Teachers Faq English Discoveries Online

© 2005 Edusoft Ltd.

English Discoveries Online FAQ's What is the role of the teacher in English Discoveries Online? How can I integrate English Discoveries Online into my classroom teaching? How can I start my students working in the program? What are the advantages of a topic-based learning environment? What are the advantages of an Internet-based language learning course? How does English Discoveries Online cater to different learning styles and preferences? Where can I find links to authentic Internet sites in English Discoveries Online? What are the advantages of the community site features? How can I customize my students' learning paths? What do I do if my class only has access to a limited number of computers? Is English Discoveries Online suitable for heterogeneous classes? How should English Discoveries Online be used in a self-access situation? How can I keep track of my students' progress in English Discoveries Online?

What is the role of the teacher in English Discoveries Online? We view the role of the teacher in English Discoveries Online as a very important one. The teacher's first responsibility is to integrate the course into their classroom teaching and overall curriculum (see below for more ideas on integration). The teacher should also be a facilitator, customizing learning paths to suit students' interests and abilities and helping them navigate the course. We also recommend going round the class while your students are working, helping them if they get stuck and making sure that they stay "on task". However, you can also use this time, when the majority of the class is occupied with the program, to give individual students special attention and tutoring.

How can I integrate English Discoveries Online into my classroom teaching? English Discoveries Online has the potential to reinforce and even replace much of the presentation and practice elements that you would normally include in your classroom teaching. Students can explore and practice at their own pace according to their own learning styles and preferences. This then enables you, the teacher, to maximize the time students spend on production/performance-based tasks in the classroom. Since English Discoveries Online is divided into topic-based units, it easily lends itself to classroom integration. We strongly recommend that you accompany the course with pre/while/post classroom activities to reinforce and consolidate the vocabulary and structures taught in the course and make the learning process more meaningful. This will also allow for continuity between what is done in the classroom and what is done in the computer room. For example, you can use warm-up activities in the classroom to prepare students for the topics they will encounter in the online course and provide follow-up activities to help reinforce what they have learnt online. In this way your students will find their lessons more meaningful and it will be easier for them to retain what they have learnt. The English Discoveries Online Teacher's Guide contains many suggested activities for integration and also several sample lesson plans which should give you ideas on how to integrate English Discoveries Online course with your classroom teaching.

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© 2005 Edusoft Ltd.

How can I start my students working in the program? It's a good idea to introduce students to the program by demonstrating its main features and navigation. If possible, project the course onto a big screen so the whole class can watch together. If not, divide the class into small groups and demonstrate to each group using a regular computer. In order to familiarize students with English Discoveries Online, you might want to send your students on a "treasure hunt", by giving them a list of questions to answer about the program, its icons and navigation. To make the task more motivating, you can set a time limit for the treasure hunt or divide the class into teams to encourage cooperative learning. Once your students are confident about using English Discoveries Online, you can allow them to choose which units and components they want to work in, or you can suggest specific learning paths. In the beginning, however, it is advisable to suggest specific tasks for each computer session or give a choice of tasks so that students feel there is direction and purpose to their learning.

What are the advantages of a topic-based learning environment? English Discoveries Online courses are divided into units which integrate reading, listening, speaking and grammar into common themes of interest and relevance to the language learner. The topic-based learning environment of English Discoveries Online enables the re-entry of vocabulary in different contexts and promotes the learning of English as a means of real authentic communication. Units such as: "In the Restaurant", "At Work", "Law and Order", "Dreams and Ambitions" and "Traveling Abroad" cover topics which are found in most EFL textbooks and can be easily integrated into classroom teaching, making the learning experience much more meaningful and therefore motivating.

What are the advantages of an Internet-based language learning course? The Internet is a unique environment which promotes learning through the integration of multiple media such as text, sound, video, graphics and animation, which can all be combined in a non-linear interactive way through hyper-linking. The Internet also has tremendous communicative potential because it permits numerous forms of interaction and collaboration such as email, instant messaging, chats, forums and notice boards. An Internet-based course such as English Discoveries Online which takes advantage of both the versatility and communicative aspects of the Internet as a medium for language learning is thus the perfect learning environment. The Internet allows for the creation of a community of learners and encourages the use of English for communicative and real-life purposes. The different media used in the course cater to different learning styles and preferences, the community site encourages communicative interaction. In addition to traditional skills, English Discoveries Online also promotes Internet literacy, helping students improve their navigation skills, introducing them to authentic Internet tools/technologies and websites, and the latest methods of synchronous and asynchronous communication.

