WEBSITE OF SHERRI DAVIS-GOOGE
Website Evaluation for Dave’s ESL Cafe Webmaster: Dave Sperling www.eslcafe.com Reviewed by Sherri Davis-Googe
SOFTWARE DESCRIPTION: Dave Sperling, creator of English Language learning site, describes his site as the “Internet’s Meeting Place for ESL + EFL for teachers + students from around the World!” At first glance, the site can be mistaken for a travel site; the page header is adorned with pictures from around the globe. However, the content is clearly defined on the header that rests above the Eiffel Tower and the African Safari: “Jobs, Stuff for Teachers, Stuff for Students, and Stuff for Everyone.” The Job section links to job boards, job links, resume post pages, and teacher recruitment pages. The remaining sections contain Stuff: Stuff for Teachers: Includes links to an idea cookbook (lesson plans), forum discussions international jobs, classroom teaching and teacher training, and another link to post a resume. Stuff for Everyone: Includes links to ESL bookstores, chat rooms, podcasts, and a photo gallery and additional ESL sites. Stuff for Students: Includes links to a help center, a pronunciation application and student forums; pages that address specific idiosyncrasies of the English language such as idioms, phrasal verbs, and slang. Interactive quizzes complete the section. The ESL Cafe is a resource website for all those engaged in the activity of English language acquisition. The purpose of the review is to determine if the Student Menu at the ESL Cafe has any good food for thought for middle school students; specifically, the reference pages and interactive quizzes. ACCURACY OF CONTENT: Students can choose to look up idioms, phrasal verbs, and slang. The pages offer reference lists and provides meanings and examples of each type. The idiom and phrasal verb collections list common figures of speech and phrases. The content of these pages is subjective and in some cases inappropriate for middle school students. For example, the “complete list of slang” page lists *itch. It is defined as “a very unpleasant women.” Quizzes are divided into 8 categories: Geography, Grammar, History, People, Science, World Culture, Writing, and Idioms-Words-Slang. The Grammar and Writing quizzes are most related to the classroom. Quiz questions from the remaining categories are more trivial than educational. For example: A dragonfly can fly at a speed of 25, 2, or 10 mph? The most popular sport in Japan is baseball, karate, or basketball? TECHNICAL QUALITY: The ESL Cafe is fairly easy to navigate. Students can choose to view the reference pages or take quizzes from the web page header of from the sidebar. The reference pages offer two ways to look up idioms, phrasal verbs, and slang: from an alphabetical drop down menu and an alphabetical listing. The slang page offers an additional randomized option, powered by a “more slang button.” Each time the option is chosen, another slang word is displayed. The multiple choice quizzes are to simple take. Students select responses by clicking on the correct response. There are only two options available at the end of each quiz: “Submit for evaluation” and “Clear All Answers.” If submit is chosen, a corrected quiz is displayed. The clear button removes responses and allows the student to retake the quiz. While the navigation system is easy to understand there are some inconsistencies and confusing elements. For example, some of the look-up pages contain a button to return to the main page; others do not. Students may be confused as to when to use the browser’s back button. Overall, the navigation system is basic and the visual aids are minimal. There is no sound or animation included in the site. USE OF TECHNOLOGY: Dave’s ESL Cafe provides a virtual place where students can reinforce their English language skills. Students have access to colloquial reference guides and can test their knowledge on many subjects. Immediate feedback is provided for all quizzes in the form of a corrected quiz and a calculation of the percent of correct. Unfortunately, these quizzes are not reliable summative or formative assessments because they are not tied to a defined curriculum. The current format of the reference pages does not lend well to classroom usage. The content is only categorized alphabetically. Because the content is broad and is not categorized by topic, it would be difficult to define what the student is expected to master. ROLE OF STUDENTS: Dave’s ESL Cafe is a resource for students. The content is vast and not well organized. Depending on the student, use the site can either be empowering or constraining. One student may welcome the opportunity to learn about a wide variety of topics and may view the quizzes as a learning tool. Another student may get lost in the site and find the quizzes frustrating. The opportunities to construct meaning are few. Students are exposed great deal of information which in many cases cannot be compartmentalized into a subject area. ROLE OF TEACHER: Incorporating the ESL Cafe into the classroom would not be any easy task. Teachers would have to conduct an extensive review of the content, create a prescribed format, and monitor students while they are logged onto the site. These steps are necessary due to the inappropriate content available in the slang section of the site. In addition, teachers would need to develop an instrument that support monitoring students’ learning outcomes. Because the content of the quizzes and reference guides are not tied to a specific curriculum, teachers will be responsible for aligning the site’s content to classroom curriculum. CLASSROOM USAGE: The most effective way to incorporate the Cafe into the classroom is by using the site as a resource for a whole class activity. The teacher could navigate the site in such a way that students are able to construct meaning from the reference pages and quizzes. In doing so, the teacher is able to create a useful format for the students and avoid the distractions created by inappropriate content. CRITICAL SUMMARY: After reviewing Dave’s ESL Cafe website, I better understand the challenges faced by webmasters who dedicate their sites to educating others. The content must be entertaining as well as educational. According to their FAQ page, Dave’s ESL Cafe receives over 1 million hits per month: this number is a testament to the site’s appeal to members of the ESL and EFL communities. However, the format does not easily transfer into a classroom setting. The “ESL Quiz Center” is more of a game/activity center than a assessment tool. The reference pages for idioms, phrasal verbs and slang are better placed in a travel handbook for ESL students. The technical quality of the site is average and overall, does not enhance learning. OVERALL RATING: 3 EXPLANATION OF RATING: Some content is not useful or useable. Format is not conducive to learning. Teacher effort is too great.
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© S. Davis-Googe | Last revised April 25, 2008 | email: tdavisgooge@sjc.edu