Internet for English Teaching

Internet for English Teaching
Reviewed by Maggie Sokolik, Ph.D.
UC Berkeley, College Writing Programs
sokolik@socrates.berkeley.edu
Internet for English Teaching is like a very good portal web site. It offers a great starting place, but if you want to learn more, you're going to have to choose one of the many links offered. For this reason, this book addresses the needs of instructors who have little experience with the Internet in their classes. However, for the experienced Internet user, it will not offer up much that is new, either from a technological or a pedagogical standpoint.

The text of this book contains a straightforward and non-jargon-laden style. It presents brief summaries of basic concepts, accompanied by examples and a wide variety of resource lists. There are also several short case studies showing specific uses of Internet technology in a variety of ESL and EFL environments, short introductions to relevant pedagogical principles, and ways that the Internet addresses classroom needs. It emphasizes in particular a student-centered and project- or task-based pedagogy.

Its eight chapters and four appendices (plus one "supplement" on making web pages), cover resources for teachers, student research and publishing, distance education, and collaborative work. In addition, it gives excellent advice on netiquette and e-mail use. One of my favorites (which I wish more people would utilize) is:

If you need to send messages to a big group of people, put their addresses on the bcc: line instead of the cc: line. That way, they'll receive a smaller header, and no one can accidentally reply to all the other recipients. (p. 15)

It also includes lots of web site and mailing list addresses that are up-to-date, and which are likely to remain stable in the future. This is a laudable undertaking that will make the text useful for several years--an unusual feature in this rapidly-changing field.

Unfortunately, its breadth and stylistic simplicity are mirrored by a lack of depth and intellectual complexity. None of the topics it presents is covered in a substantial way. For example, the authors present seven variables (content, pacing, teacher's role, instructional materials, technology, credit, cost) that affect online English courses, along with brief explanations of each (pp. 76-77). However, in concluding this section, the instructor/reader is left with the single thought:

"Students will want to think carefully about all of the above variables in selecting an on-line course" (p. 77).

It does not offer guidance as to how students are to "think carefully," nor does it present the instructor/reader with any kind of rubric for determining the suitability of these variables vis a vis an online course.