For Teachers...
Here are some more links that are perhaps more likely to be of interest to teachers than learners!
Please note: this website is no longer being updated. I have transferred the best links and will continue adding more links to my new site: www.jengit.co.uk and I hope you'll visit me there soon!
Links to sites about Basic Skills
Links to ESOL (EAL) sites
Links to sites about Accessibility (helping disabled users access the Internet)
Links to providers of ESOL/Basic Skills software, books and other resources
Links to information about fonts for displaying non-English characters and phonetic symbols
Links to help with publishing your work or your students' work to the web
Links to sites created by other tutors and their students
Worksheets and Reference sheets for Improve your English through ICT at Southampton City College
Basic
Skills Links
Adult Basic Skills Resource Centre Privately owned site established by a tutor for learners in Oxfordshire with worksheets and links useful to Basic Skills tutors and learners everywhere.
'Online for the future'
a practical online course for Basic Skills Tutors.
Basic Skills Agency The new BSA website has lots to offer including discussion, surveys, the 'Basic Skills' magazine online and all the latest Basic Skills news.
Hampshire Basic Skills Support Unit
Cheshire & Warrington Basic Skills Network
NIACE - National Institute for Adult
Continuing Education - join their e-mail discussion lists to keep up to date with
what’s happening in the field.
National Literacy Trust
The QCA Website - Information
about the new national Basic Skills and Key Skills standards.
epals.com Not specifically basic skills, but may be useful: teachers can create up to 35 student email accounts simultaneously and monitor student mail. Forum for finding partners for Internet projects and discuss ideas.
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English
Language Links (ESOL/EAL/EFL)
For a long (really long - and continually growing!) list
of links to sites relating to ESOL and CALL check out the ESL Café web guide
. I'm not going to try to compete with that but I'd like to highlight a few sites that I have found useful:
The BECTA ESOL pages - case studies, resources and
links
Say IT in... Also from BECTA free printable reference sheets with IT terminology and useful phrases in a number of languages.
ESL mailing lists
- information about e-mail discussion lists for teachers and how to subscribe
and use them (information page part of Kristina Pfaff-Harris' highly regarded ‘Linguistic Funland’)
ELT: Technology in Language Learning David
Eastment is a prominent writer in this field. His site includes articles and
some good links.
Michael Krauss' Homepage with links to his students' work (take a look at their excellent "Culture Capsules") and some interesting information in his presentations and publications.
The Internet for ESL Teachers An excellent set of links including introductions to teaching with the internet, informative articles, organisations (IATEFL, TESOL Online...) and more.
epals.com Teachers can create up to 35 student email accounts simultaneously and monitor student mail. Forum for finding partners for Internet projects and discuss ideas.
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Accessible
Computers / Accessible Internet Links
Microsoft Accessibility
Microsoft has done quite a good job of making Windows customizable for learners with physical disabilities.
Microsoft Accessibility
has many tips and tricks for helping everyone, including users with "visual, hearing, mobility, cognitive and
language impairments" get the most out of Microsoft products (e.g. Windows, Word, Internet Explorer...).
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Lots of useful information for disabled computer users on adaptive equipment and alternative methods available for accessing computers. |
Computer Access Solutions
Assistive Technology (including alternatives to keyboard and mouse, links)
Dyslexic.com “helping people with dyslexia make the most of their abilities”
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (Accessible
Web Design)
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Software, books and other resources
Basic Skills Resources Small but growing collection of software games for working on literacy, numeracy and spatial skills. Site includes detailed description of the software and you can order free trial versions.
Learning Design a growing list of publications focusing on bi-lingual and multi-cultural education (publications in many languages including Kurdish, Amharic.. all sorts!)
Inclusive Technology suppliers of a lot of
special needs hardware and software (some products also suitable for Basic Skills and low
level ESOL)
Cambridge Training and Development Various CD-ROMs for
Basic Skills
Somali Short Stories (Sheffield College) small (but I rather like it) collection of stories collected from members of the Somali community in Sheffield (in English and Somali).
TxtSoft Ltd TxtSoft is responsible for the redevelopment of my website to provide better design consistency and keyboard accessibility, to make it quicker and easier for me to update and to add some new features. Yippee! He's also developing an Entry level spelling CD which shold be available soon...
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Fonts
If you want to type using
phonetic symbols or if you want to read webpages in languages which use
different alphabets, you may need to install special fonts. Try these links for
information and instructions:
The International Phonetic
Association
IPA-SAM phonetic fonts
Localization of HTML
(Viewing Languages on the web) from Electronic Text Center, Rice University
Non-English and the Net
(information - gets a bit technical)
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Publishing
on the Web
Make your own webpages easily with Geocities
Have
a look at what other teachers and students are doing too
Virtual Visits by David
Rosen
International Classroom Virtual Visits by Susan Gaer and David
Rosen
Michael Krauss' "Culture Capsules" and other writing by advanced students
