Over fifty grammar topics, with exercises, grammar charts, readings with grammar in context, audio clips, and video clips based on the well-known text. The grammar charts tend to be hard to read, due to the point size chosen. The exercises on this CD-ROM supplement the text.
9-level series, each with 16-24 lessons. Major emphasis is on grammar and vocabulary development, with a variety of exercises that include voice recording and comparison with the model. Extensive record-keeping and management that prints out reports and certificates. Schools subscribe for a period of time and pass the costs on to students. The package includes books and a dongle (hardware key). Students can work at home in the book, then enter their answers on the computer to check them. The company offers on-site teacher training.
Eurocentres teachers have used Wida's authoring programs and created ready-to-go library disks for almost all levels, elementary to advanced, concentrating on vocabulary, grammar practice, etc, but also exam practice including TOEFL. There are 35 disks in all. 27 of the titles are available in Macintosh format (contact the publisher for details). Windows version due out in February 1999; that will be called the Eurocentres CALL Library for English. These packages are now sold by Wida.
Designed for new immigrants to Canada, this uses multiple choice quizzes, typing and dragging exercises, and database searches on health, job search, vocabulary, grammar, literacy, and life skills topics. Minimum hardware requirements: 286 IBM/compatible, color monitor, mouse. Site license for $600.
Download this free software program from http://www.churchillhouse.com/english/downloads.html to help students revise for the tricky "spot the error" question on the Cambridge First Certificate Exam (FCE). It's also suitable for intermediate and advanced students who want to work on their grammar.
These collections are to be used with a concordancer, such as MonoConc or MicroConcord, which lets you search large text libraries for all occurrences of a word. This is an excellent way of dealing with many questions which arise out of corrections of written work, such as 'What is the difference between first and at first?' or '..I don't care and I don't mind?' Collection A taken from 'The Independent' newspaper; Collection B taken from OUP publications.
The native-speaker program practices parts of speech. Diagnostic tests determine a student's understanding of grammar and direct him/her to the appropriate lesson to improve performance. Each lesson focuses on a particular grammar skill, is self correcting, and allows students to advance without teacher intervention. I couldn't get the program to run on my 8600 Mac running OS8, but the publisher may have corrected the problem by now. (LOB)
Multimedia grammar program includes exercises on capitalization, punctuation, parts of speech, subject-verb agreement, compound sentences, and paragraph construction. Designed for native speakers, but usable with ESL. Includes diagnostic tests that determine the language arts skills of each student and prescribe what is needed for improvement. Thirty-six tutorial lessons, presented with voice and text, develop language arts concepts, evaluate performance at each level and redirect students to lower levels to help build skills or to higher levels to learn more advanced skills.
English Easy is a Canadian series of CDs designed to develop listening and reading skills from Basic to Advanced levels. The Conversation program consists of interactive dialogues about common situations and illustrate tone, pronunciation and grammatical structures. The conversations include colloquial phrases to familiarize students with spoken Canadian English. Interactive dialogues depicting common North American scenarios illustrate applications of pronunciations and grammar. Relevant vocabulary is introduced for each subject matter so that students can associate them readily. Skill-testing questions are designed to give students added practice in listening and reacting to normal speech. Good sound quality and graphics. (RJ)
Versions I for beginners and Version II for intermediate students. The Grammar program consists of two CDs, beginning with the introduction of the various structures of a sentence in a systematic sequence to allow the students to build their skills incrementally. The second CD builds on the first and introduces more complex grammatical structures. Each CD has interactive practice exercises and the lessons include short dialogues to illustrate grammar rules and sentence development. Some of the more abstract concepts have multilingual explanations in Japanese, Cantonese, and Mandarin as well as English to aid understanding.
