Using the Internet for ESL Beginners

Diamond, J. (2000). Using the internet for ESL beginners. Retrieved August 11, 2007, from ERIC Database:
http://www.eric.ed.gov.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/16/c0/bc.pdf

Summary: Diamond focuses on the use of the Internet with ESL beginners. It is often stated that the Internet is too difficult for ESL students unless they are advanced. The author disagrees with that statement. All students share the need to explore and interact online and ESL teachers need the Internet for pictures, videos etc. Diamond lists various websites and other uses of the Internet in relation to ESL classes.

A great website for everyone involved with English Language learning is Dave’s ESL Café: www.eslcafe.com. It has resources for students and teachers and job-seekers. There are also other websites that offer sound clips and more. Diamond also suggests doing a google search with the term “ESL beginner links” to find a plethora of ESL materials.

Diamond also explains how to search for and download pictures, while reminding readers to check the copyright information. She also suggests looking for shareware or freeware that may have been created for ESL specifically. An ESL teacher may want to use Chatterbots, Ecards, Java games, flight schedules, and weather as ways to allow their students to study and practice English online, even at home if they have a computer.

The article then goes on to provide examples of lesson plans that other teachers have created with using the Internet. The lesson plans use pictures from the Internet or use scenes on a projector and have students discuss it. They also use listening skills.

The article ends with three pages of ESL websites and a short description of each one.

Response: I thought this was a great article because it’s very useful and provides hands-on ideas and links that I can use. Some of the websites I have already heard about, but Diamond lists other websites and ideas that I haven’t heard of. I didn’t know what a chatterbot was, but after the article suggested it I looked it up. It’s an imaginary person that you can have conversations with in order to practice English.

As an instructor, I use the internet for a lot of different tasks. Usually the tasks are for me however, such as finding pictures or ideas. I have yet to use the internet in one of my classes as an activity that the students are interacting with as well. I really would like to do that someday soon and this article helped to give me ideas of how to incorporate the Internet for all levels of ESL students.