, making sure students aren�t just breezing through lessons without actually mastering the concept. If students don�t pass a test, they have the option of repeating lessons to review and to retake a test to improve scores.
NovaNET is easily navigated, but students must learn a few essential key strokes. With function key strips on each keyboard and an additional poster on the wall, student need only look at the prompt to know which function key to use for a certain command. Students usually only need one tutorial to begin using NovaNET, and most questions about navigation can be answered quickly when they arise.
EASY (newly purchased, not yet in use)
EASY combines the best aspects of beginning software into one package. Offering grammar, writing, reading, listening, and speaking practice, EASY has great thematic reviews for beginning students (Basic and Level 1). With a complete teacher�s guide and fully reproducible student workbook, EASY comes ready to be used as a supplement for a teacher�s lessons or to be the substance of the curriculum. Our program has not been able to begin use of EASY yet because of server and bandwidth problems. However, the few students and all of the teachers who have used the program gave it high reviews.
EASY is very easily navigated, pushing it above English Discoveries for ease of use and offering the same types of practice.
Focus on Grammar
FOG offers four levels (Basic, Intermediate, High-Intermediate, and Advanced) which cover the broad spectrum of ESL students and gives practice lessons at various ability levels. FOG offers grammar lessons and practice, reading practice, and listening practice. There are also writing sections with in each unit, but FOG does not (and could not) grade the writing. Students may have an instructor come look at the writing or print it out for later review. FOG may also be used for remedial grammar practice and review for GED, AHS, and ABS students.
FOG is easily navigated with mouse clicks. Students need a quick demonstration to learn how to select a lesson from the menu and then to learn how to navigate from within the lesson.
English Discoveries
English Discoveries offers ESL students reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, listening, and speaking practice at a variety of ability levels. Let�s Start begins with the alphabet and numbers, and the Basic (1-3) series moves through simple verb tenses. Intermediate (1-3) and Advanced (1-3) are not as often used in our program, but offer higher level students more practice. English Discoveries is most often used for listening and speaking practice, as only FOG and EASY also offer listening, and only EASY also offers speaking. However, English Discoveries is difficult to navigate. Mouse clicks must be accurate and some lessons are not well explained. Students with little or no previous computer skills find it difficult to make the lesson progress, even when they understand the lesson being taught.
New Oxford Picture Dictionary
NOPD is great vocabulary review for beginning ESL students. NOPD does not offer grammar, reading, or writing practice. However, it does offer listening and speaking practice and students can record their own voices to compare to the pre-recorded voice for pronunciation practice. Vocabulary words are grouped into thematic lists to help students learn them in some sort of a context. Activities and games reinforce the vocabulary lessons. Beginning students seem to really enjoy this program.
NOPD is easily navigated with large buttons for students to click. Most activities are self-explanatory. Students may need help learning how to record their voices and compare to the pre-recorded voice.
Side by Side
New software recently purchased and rarely used. Our lab doesn�t have enough for an entire class to use in the lab at one time. As such, this would be best if checked out and taken to the classroom to reinforce the lessons taught as whole-class review. This software follows the text books used in some of our Level 1 and Level 2 classes.
TOEFL Mastery 2.0
Offers practice for students who plan to take the TOEFL. In our program, only level 5 and 6 students ask to use TOEFL.
Language Explorer
Language Explorer is basically just to learn vocabulary, but it does involve reading and listening. It contains good, basic vocabulary in a variety of topics. It is also great for students who have never used a computer before as the things they have to do are minimal- mostly just clicking. In my opinion, it is much better than NOPD as that has so much extraneous vocabulary that is not necessary- such as lapel or cuff. I also think NOPD is much harder for the students to navigate. It's great for Basic level students.
GED Calculator (in Spanish)
A review of the use of the calculator narrated in Spanish for students who are planning to take the GED in Spanish. This is a quick tutorial in the acceptable use of the calculator on the GED test and teaches students how to use the type of calculator they will have access to during the GED test.
Learning 100 (used by Comp Ed on occasion)
A program for ESL originally, but goes very slow. A great reading program which makes students read the same passage several times to pull out different aspects (details, main ideas, etc.). Great for ESL students who want to take GED and need more vocabulary and reading practice. Not used as often for ESL classes visiting the computer lab because of a much better selection of software now.
Aztec
This is software for ABS/GED students (and used by Comp. Ed. students on occasion) with lessons on grammar, reading, and math. Some teachers prefer Pre-GED to Aztec, and with server problems, Aztec is less often used than before. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
carnac
Joined: 30 Jul 2004
Posts: 310
Location: in my village in Oman ;-)
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2005 9:33 am Post subject: |
|
|
Tamara - thanks very much! I'll check out some of these programs. Novanet and English Discoveries sound like real possibilities.
Very much appreciate your time and consideration. Thanks again. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Jizzo T. Clown
Joined: 28 Apr 2005
Posts: 668
Location: performing in a classroom near you!
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 11:10 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I had to revive this thread because I'm in need of suggestions as to what to have in a lab and ideas on how to best run a lab.
Right now we're using Rosetta Stone, but it's just so expensive! I'm also trying to work with the other teachers and have them give internet-based assignments to their students, and I'm having my upper-intermediate class keep a blog (you can look at it here. Let me know if you have suggestions).
What software works, is cheap, and is one in which the students can get a lot of mileage out of (100 hrs+)? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
