evaluation report

Evaluation report on the online lower
intermediate course of BBC
Learning English
Abstract
As one of the oldest and most prestigious news agencies, British Broadcasting Cooperation (BBC) also contributes to providing professional and free English instruction to the audiences worldwide through the internet. Under the operation of BBC, Learning English for learners of lower intermediate level is a brand new channel to instruct English, which attracts numerous audiences. For guiding those who manage this website how to improve the courses on offer, this report evaluates this course based on external and internal dimension. In addition, several challenges the online courses are facing are also proposed,in order to offer experience for operators to avoid these problems.
Introduction:
Currently, online learning is enjoying an upsurge of popularity with the advancement of the Internet. Through this mode of instruction, learners are provided more opportunities to get access to various knowledge they need under the more innovative environment. According to Sun(2011), the way of teaching is shifted from teacher-centered approaches towards a personalized, small-group orientated, multi-dimensional model of teaching. Among kinds of subjects learners are interested in, English, the most important lingua franca, is still paid much attention to. The website of “ Learning English” produced by British Broadcasting Cooperation (BBC),
one of the largest and most famous news agencies, has devoted to English instruction since 1943 in order to inspire people to learn English, which has won numerous awards such as Eltons form the British Council, and attracted a great number of audiences all over the world. Through this channel, learners from different level and different places are offered suitable resources, including text materials, videos and audio records, to gain a better understanding of vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and so on about English.
“Learning English”for learners of lower intermediate level is a new separate section with independent contents, also has been advocated by a great deal of individuals with poor English. The website has provided instructional materials since 25th, September of this year and there have been 13 units so far. Although the time of this new website is not long, the mode of teaching has been formed and seems to continue. In light of this, this report aims to evaluation this website, thereby providing guidance on how to develop courses on offer, and when to terminate course offerings for the operators of this part.
Evaluation
According to McDonough and Masuhara(2013), the evaluation can be divided into two phase. One is external evaluation, and the other one is internal evaluation. The external evaluation includes a comprehensive overview of organization of materials, aiming to examine whether the organization is explicit as stated by the author/publisher. In addition, as McDonough stated, the internal evaluation is to “analyze the extent to which the aforementioned factors in the external evaluation
stage match up with the internal consistency and organization of the materials as stated by the author/publisher” (pp.59).
External evaluation
1.The intended audience
Distinguishing the target audience is of great significance due to the fact that the topics of the course may motivate one audience but not suitable for another. With regard to this, BBC Learning English introduces like this: “As part of the BBC World Service, BBC Learning English has been teaching English to global aud iences since 1943, offering free audio, video and text materials to learners around the world.”In other words, the resources in this website is free and public for the learners worldwide. Furthermore, there have been 13 units in this online courses so far, and the theme includes Christmas, film, travel and so on. It is not difficult to find out most of these topics belong to culture. It is generally accepted that understanding more aspects of culture about the target countries is conducive to learning their languages. Therefore, these learners without the restriction of age, gender, nationality can comprehend different aspects of culture through various units, thereby improving their English. One thing should be noticed is the availability of the internet. It seems that this course is available for everyone worldwide.But it is not always the case. Due to the fact that this course is only provided in the internet, only those who are able to surf the internet and know the operation of computer can take advantage of this channel. For some individuals in remote areas or underdeveloped regions or some senior citizens who do not know how to use computer, this mode of learning is not suitable.
2.Proficiency level
As being mentioned above, this online course is specific for the learners with lower intermediate level. As the introduction of Learning English, ”If your level of English is lower intermediate or thereabouts, this course is for you.”That is to say, no matter how old they are, what occupation they are engaged in and where they are living, only if their English is poor, can they learn English through this platform. However, there is no clear definition about the lower-intermediate level. Hence, it is difficult for learners to judge whether they are appropriate for this course. For example, some learners lacking confidence always consider their English is poor and need to consolidate the basic knowledge. It is not strange that they would devote to this course even though they have mastered the relevant knowledge. If there is a small test to judge the learners’level before starting the course, it would save much time for them to decide which course they fit in.