A pair of programs designed for review of and practice in applying grammar rules. The core of both modules consists of drill-type grammar exercises. Users choose topics (e.g., present progressive) and lessons (e.g., spelling 'ing' forms, negatives, etc.) via menus. The program gives immediate feedback after each answer, including symbolic notation indicating types of errors and reminders of rules. After three incorrect attempts, the program gives the correct answer. Points are awarded based on the number of tries before the correct answer is given. At any time, menus may be used to access program instructions and extensive reviews of rules with examples. Program I includes topics such as the verb 'to be,' present, simple past, and future tenses, modals, pronouns, and comparatives. Program II includes present perfect, periphrastic modals, passives, and condtionals. Students who like to drill themselves enjoy working individually or in pairs in a laboratory setting. Teachers can assign review and practice based on individual need.
The English Teacher is now distributed as an online service for Spanish speakers. Other languages are planned. Vocabulary and grammar concepts are reinforced systematically and periodically. The three major components are Working on Words, Building up to Grammar, and Express Yourself in English. These include a variety of exercises, sound, and video. In addition, the program includes RCT: Right Click Translator to translate any word and listen to its pronunciation and READY: Reviews Elapsed According to Daily Yield, that administers and monitors students' study time and statistics according to their performance, programming reviews and examinations over extended intervals of time. Free chatting with the Teacher's Desk and, email and chatting with other students. Free trial: any user can register and download the program for free, which will allow five sessions (24 hour maximun per session) of usage. No credit card required for registering or downloading. Registration and first month's subscription for $29, then $9 per month.
Arcade-style game where the user has to shoot down errors in a constantly moving passage. Whether the user wins or loses, after each passage is completed, a list of errors, along with individual notes on each error, is presented to them, which can be printed off for reference. The 20 passages are graded for difficulty, and the program is fully authorable. British English in the passages that come with the program.
Multiple-choice program helps students cope with troublesome points of English grammar, usage, and spelling. Previously called ESL Bilingual Demons. Similar to ESL Fitness, but with instructions and explanations in Spanish. Upgraded for Windows 95/98/2000. Networkable.
Multiple-choice program helps students cope with troublesome points of English grammar, usage and spelling. Previously called ESL Demons. ESL Fitness Starter for Beginning and ESL Fitness Challenge for Intermediate level also sold separately. Upgraded for Windows 95/98/2000. Networkable.
Game-style format where students can catch and rehabilitate renegades by identifying grammar and usage errors embedded in sentences. Incorrect answers receive specific feedback. Sold separately or as part of the ESL/Basic Literacy bundle.
More than 500 multiple-choice questions intended to prepare intermediate and advanced ESL students for the written TOEFL.
Ten volumes of exercises to use with the Wida Authoring Suite programs (Gapmaster, Storyboard, Matchmaster, Choicemaster, Testmaster). These have been ported from the DOS-based CALL for English originals. Volumes include Elementary Grammar, Vocabulary, and Functions; Intermediate Grammar and Vocabulary; Advanced Grammar, Vocabulary, and Functions; Cambridge Proficience Practice, and International Business Topics.
This is a program to retrieve words containing specified letters, sounds, or belonging to specified grammar categories. Runs under Windows 95. Requires additional download from Oxford Text Archive. Free for download from http://www.stir.ac.uk/epd/celt/staff/higgins.htm.
Computer game designed to help teach English article usage; supports The Article Book, but does not require the book. It offers six game levels, ten levels of difficulty, complete print options, tracking of wrong answers, and a comprehensive practice session. Includes a test generator option for teachers.
