CALL AND LANGUAGE SKILLS

 

Technology and Internet have become very essential in our lives today. From our homes, we can conduct numerous bank transactions, pay our bills, rent a car, submit assignments, grade students’ activities and lots more. Therefore, it is extremely important that such technologies are fully utilized in language teaching and learning. CALL (Computer-Assisted Language Learning) uses information and communication technology applications in teaching language; it is important that language teachers encourage and monitor their students to use CALL in their classes.

There are many sites that provide effective learning environment for EFL/ESL learners so that they can build their READING SKILLS. Such sites are user friendly, interactive and very colorful. The benefits of using some of the sites are given below:

Starfall
This is an amazing site that teaches children how to read with phonics.  The approach of this site is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, special education, homeschool, and English language development (ELD, ELL, and ESL). The benefit we can get from this site is that it is free and it can be considered as an educational alternative to other entertainment choices for children.

Super-Reader

This website allows learners to take short story tests that evaluate their reading comprehension. The questions and answers are shown online. Teachers can use this site to assess their students.

Reading-rewards
Some learners need incentives to be motivated; reading reward provides just that. On this site, learners can log their reading, browse and add new books to their library and wish list and then write reviews. Teachers can encourage, track and set up rewards for their learners. Some of the benefits we get from this site are: it is a fun way to get kids reading, it can be used to limit TV/Computer game time, and it is a safe, child-friendly social network where the child play and interacts with a parent approved list of friends only.

Storyline online

This is an interactive website designed for learners to read and listen to how stories are being read aloud. It has videos and books with short biography about the reader and activities to enhance ESL student’s understanding of the story. They can read reviews and leave their comments. Language teachers can use this to bring excitement into their classrooms.