Mining online L2 learning resources
Flora D Floris, Willy A Renandya and Dat Bao
Abstract
A couple of decades ago, the use of online resources in language classrooms attracted only a small number of language teachers/researchers and curriculum/material developers. However, with the rapid growth of computer applications, communications technologies and open-access information available on the Internet, online resources have now become an indispensable source of second language (L2) classroom materials. But just like print materials, some online materials are useful and can contribute meaningfully to L2 development while others may not be so. Because of this, teachers will need to select online materials based on a set of criteria that conform to accepted L2 learning principles. This chapter first reviews relevant literature on second language learning principles and discusses how they can be productively used as a basis of selecting online materials. It then provides concrete examples of the kinds of online materials that could be used for teaching various language skills such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It then concludes with a set of practical recommendations on how teachers can develop tasks and activities based on these online materials.