Wednesday 21 March 2012

Breaking News English



What is "Breaking News English" ?

This website supplies loads of news articles which are accompanied by their mp3 files and PDF files as handouts.

Why is this particular tool relevant to language learning? What research underpin the use of this technology?

Updated news could be designed as authentic reading materials for students, at the same time, the accompanied mp3 files might become an ideal practice for listening skills. The well organized PDF handouts greatly free teachers from generating items for class-room based formative assessment. With them, teachers could assess their students in class, and give them instant feedback,which could raise standards of achievement (Black and Garces 1998). Interactive activities could make peer assessment possible.

What limitations can you see with the use of this technology?

We could reagard this website as an item bank in class-room based context. Suppose teachers choose to leave these exercises to students as homework, it would be better to give them clear instructions on how and to what extent, some of the exercises could be used. Too much homework or "over-test" could lower their motivation and lead to negative washback.