This wasn't written for non-native speakers, and it's almost totally lacking in examples of usage, but it's certainly useful as a teacher's reference tool. It comes with a thesaurus and a 'cultural literacy' dictionary and can be used as a spell checker for any text. Contains pronunciations of all entries along with definitions. CD-ROM.
This is a CD-ROM multimedia tour of San Diego Zoo. It includes 80 video clips (small-2x 3 inches on screen), pictures and information about 200 animals, information about the areas they live in, and a section on endangered animals. We plan to use it as an information source for intermediate academic students. It seems to have been created for primary to secondary school students, but has been popular with adult EFL students. The menu page is a picture of the zoo from above, and you just click on the area you're interested in or choose an animal from a list. (Moore) Version 2 includes the A to Z Gallery, with an animal for each letter of the alphabet.
Exploration and game practice of articulatory phonetics. Location of articulatory organs, demonstration of tongue and larynx movement for selected consonants. For teachers studying for CLAD competencies. The color version is distributed by Computers for Education, and a black and white version is available on the TESOL/CELIA CD-ROM.
Multimedia-rich program to help students develop learning strategies, with a focus on remembering, organizing, prioritizing, shifting, and checking. Students practice with different activities. Record-keeping function is included. CD-ROM. See a review at http://www.kyoto-su.ac.jp/information/tesl-ej/ej29/m1.html.
This CD-ROM is a interactive database of 19,000+ movie titles. It includes Quicktime clips from actual films, reviews, cinematographic descriptions, biographies and photographs of actors, summaries of plots, Academy Award lists, and a wealth of other information. All the data is easily searchable in several ways and connected with hypertext links. Of particular utility in language learning are the audio segments of dialog from many films; learners can read the accompanying text, but they cannot listen and read the text at the same time. Intended for use in a content-based course on film for University-level ESL students. Also good for teachers and students who want to add clips to multimedia presentations.
This CD-ROM integrates the Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary, Collins COBUILD English Usage, and Collins COBUILD English Grammar, together with a Word Bank containing 5 million words selected from the Collins COBUILD Bank of English corpus. It has over 70,000 references and over 90,000 real examples and over 2,000 usage points with thousands of real examples.
This contains the Collins Pocket Bilinguals (French, German, Spanish, Italian) and a computer-based version of the COBUILD ESL Student's Dictionary that can be accessed from within any word processing program. Students can highlight a word either in a reading assignment entered by the teacher or while word processing and jump immediately into the dictionary to check its meaning or spelling. A five CD-ROM pack is $200, a ten-user license (1 CD-ROM, all dictionaries) is $350.00, and the Collins On-Line Network Utility (required to run Collins On-Line from a network server) is $150.
Web-based full-text online research service at http://www.elibrary.com/education; by subscription. Searches a database of popular magazines, journals, newspapers, reference works, TV and radio transcripts, photos and maps.
Designed for grades 4-6, this CD-ROM-based reference uses audio and graphics to enhance learner understanding of the text. Students can search by title, medium, or category. It also includes a reference game where students get questions to look up in the encyclopedia. Runs on the Mac (System 7.0.7 or higher, 4MB RAM, 4MB hard drive space) and under Windows 3.0. Lab pack of 5 is $240; lab of 15, $690; site (30), $1320; site (50), $2100.
A CD-ROM based encyclopedia; updated annually. Starting with 1997 version, it includes direct links from articles to related Internet sites for those with an Internet connection.
Career planning software for trade- or college-oriented students or adults.
Designed for younger learners than Inspiration, this very visually helps learners build graphic organizers by combining pictures, text and spoken words to represent thoughts and information. Younger learners develop early literacy skills, and more advanced students improve comprehension skills and better organize ideas for writing. The website offers a free trial: http://www.inspiration.com/productinfo/kidspiration/index.cfm
Concordancing for Windows. Supports most European languages, unlimited texts, KWIC display, extended search patterns, frequency display, and user-defined categories. Has a customisable interface, full on-line help, easy 'Step-by-step' guides to using the program, built-in word processor, activities guide, and simple corpus management. Comes with texts. Easy to install and use. Will link to the Lingua Systems Tag Editor for tagged texts. More information is available from http://www1.btwebworld.com/LinguaSy
LDAE has over 38,000 definitions, which have been especially written for an ESL audience. The program is well designed, the screens are clear and easy to use, and the program can be used inside other applications. Incorporating all the features of the Longman Dictionary, it is also useful as a grammar learning tool--a study notes option let students review or clarify basic grammar and usage concepts. The Macintosh version of LDAE makes use of Apple's PlainTalk Text-to-Speech software.