A CD-ROM produced in 1996 as a companion work to Focus on Grammar: An Intermediate Course for Reference and Practice by Marjorie Fuchs and Miriam Westheimer with Margaret Bonner, Longman, 1994. Basic, intermediate, high intermediate, and advanced levels are now available. Each level is $100 for a single user, a lab pack (5) for $299, (10) $499; and network license for $750. Fully capable of standing alone, this CD-ROM has quite a range of activities for explaining, practicing, and testing all the grammar points covered in the textbook. While the explanations, charts, appendices are the same as in the textbook, I believe all the many, many interactive exercises are different. As a bonus, there are also some reading comprehension passages with questions and some writing prompts, both featuring the grammar structure(s) under study. I'd recommend this CD for all levels of proficiency except very beginning. It starts with simple present and present continuous and winds its way 'upwards.' It doesn't cover such advanced topics as conditionals or odd-ball tenses like future perfect, but it does a very nice job of presenting and practicing grammar topics generally regarded as being of lower to intermediate difficulty. There's some good material on gerunds, infinitives and verbs with prepositions which have affinities for one or the other. One feature allows students to keep a record of their success on the various exercises, and the built-in wordprocessor makes it easy for students to respond to the writing prompts and to print out their compositions for teachers or peers to read. There's a built-in User's Manual too. As of this writing (January 1997) I haven't used the CD with students yet and I haven't worked with it extensively on a trial basis, so there may be pitfalls and glitches of which I'm not aware. However, I am very much looking forward to turning my lower intermediate grammar students loose on it. (A. Sellers)
Grammar exercises prepared for ESL students ranging from high beginning to advanced; only sold with the Grammar Dimensions series. Features student control of exercise sequence and record-keeping. Can be used in conjunction with any grammar text. CD-ROM.
Interactive CD-ROM with exercises that teach grammar through listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Dynamic animations introduce grammar points; variety of exercise types; 12 tests, each with 25 questions, for self-assessment. Closely follows the book by the same name in content.
This native speaker program offers drill and practice with troublesome points of grammar. Each sentence contains up to four underlined choices, one of which contains a common error in usage, diction, grammatical relationship, or punctuation. In response to a wrong answer, the program shows the corrected sentence and explains why it is right. Formerly known as Grammar Demons. Upgraded for Windows 95/98/2000. A demo can be downloaded from the website.
Intermediate-level grammar exercises for British English with video, sound, voice-recording, and cartoon graphics on CD-ROM. Includes section tests to monitor progress and on-screen audio help in English, Spanish, French, German or Italian.
CD-ROMs for Basic (GSI1), intermediate (GSI2), or high-intermediate to advanced high school or adult learners (GSI3). These supplement the grammar text, Grammar Sense. Each CD-ROM includes interactive exercises, charts and usage notes with audio examples, games, and tests for learners to check their progress.
A multimedia CD-ROM designed to prepare post-secondary students for TOEFL, BEST, and other standardized language tests used in higher education and adult basic education. 40+ lesson program is divided into four sections.
Practice with SAT and ACT tests, designed for native speakers; text is by the Princeton Review. CD-ROM.
Complete grammar of English written in intermediate level English. Can be used independently or in conjunction with The Sentence Transformer. You can copy, use and distribute this guide in any way you like. Supplied in the format of a Windows help file. Runs on Win 3.1 or later (including Win 95). Mouse recommended. Freeware; the complete program can be downloaded from: http://www.classicweb.com/usr/jseng/sean/ls_home.htm
A versatile and fast concordancer, very professionally done. It works on huge text files and produces concordance output on screen which can be manipulated in numerous ways (e.g. sorted by 1 to n words to right or left of target, source text can be accessed, non-productive items ejected, printing to file, etc.). Comes with an excellent manual explaining many uses of concordancers. The optional corpora are separated into business, science, humanities, etc. texts, generally taken from British newspapers. Recently upgraded.
This program was designed to accompany the writing and grammar series of the same name. Interactive computer tutorials accompany each chapter of the text. With this program students can access a word processor to write assignments collaboratively or independently. Lesson activities are also designed to be done in pairs collaboratively. Computer-based tests for each level use randomly generated questions in a multiple-choice format. A feedback screen on test performance can be printed out or saved for record-keeping purposes. Sample software is free from the publisher. Level 1 and Level 2 sold separately.
