The internet, language learning, and international dialogue: Constructing online foreign language learning websites

Abstract

In the present study we call attention to the close connection between languages and globalization, and we also emphasize the importance of the Internet and online websites in foreign language teaching and learning as unavoidable elements of computer assisted language learning (CALL). We prepared a checklist by which we investigated 28 foreign language teaching websites (4 from each of seven languages including English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish and Turkish). The participants were 14 third-year university students who were enrolled in the French Language teaching department, but had a basic knowledge of the related languages that was sufficient to read and write. All the students had taken CALL classes at university level, and had previous experience of website evaluation and assessment. As a result of the analyses of the language teaching websites, we observed that they were lacking physically, contextually and pedagogically. Consequently, we built a model foreign language website frame considering the feedback that we received from the subjects. We believe that our website evaluation checklist and model website frame might greatly serve the CALL field.