3.Context
This part is to decide whether the contents are designed for general learners or those who with specific purpose. There are various topics contained in the course, such as Christmas, wedding and so on, aiming to improve the overall skills of English, rather than strengthening their capabilities of certain areas. Moreover, Hirshon(2005) insisted that the online content has focused on the process of learning through designing experiences such as real-life problem-solving and critical thinking skills, which is also reflected in this course. The topics of these 13 units all connect with real life. Most importantly, all the videos are acted by real individuals in real and vivid
scenario, enabling the learners to be more interested in and remember the information more deeply.
nguage presentation and organization
According to the introduction of the website, the course is designed for those who are equipped with lower intermediate level and has provided 13 units for learners to use. In each unit with one theme, there are 5 sessions with various references and activities. In addition, a new session is published every day from Monday to Friday. That is to say,every weekday the learners can enjoy a brand new part. Taking unit 1 as example. The title of unit 1 is “nice to meet you” and the aim is to teach learners about asking questions. In the second session,these is a detailed explanation about the two types of questions on the right side, which is called grammar. What should be mentioned is that the crucial words and expressions are bold to indicate the significance for the learners. On the left, a video is offered, which is related to ask questions. It is noticeable that the relevant transcript is showed under the video, helping the learners with poor level understand the video more easily. It is not the end of this session. In the following activity, some questions of multiple choices about the content of video are provided for learners to answer. If the learners understand what the presenters are talking about, these questions are not difficult.What they need to do is to choose the answer and click it by mouse. However, the utilize of asking questions is not over. During the subsequent session, through the activity of rearranging the words to make questions of interviewing the journalist, the skill of how to ask questions can be strengthened and improved to some extent. These two sessions are closely linked to
the aim of instructing learns how to ask questions. In order to achieve this, various scenarios and tasks are designed, as well as relevant grammars and vocabularies being provided. Another point cannot be neglected is about the variety of tests, including multiple choice, rearrangement of words, true or false and so on. One of the advantages of these tasks in this online course is that learners can obtain the feedback when finishing all the questions, and an opportunity of retry is also offered to them to correct. When finishing one unit,the learners can attend the “weekly quiz” as the last activity, in order to evaluate the outcome of this week. Meanwhile, the corresponding score of every activity will be presented at the top of the web page, which is beneficial for learners to master their condition of learning. Similarly, the design of score breakdown is convenient for them to know where they should make progress. One problem should be mentioned is that the duration of every unit and every session are not presented explicitly. As a result,the learners cannot manage their time reasonably in advance, which may influence their attention on this course.
5.The design of the webpage
The style and operation of the website occupies a significant position in online course. As an instructional website, the style should be simple and neat, outlining its profession and authority. Meanwhile, the operation should be easy and clear,providing convenience for learning to find what they want.
The background of this website is white, which would not influence the learners to read the black words. Furthermore, the operation is explicit, the name and theme of every unit are at the top of the page, under which learners can choose the session they
are interested in because the main idea of every session has been presented. On the right top side, every unite also can be chose through the tag of open unit selector. When learners open the page of certain session, kinds of activities are showed as sequence. On the right some grammar and vocabulary reference are also offered, helping learners to comprehend materials.
6.The use of visuals and presentation
One of the positive points of this course is that it provides a variety of vivid videos and records designed by the language experts of BBC for the audiences, which are drawing millions of learners’attention. Furthermore, some of them can be downloaded through the website. And the corresponding transcripts are also showed under every videos and records. As a consequence, these resources can be used by computer or cellphone without restriction on time and places.
Internal evaluation
1.The presentation of skills
This criteria is to investigate whether all the language skills are included in this course and in what proportion, whether the proportion is suitable. From the design of the contents, it is clear that the reading and listening skills occupy the leading position, while speaking and writing account for little. In every session, learners need to listen to the records or watch videos, referring to the skill of listening. Meanwhile, the transcripts and grammar are provided for them to read.In terms of the tests, some are related to writing skill. For example, that of the rearrangement of words requires audiences to write sentences, thereby improving their writing skills. Speaking is the
only part the course does not design because this course is one way instruction rather than mutual interaction.
2.Objectives
This course is mainly facing those who with lower intermediate level, however, the goal and objectives of this instruction is not introduced in this website. From the contents we can see that the majority of contents are focusing on the basic knowledge about English, such as tense, the use of modal verbs and so on. If the clear objectives can be presented, for example, the goal of this course is to improve the reading skill or introduce 2000 useful words, the learners may be motivated to a great extent.
3.Grading and sequencing
This criterion plays a vital role in internal evaluation. Some materials are graded clearly and some have no grading at all. According to McDonough and Masuhara(2013), sometimes the grading are presented as unit,some will be graded across units allowing a procession of difficulty (pp.59). In this case, the contents are designed and graded as unit, and every unit has its own theme and grammar to teach. In the first unit, the learner understand how to ask questions. During the next several units, the grammar about present tense,past tense and present contentious tense are explained for them. This is not difficult to indicate that the units are sequenced in accordance with the level of difficulty, which benefits the learners to master grammar gradually.
