ESL Web Review: Road To Grammar

The world is on our fingertips. With today’s vast development of technology, everything can be found in the internet. Why resort for bad things when we can find good things on the internet, right? One of the many good things that can be found in the internet is websites for language learning. There might be thousands, no, perhaps millions of ESL websites that can be constructive for teaching English both for students and teachers. One of the websites is ‘Road To Grammar’.

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   Basically, the website is focusing on grammar learning. However, there are also other themes such as tenses and vocabulary. The website is designed and focused for the aftermath. The students are tested based on their schemata and what they have learned earlier. Nevertheless, there are modules provided as reference if we would like to refresh our knowledge. The website provides quite a number of exercises covering various grammar rules such as adjectives, prepositions, adverbs and pronouns. The exercises are quite interactive I must say.  Visitors will know whether their answer is right or wrong right after they click their answer. At the end of the exercise, the total mark is shown and if we are not satisfied with the marks, we can always retake the exercise. It promotes drilling techniques, in a way; it provokes the visitors to strive better, hence understanding the concept of a particular grammar rule that they are focusing. Plus, the set of question is jumbled up every time we redo the exercise; therefore it prevents the visitors from memorizing the answers.

 I like the interface of the website. It is simple and easy to handle, yet very interactive and cute in a way. The color scheme chosen as the theme of the website is very soft, not so striking that can distract our focus and attention. There are also minimal usages of words in which, I believe the developer wanted to focus on the exercises and games provided. The tabs available for every different section are separated clearly on top of the website and once we clicked the tab, we will be redirected to the desired page.  It is not merely prepared for language students, but also for language teachers whom are looking for material and ideas for their teaching. Other than that, it also provides interactive games that have different level of difficulties and visitors can play the games according to their desired proficiency. It is a very fun and interactive website for Grammar learning. It is not boring and cliché like other grammar websites always did, for example, this one. Try comparing ‘Road To Grammar’ and the website highlighted above and tell me which one would you choose based on the interactivity of exercises. I am disappointed that I did not discover the website way earlier.

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   To access the website, visitors are not required to do anything. No registration, no membership, no payment needed. It is a free website that enables the visitors to test their grammar knowledge and enjoying the interactive quizzes and exercises or trying the language games that are linked in the website.  What’s more interesting is that we are allowed to download some materials provided in the websites. There are materials for the usage of teachers and also the students. Sharing is caring. I think that is the motto of this website.

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This website does remind me with a lot of things I did in classroom either as a learner or as a teacher.  As a learner, I got to recall everything that I gain regarding grammar during my whole life experience. I got to challenge myself and see where I am standing at in terms of my grammar knowledge, especially the basics one. It also reminisce my teaching practicum period in which I did incorporate online quizzes like the website did in my teaching and I remember how the students really eager to do the exercises. I am just quite disappointed that I did not discover this website earlier to share it with my students. It is fascinating how grammar is interpreted as ‘fun’ in the websites, whereas in real life, students keep on telling me that mastering grammar rules are like watching horror movie that they cannot escape. I definitely will promote this website later in when I become a real teacher.

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This website presents learners with several things that I think is not feasible in classroom setting with the usage of textbooks/workbooks. Like I mentioned earlier, the website is very interactive. A workbook will NEVER be able to give the learners immediate feedback like “EXCELLENT!” or “TRY AGAIN” right after you finish answering the questions. A book will NEVER have the ability to award you with stars once you manage to answer perfectly. Yes, most workbooks come with an answer scheme for all the questions, but it does not tell the learners the correct answers right away. They will have to flip several pages to have a look at the correct answers; not like the website where the correct answers were listed right after when you answer the question wrongly. This kind of interactivity between the learners and the website makes huge differences in teaching and learning process. Learners will be more motivated to learn and they will find it easier as they live in the digital world where everything requires visual assistance in order to increase understanding. I did not say workbooks are boring and irrelevant, but we need to move along with the massive development of the technology and exploit as many terrific things that internet and computers can provide us for the betterment of language teaching and learning.

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 I did not really focus on the teaching theories at first because I was too preoccupied with the quizzes. However, as I browse through again and again, I realized that the website is based on two mixed theories which are inductive approach and deductive approach. I want to pinpoint drilling too; because the questions are repetitive, but I do not see much of a drilling method being highlighted in the website. An inductive approach starts with some explicit examples from which a rule is inferred. The examples are presented at the beginning then generalizing rules from the given samples. The website prepares modules on learning the grammar rules; however the learners may answer the exercises first without referring to the modules given and discover the rules themselves.  Thus, it is inductive approach. It can be the other way around. Learners may refer to the module first and start answering the exercises later. That is when deductive approach takes place. It starts with the presentation of a rule and is followed by examples in which the rule is applied.

I would love to incorporate another theory which is extrinsic motivation. For each correct answer, learners are told “CORRECT” and sometimes stars are given. It may look common, but those little things could boost the students’ motivation to always do well and wanting to perform. Thus, I believe extrinsic motivation is also one of the theories considered while developing the website.

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‘Road To Grammar’ has a great potential in terms of language learning. Its simple features, practicality, interactivity and authenticity of exercises are the main points of the website. The examples used are close related to everyday situation, easy to understand and most importantly intrigues the learners’ world knowledge. The modules provided are colorful and easy to understand. The fact that I also allow the visitors to download materials for both teachers and students is a great explanation of why this website is kind of cool. As a language learner, I enjoyed the interactivity of the website very much especially their language games; the FLUENT and WORD STRIP game. I believe with some alteration towards the graphic and the interface, it can be the next big thing as a medium for teaching grammar.

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I would highly recommend this website to all language learners of different proficiency level. It is suitable for primary, secondary, even university level students. It has great vibe and collaborative; it is practical for teachers and students; it is generous as it allows you to download materials and it covers quite a wide range of grammar rules. It might not be perfect or holistic, but it is a good website for learning grammar. The downsides can be improved through time, but the fundamentals are there. For now, it is good enough and I would integrate this website in my future language lesson.