Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[living_in_athens]

FREE ENGLISH CLASS
Join a research study

Students!

1. Do you want to take a free Internet-based English course sometime between February 10 and March 10 2006?
   
   
   
2. Is your TOEFL score between 450 and 500? (equivalent CBT, IBT, IELTS, or MELAB scores are also acceptable - see below)
   
   
   
3. Do you want to take part in a worldwide class in English listening and speaking?
   
   
   
4. Do you have access to a computer, a webcam, a microphone and the Internet?
   

If you can answer "yes" to those questions, then you may be able to take an 8-hour English course for free!

No special software is necessary.
No special knowledge is necessary.

I am a graduate student in applied linguistics/TESOL at Ohio University. I am conducting a study on teaching English via the Internet, and I need students from all over the world to take part.

You can stop drop out of the study at any time.

In exchange for taking part in this free class, I will ask you to take notes on your experience, complete two online surveys, and allow me to occasionally record your conversations with other students.
If you finish the course and the surveys, you will also given a gift certificate worth approximately €21.
If you choose to drop the class, you will be given a gift certificate worth approximately €2.50 for each class you attended.

If you are interested in taking part in the class, or would like more information, please contact me at

[email protected] or [email protected]

Ivon Katz
Department of Linguistics
342 Gordy Hall
Ohio University
Athens, OH 45701
USA



Standardized test equivalency scale:
TEST SCORE

• TOEFL (CBT): 130 to 175
  
• TOEFL (IBT): 46 to 60
  
• IELTS: 4 to 5
  
• MELAB:60 to 69
  

[Lorikeet]

Just to let you know, Mr. Katz contacted me first, and I checked with Dave before allowing the post. This is what he told me he is interested in finding out:

The project hopes to find out whether it is possible to deliver classes to students spread over multiple time zones at no cost or low cost, using freely-available software (preferably open-source software) and commonly-available, reasonably-priced hardware. Ultimately, I want to see if high-quality language education can be delivered to anyone who has access to the Internet but has traditionally had limited access to high-quality education and/or native-speaking language teachers.

--Lorikeet