However, will the learners receive the knowledge according to the grading strictly? The answer is uncertain. The reason is that learners actually can choose what they
prefer to view freely through clicking ”open unit selector”. If they are not interested in the content of certain unit, they can change into another unit immediately, even though the grammar of the latter may be far beyond their competency. Therefore, learners cannot be given too much freedom. To be specific, only if they finish one unit completely and get the scores, can they be permitted to get access to the next unit.
4.Suitability of different learning styles
With regard to the learning style, the team of Learning English gives clear statement: ” We deliver our materials as full length courses but each component of the course is standalone and can be studied on its own. This means the learner can choose the best way to study for them; by following a full course or by following the individual materials most appropriate to them.” Therefore,the style of learning of this course is not confined.In spite of this, the majority learners acquire instruction through this website as self-study resources because it does not provide any forum or chat room for learners to communicate. Besides, there are no teachers to guide them.
5.Suitability of content
According to Sun(2014), content design is even more important in online second language learning. Therefore, whether the content of this online course can be used effectively by learners is a crucial part of evaluation. Since self-study is the main way of learning for the majority of audiences, the content should not be too difficult nor simple. If the materials are designed too simple, the learners are easy to be impatient and vice versa.
However, some reading and listening passages in this course are found to be beyond
the capability of their lower intermediate level. For instance,in the unit of 13, the first session is introducing the new BBC broadcasting house, containing more than 200 words. It is not easy for those learners with poor level to read the article and understand the long sentences with relative clauses like “New Broadcasting House is a 12-storey extension that's connected to the original smaller home of the BBC, simply called Broadcasting House, which was built in 1932.”let alone finishing the following activity of true or false related to this article with high accuracy rate. Moreover, the unity of the contents also need to be noticed. For example, the objective of unit 1 is to teach learns to ask questions, which is revealed in session 1, 2 and 3. Referring to session 4, the topic turns to discuss how to write an email. Fortunately, this situation only happens once.
Challenges of online courses
Although distance learning becomes increasingly prevalent, some challe nges and difficulties are also in front of the operators and stakeholders.
The speed of the connection is the first issue to take into account. According to the investigation of Thang et al(2013), some students complained the loading speed to connect with the website when attending online course, making them frustrated. Similarly, if the videos and records of Learning English take long time to open, learners would becomes impatient and may terminate their study. Therefore, these resources should be controlled in a suitable size and be designed to be convenient and fast for audiences to use. On the other hand, all the video and records should be permitted to download by learners, enabling them to use without connecting the
internet.
According to Bernard and Rubalcava (2000), there are two major, long-standing problem of distance education: (1) lack of two-/three-way communication and (2)difficulties associated with self-regulation of learning. These problems are also existing in this online course. As being mentioned above, this mode of instruction is one way, which means the learners act as the receivers, rather than communicators, although they can give feedback through email to the team of this course. In addition, as Sun(2011) maintained, learner participation and interaction is of great importance in successful language learning,whether it is face-to face, or fully online. However, there is no platform for these audiences to discuss and interact about learning. The resultant feelings of disconnectedness and isolation can influence students toward online learning(Mohd nor et al.,2012), hindering students’motivation and passion. Therefore ,this course can provide opportunities, such as chat room and forum, for learners to communicate with each other. The second one is referring to self-regulation. According to White(1994), distance learners need to regulate and oversee the rate and direction of their learning to a far greater degree than classroom learners(pp.12-13). How to make the learners more self-directed and self-regulated? One solution has been introduced above. The learners can be restricted to step into the next unit unless they have finished all the activities and reached certain required level. Conclusion
Through the external evaluation and internal evaluation, it can be concluded that this online course is reasonable and worth being attended. The target audiences with
lower-intermediate level, who seek to learn English via the internet , are confined clearly. And the graded contents are designed for the general purposes with comprehensive topics and detailed explanation, in order to improve students’ listening and reading skills. Meanwhile, learners can master their learning situation immediately through the scores of various tests. Admittedly, some problems of this website cannot be ignored. For instance, the definition of the level of learners is obscure and some materials in the contents are too difficult, exceeding their competency. Furthermore, owing to the freedom to choose unit they prefer, lacking self-regulation may be the main reason to hamper their learning. Besides, encouraging the audience to interact with each other through appropriate way also need to be addressed. If these problems can be emphasized and tackled in time, this website would be more suitable for audiences from all over the world to be engaged in. Reference
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