This CD-ROM-based multimedia dictionary includes sound, graphic images, and video with text. Has grammar and pronunciation components as searchable indexes as well as built into the dictionary. Since it runs under Windows on the PC, it is possible to have the dictionary and a word-processor open at the same time, but only on computers with a lot of memory. Requires System 7 and a 68040 or better processor on the Macintosh.
CD-ROM of math learning resources for grades K-6 with instructions in English and Spanish. The program can be used by students and teachers to model textbook examples or as a standalone application. It offers assistance in subjects including place-value blocks, counters, money, time, fractions, probability, spreadsheets/data/graphers, geometry shapes and geometry drawing.
A CD-ROM based set of reference materials, including on-line versions of The American Heritage Dictionary, Roget's Thesaurus, The World Almanac and Book of Facts, The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia, The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations, The People's Chronology, The Hammond World Atlas, and the National Five-digit Zip Code and Post Office Directory. There are hypertext links between most of the materials, so the student can click on a word in the encyclopedia, and Bookshelf will jump to its dictionary where the student can even hear the word pronuounced. Well-designed and very informative, but like most multimedia programs, it really needs an up-to-date Mac or PC.
For students doing English for Academic Purposes, this is the best of the CD-ROM encyclopedias. It covers more topics and in a more sophisticated way than others I'm familiar with. Its interface isn't quite as good as Compton's, and its multimedia content isn't as extensive as Grolier's but the overall contents, especially the digital videos, are more thoughtfully arranged. (J.Magoto) Updated annually. Current version does not run under Windows 3.1.
This CD-ROM has both the traditional two-dimensional maps and three-dimensional ones, including a globe that learners can spin. Culturegrams and a 'family portraits' section that looks at the lives of 31 families in dept give added depth to the global information presented. Includes color graphics, sound, and videos. Requires Windows 95 or later. Will not run on earlier versions of Windows.
A terminology database that allows students and translators to access a large library of specialized electronic bilingual dictionaries and build their own customized annotation files. DOS and Windows.
Interacts with the browser and word-processor so that pointing to a word brings up a pop-up definition and clicking brings up more information. This CD-ROM includes a customizable user dictionary as well.
CD-ROM version of the classic dictionary for beginners. Also available: English-Spanish and English-Chinese versions.
Multimedia dictionary on CD-ROM; expands on paper version with pronunciation help and video clips.
CD-ROM-based dictionary offers pictures, maps, games, some audio, and a variety of search options.
This CD-ROM-based dictionary includes not only the usual word lookups, but also three levels of word games and puzzles. Learners can cut and paste from the dictionary into a word-processor and can print out words and definitions encountered in the games.
This disk-based dictionary includes not only the usual word lookups, but also three levels of word games and puzzles. Learners can cut and paste from the dictionary into a word-processor and can print out words and definitions encountered in the games. British English version.
Currently available only in Europe. Includes specialised 'shelves' such as the Writer's Shelf, the Business Shelf, Language Shelf, and Science Shelf, each with several Oxford reference books. Provides all functions common to most electronic dictionaries such as searching, cross-referencing, etc, but it does not talk. To look up a reference when working on a word processor, user has either to switch program on Windows or to use the USE CLIPBOARD function that looks up a word automatically as soon as it is copied onto the clipboard. CD-ROM.
A CD-ROM on-line unabridged dictionary, version 2.0 (to be released in May, 1996) runs under both Windows 95 and Windows 3.1 and offers pronunciation and graphics with many entries.
Requires CD-ROM drive. A program designed around space exploration, with photographs, illustrations, digital sound, and full-motion video.
On CD-ROM. A compendium of articles, pictures, and movies for the past ten years, as well as other significant periods in U.S. history. The program has an excellent interface and provides many ways to search its rich contents. Advanced students enjoy how easy it is to find and access authentic sources.
Allows online lookup of Spanish to English or vice-versa. Replaces Key Into Spanish. Definitions give examples of usage. Reference tables in Spanish and English include commonly used phrases, irregular verbs, signs, weights and measures, and currency tables. CD-ROM.
CD-ROM multimedia dictionary with video, graphics, sound. 700 words can be accessed alphabetically by language or through the eight categories. Includes four games. Mac and Windows CD-ROMs sold separately.
Please click on an option below.