This self-paced program contains 500 stories and letters to edit at three reading levels and three interest levels (youth, teen, adult). Students have access to help in the form of a word list, context-sensitive grammar rules, and clues such as highlighting sentences and words with errors and modeling a correct version of the article. A record-keeping function tracks student progress in working through the skill areas the program addresses: abbreviations, punctuation, subject-verb agreement, irregular verbs, numbers, pronouns, easily confused words, and general editing.
Three sets of CD-ROMs for a multimedia review of reading, grammar, and vocabulary. Reading 1 and 2 have a variety of texts including letters, magazine articles, stories, and humor. Grammar 1 and 2 review English tenses with anecdotes, short stories, articles, and dialogues. Vocabulary 1 and 2 use video clips with topics including leisure and hobbies, the environment, and the world of entertainment. Exercises and practice tests are included in all of these sets. Each set of two CD-ROMs can be purchased separately for $140. Lab, network, and site options are also available.
The kind of sentence transformation exercises found in the Cambridge FCE and CPE examinations. Each question has two levels of help -a simple hint and then a direct link to the relevant grammar topic in the on-line Grammar Guide. There is also AutoCorrection, which formats the student's input before processing it to avoid 'mistakes' due to forgetting to add a full stop or capitalise the first letter, etc. Comes with 100 pre-loaded questions with room to add many more. 5+ answers for each question. Very easy to use. A demo can be downloaded or the program ordered from the Internet at http://www.classicweb.com/usr/jseng/sean/ls_home.htm. The price includes a site license.
Simple multiple choice format program with a question and four possible answers involving choosing the right phrasal verb. Includes and on-line (editable) dictionary of phrasal verbs and full help. Very easy to use. Price includes site license. The program can be ordered over the Internet at: http://www.classicweb.com/usr/jseng/sean/ls_home.htm
Simple multiple choice format program with a question and four possible answers involving choosing the right preposition. Includes an on-line (editable) dictionary of phrasal verbs and full help. Very easy to use. Runs under Win 3.1 or later (including Win 95). Mouse recommended. Price includes a full site licence. A demo of the program or online purchase is available from: http://www.classicweb.com/usr/jseng/sean/ls_home.htm
Multiple-choice practice, designed for ESL/EFL. An online, authorable dictionary is also included. Very simple interface.
Tense Buster upgrade. Covers selected grammar areas through presentations, practice exercises, rules, tests and learner training tips; has interactive feedback for right and wrong answers. Students can take notes, listen to the pronunciation of vocabulary items, hear many of the conversations and texts read out, and track their progress over different sessions. Teachers can choose North American English or British English. The five courses, Elementary through Advanced, are sold separately or as a bundle. Includes a free Authoring Kit and membership to TenseBuster.com website with downloadable materials to use with the authoring kit. Demos can be requested from info@clarity.com.hk. CD-ROM.
TutorTapes disks are created by ESL teachers for ESL students. Each program is designed for repetitive practice after a brief introductory explanation. Most programs run about 20 minutes. A catalog is available from the publisher.
From the advanced Azar grammar book by the same name. This CD-ROM includes animated grammar presentations; introductory dialogues about grammar; practice with listening, speaking and reading; grammar charts; and record-keeping.
Study 120 common irregular verbs in present, past, and past participle forms. Verb Professor has both study and review modes, prints custom reports of verbs to review, and combines five activities (including a listening exercise) for practice.
A verb-forming algorithm which allows learners to build up any verb-phrase that is acceptable in English and to see the inflectional rules used to create it. Also contains information on help pages about transitivity, stative verbs, tenses and aspect. Download from http://www.stir.ac.uk/epd/celt/staff/higgins.htm.
You provide the sentences and Word Order 2 does the rest. A great feature is that you can easily choose how the sentences are broken up. Students click on words in buttons to make a sentence. Feedback is instant; both visually (the word is added to the screen) and aurally (there are sounds for correct and incorrect choices). Free demo is limited to 5 sentences; $5 shareware for full version.
The program offers drills, learning hints, examples, automatic grading, performance graphs and summary reports. $250 per level, from grade 6-12. Can be installed on a network.
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