Skills: (1) Listening and (2) Integrated Skills (Listening, Reading & Internet Research)
Name of website: Macmillan's Onestopenglish
Address: www.onestopenglish.com
What's this website about?
This is a one-stop place for ESL, EFL and ESOL resources - lesson plans, worksheets, games, audio, video and flashcards - for English Language teachers. The materials cover a wide range of subjects from listening/speaking/reading/writing/pronunciation skills to English for Specific Purpose and are searchable by age, variety of English (British or American English), level, language focus and theme. The resources are available for free. However, an annual subscription fee of £32 will give teachers access to premium resources.
Is the website reliable?
Yes. The materials are written by Macmillan Education Group's team of teachers and authors. Moreover, new resources are updated every week and the themes are as current as President Obama's victory speech. And yes, the helpdesk is for real (I've written to them before and received a reply the following day) and teachers are able to write to the web editor to request for something that they'd like to see in respective sections.
What's in the regular listening skills section?
A typical listening skill lesson includes pre- and post-listening tasks, worksheet, teacher's notes, recording script and the audio file in an mp3 format. In addition, the section on podcasts allow for extended listening which learners can follow outside the classroom and suggestions are also given to teachers on how they can capitalize on the use of these podcasts. In the subsection on listening skills, links to other ELT listening resources on the Internet are provided. Last but not least, the section containing articles about teaching listening, e.g. techniques and strategies, and practical teaching tips, provide support for teachers.
What's in the integrated skills section?
This is a relatively new section but it's very interesting. It contains lessons which combine listening, focus on literary style of speech and Internet-based research tasks. There's also a lesson which allows learners to produce a short video/audio of their own movie preview.
What is it like navigating around this website?
The design of the website is 'clean-cut' hence giving a professional look and an easy to navigate feel. The text, images and hyperlinks are clearly marked. The website hosts the mp3 file and when a user clicks on it, this file is streamed to the user's browser and if the user's browser has a plug-in, for example, QuickTime, the file will be played back in the browser for immediate listening. Very convenient indeed.
Why would I recommend this website?
The lesson plans are complete and can be used on the fly, especially for ad-hoc lessons. Very often, I use this website as a springboard for ideas. For example, I may find a lesson plan useful but the audio clip inappropriate. I'd combine this with say an audio/video essay or podcast from Time.com or National Geographic. Moreover, the section on intergrated skills incorporate digital literacy. It's difficult to doubt the currency of this website if they've even included tasks relating to Internet research and video/audio production for learners.
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Hi Brenda,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this website with us. It really has a huge coverage on English lessons and activities. Macmillan is a reputable publisher, hence, lending authenticity to this website. One thing that struck me was that there were no unrelated advertisements appearing in any of its linked sites, hence adding to the reliability of this website. Besides, the fact that there is an expert team of teachers and authors maintainng this website adds to the quality and usefulness of the materials provided. (Some sites accept contributions form teachers worldwide, and it is really time-consuming to plough through all the contributions to select a 'suitable' lesson'.)
When I was reading your review, I was wondering how would they ensure that the articles are truly contributed by English teachers and authors. However, I was quite impressed with their Author of the Month section, in which the various contributors were interviewed.
The search engine also makes it convenient by narrowing down your search based on the level and topic.
However, one thing I notice in the Listening Skills section is that despite the long list of lessons headings available, only the first lesson is available for the public. We would have to subscribe if we need the other lessons. Of course, we can actually subscribe as a school, but I was actually pretty disappointed when I realise that the contents were quite restricted. The same thing happened when I was trying out the podcast sections.
This is indeed a very handy website for teachers on the go, especially when we are surfing for ideas. However, unless you have a subscription,it would be quite easy to exhaust the 'public' materials after several visits. Hopefully, the updates each week would be quite extensive.
Hi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteNods, nods, nods! It was very painful having to fork out £32 in my first year of EFL/ESL teaching. However, back then, I found the articles very useful as part of my learning and I used to 'worship' Jim Scrivener. He was like the guru of EFL/ESL teaching to me. :)
I reckon what used to trouble me was, going to a website where information was everywhere or worse still, incomplete. I found it rather unsettling. However, websites like onestopenglish and BBC Teaching English more 'comforting'. It all goes back to the point about the sources being reliable.
Right now I haven't found a way to get around the subscription bit. :p If there's 'lobang' one day, I'll definitely fill you in!
Hi Brenda
ReplyDeleteI found this site really insightful because of the array of lesson plans and materials that they have made available online. I think the resources found here are useful to help a teacher get through the teaching of these fundamental language skills and to provide them with ideas should we run out of it. It is also a reliable site coming from the Macmillan Education Group and I have to agree that the resources are also very current. I like the bit on integrated skills because it allows learners to produce their own video and that is something unusual. Having said that, I think that some of the resources may be rather Americanised and may have to be adjusted to suit the local palates (not a lot of us know who Robert Campbell is and he is part of the lesson plan used to teach writing). Teachers thus have to be discerning when they use the lesson plans here. It also seems that they have kept the most of the resources for those who are willing to fork out £32 as I kept encountering lessons that told me I have to subscribe to get access. Nevertheless, I think this is a good and useful website especially if we are thirsty for ideas. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Laura.
ReplyDeleteYes, definitely. As with all websites, we have to use them with discernment, namely because we've different teaching contexts, different types of learners and different objectives to be met. :)