Web Review #6

Fahrenheit 451: Banned Books Reading Campaign.

http://www.pelhamlibrary.blogspot.com/

Freedom to Read Week

February 23 - March 3

Fahrenheit 451: Banned Books website hosts a discussion on censorship through the Pelham Public Library in Fonthill, Ontario, Canada http://www.pelhamlibrary.on.ca/ . Readers can take the "Banned Book Challenge", scan lists of banned books, explore a comprehensive list of banned books websites and resources, read reviews of banned books or write their own reviews !

Freedom to Read Week is an annual Canadian event that encourages everyone to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, which is guaranteed to all Canadians under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Freedom to Read Week is organized by the Freedom of Expression Committee of the Book and Periodical Council.


Although the Fahrenheit 451: Banned Books reading program and website are not designed for ESL students in particular, Freedom to Read is an important campaign and concept to introduce to Advanced ESL students. Whether at Niagara College or across the border, the program is accessible to all. There is an abundance of materials available on the website; and readers, can tell others on-line which books they plan to read, why they thought the book was banned, and what they felt about the book after they had read it. Libraries all across Canada are participating in the Freedom to Read Campaign. ESL students and others anywhere in Canada can visit their local libraries, browse the banned books lists, borrow and read a banned book.


For ESL students at Niagara College - Welland Campus, Ontario, the Pelham Public Library is 5 minutes down the road at 43 Pelham Town Square in Fonthill. For more information, e-mail Elaine Anderson through the Fahrenheit 451: Banned Books website or at fahrenfeit451moderator@gmail.com or phone the library at 905-892-6443.


My favourite banned book, "Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak" by Niagara authour Deborah Ellis is featured on the website. Deborah spoke at Pelham Public Library this past year and is participating in the Banned Book Reading Challenge.

Catch an interview with Deborah Ellis at http://pelhamlibrary.blogspot.com/227/02/deborah-ellis-to-take-banned-book.html

Read about a Grade 5 student who became the first child to receive the Writers' Union of Canada's Freedom to Read Award for her defense of "Three Wishes" at http://www.thestar.com/article/186441 . Reproduced with permision - Torstar Syndication Service.

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Suzan's rating: ***** stars

Web Review #5

The Oxford English Dictionary

The definitive record of the English language !

http://www.oed.com/

The Oxford English Dictionary is widely respected as the authority on both the English lexis and of the evolution of the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million English words. The OED provides word meanings in context and is suitable for all levels of learners, both ESL students and native speakers of English.

You can take a virtual tour of the on-line version at http://dictionary.oed.com/tour/step-1.html

A print copy of the Concise Oxford Dictionary has sat on my desk throughout highschool, University, adulthood and now College. It is well thumbed and as familiar as an old friend. So it is with pleasure to discover that it is now available Online.

One disappointment is that, while spoilt by a wealth of free information on-line, individuals must subscribe to the Oxford English Dictionary Online at a cost of $295. a year or $29.95 a month.

However, one can receive the OED's Word of the Day free by RSS web feed or email. To receive Word of the Day send an email to wotd@oed.com, with a message consisting of subscribe wotd-amer-1 . Leave the Subject line blank.

The site also includes information on how to cite the OED Online in essays and papers, Browser tips, and a section of Learning Resources intended for native speakers aged 11-14, 14-16, 16-18, and University level. The Learning Resources Section includes Word Stories, Links and Quizzes. Again one must be a paid subscriber to use these resources.

One can take a 37 page virtual tour of this very extensive on-line dictionary at http://dictionary.oed.com/tour/step-1.html . You can search by word (if you don't know how to spell a word add a *), and by phrase and proximity. Of course the dictionary includes parts of speech and pronunciation. Oddly, sample words presented are very obscure.

After taking the tour I must admit that I greatly prefer my old print version of the Oxford Concise English dictionary. The on-line version would be useful for libraries, schools and other institutions, particularly institutions of higher learning.

Suzan's rating: *** stars

Also recommended: http://math-www.uni-paderborn.de/HTML/Dictionaries.html .

For a Review of this website, see Dave Tyminski under: my fellow tesl professionals on the right hand side of this blog.

Web Review #4

The Rosetta Stone. Wow !

The Rosetta Stone Language Learning Systems http://launch.rosettastone.com/ is amazing. No wonder I've heard it mentioned so frequently. It offers 30 languages in a completely interactive system with photos and sound, and the use of native speakers. For the listening and reading exercises all you need is your computer screen and a pair of headphones and you're off to an enjoyable and productive learning experience. Choose a mini-demo from a few sample languages - English, Spanish (Lat Am), French, German and Italian http://www.rosettastone.com/en/individuals/demo or upload a much longer demo from any of the Rosetta's Stones' 30 offerings. It only takes a few minutes to upload the additional software needed to access the expanded demos. After 2 hours exploring the Rosetta Stone, I finally reached saturation and needed to get off the computer for a coffee. The sample demos and expanded lesson were somewhat repetitive but they were very effective in teaching the language. I sampled all of the mini-lessons and worked through the longer version of Arabic. It is one thing to speak Arabic, it is another to learn to read the cursive Arabic script which uses an alphabet completely different than English, similar to Pitman's shorthand, and which is read right to left versus English which is read left to write. However, the lessons were very effective in familiarizing the user with entire Arabic words and short phrases even without the alphabet having been taught separately in the speaking lesson.

The system is designed for new and more advanced learners at all levels, is totally interactive, and offers lessons in listening and reading, speaking and writing. It was easy to navigate, except that once inside the expanded lesson the user cannot use the back button. Rather if the user makes several mistakes the program takes one back to an earlier lesson until mastery is reached. This concern can be addressed by spending an additional 20 minutes in the program to become familiar with all of its features.

I look forward to exploring the advanced levels of the reading and listening units, and to also exploring the speaking and writing lessons.

Of course, when learning a subsequent language nothing can truly replace one on one personal interaction. Students generally want feedback from a human being, not a computer. To master a language one must have opportunities to use it for authentic purposeful communication within a classroom or in a language community, which the Rosetta Stone does not provide. The program would however make a valuable complement to a classroom learning environment for practice, remedial help and homework. For students teaching themselves a subsequent language without the availability of language instructors, the Rosetta Stone is definitely an excellent alternative !

I will certainly visit the Rosetta Stone again.

Suzan's rating: ***** stars

Web Review #3

The Writing Workbench.

I was looking for a text analyser software program called the Writer’s Workbench, which was mentioned in “Technology in the Writing Class: Uses and Abuses” by Dana Ferris and John Hedgecock, instead I came across a website called “The Writing Workbench”. http://www.writing-workbench.com/about.html . A fascinating and eminently useful site !

The Writing Workbench website was not designed specifically with ESL students in mind, but Advanced ESL students will find it intriguing and very practical.

In a straightforward and easily navigable manner the site takes the reader through the process of writing from, “ Creating - needed for most projects, especially for fiction; Books - get familiar with your subject matter; Writing - nuts and bolts of the craft; Editing - break throughs happen here; Publishing - sell your work.” The site includes an interactive writing workshop and access to feedback from fellow writers http://www.internetwritingworkshop.org/ .

The complete text of the classic writer’s bible “Strunk and White’s Elements of Style” is available on the site http://www.bartleby.com/141/ . Also available are excellent excerpts from “Self-editing for the fiction writers” by Rennie Browne and Dave King. When you feel ready to be published there is also an extensive directory of literary agents.

Suzan’s rating ****1/2 stars