How does English Discoveries Online cater to different learning styles and preferences? English Discoveries Online exploits the unique versatility of the Internet to cater to many of the distinct learning styles and preferences defined by experts such as Howard Gardner: Visual-spatial learners think in terms of visual space and can be taught through visual aids such as graphics, video, texts with pictures, graphs etc - all of which can be found in English Discoveries Online. Musical learners are sensitive to sound and will benefit from the fact that in addition to the Listening and Speaking recordings, English Discoveries Online also provides recordings to accompany the reading texts and grammar explanations. Interpersonal learners who prefer to learn via communication with others, will greatly enjoy the communicative features of the community site. Intrapersonal learners who prefer to learn through independent study will benefit from using English Discoveries Online in a self-access environment and will also appreciate the "My Progress" feature that records their progress in the course. Linguistic learners will enjoy the reading components of the course and the word games in the community site. They will also benefit from the fact that even listening and speaking recordings are accompanied by written transcripts. Logical-mathematical learners who like to explore patterns and relationships will find the "Explore" section of the course very helpful.

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Where can I find links to authentic Internet sites in English Discoveries Online? The "InSite" feature in the community site consists of reviews of sites which we consider of interest for students. The site reviews are organized according to level of language difficulty and contain tips on navigation and links to the actual sites themselves. This feature can also serve as a good resource tool for teachers looking for sites to use as a basis for class Internet projects or activities.

What are the advantages of the community site features? English Discoveries Online utilities the communicative potential of the Internet with its accompanying community site. In the Internet era, language learning involves knowing how to join and take part in online communities. The community features provide language learners with access to a worldwide community of language learners just like themselves. They can practice using English for email, instant messaging and chats, in a secure and supportive environment.

How can I customize my students' learning paths? The TMS (Teacher Management System) allows you to customize your students' learning paths in several ways. Firstly, you can block or unassign certain elements of the course, for instance you can decide that you do not want your class to take the tests provided by the system, because you prefer to give your own tests in class. Secondly, you can reassemble the components of the course to create your own course. For instance, you could decide to create a listening course which spans several levels, or reassemble the components to create units that better reflect material that you want to cover in class.

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What do I do if my class only has access to a limited number of computers? Unfortunately the number of computers in many schools is limited, however your students can still benefit from English Discoveries Online. You can divide the class into smaller groups and rotate computer use. It is also possible for students to use the computer in pairs or groups of three. In fact many of the speaking activities, where students take part in dialogues, can be very successful if they are done with more than one student. Use of the computer by more than one student has the added advantage of encouraging communicative interaction.

Is English Discoveries Online suitable for heterogeneous classes? With English Discoveries Online students can work at their own pace and do not need to worry about keeping up with the rest of the class, -they can repeat material as often as they want or they can move on quickly as soon as they feel confident. As a result, English Discoveries Online is very suitable for mixed ability classes. Moreover, the TMS enables you to divide your class into groups and assign different material to each group, in keeping with their ability and interests.

How should English Discoveries Online be used in a self-access situation? Studies have shown that students who are self-directed are often more successful language learners. English Discoveries Online is ideal for use by students on their own in a self-access situation. Students can work at their own pace, receive instantaneous feedback and choose to study material that suits their own leaning styles and preferences. However, in order to encourage students to take responsibility for their learning, we suggest having some kind of required component in students' self-access. You can then include follow-up material in the classroom which relies on students having completed their self-access assignment, or give students tasks based on self-access material. In addition to using the TMS (Teacher Management System) to track students progress, it is also advisable to encourage students to keep a more personalized study log where they record what they have worked on and any difficulties they had, general comments or notes to the teacher.

How can I keep track of my students' progress in English Discoveries Online? The TMS (Teacher Management System) provides detailed records of your students progress. You can see how much of the course your students have completed, when they last worked in different components of the course, and view their test results. You can also view students' progress unit by unit or according or across the whole course per listening, reading, speaking and grammar component.

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