Web Conferencing ESL Students
ESL or English as a Second Language is used to refer to the learning of English by native speakers of other language or languages. ESL students often take the course within an English-speaking region. These ESL students are generally composed of refuges, immigrants, and students.
ESL Students and EFL Students
ESL students are different from EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners in that ESL students tend to concentrate on learning English for daily needs and for living in an English-speaking community. And that is why most ESL students are those newcomers who are immigrants or refugees. EFL, on the other hand, tends to concentrate on English for academic success (whether in the local school exam system or in post-graduate study abroad), or for professional success, i.e. within an office where English is sometimes needed.
In either case, both types of students, whether ESL or EFL, will need some form of instructional material to make learning easier. One such technology used for and by ESL students is web conferencing.
Web Conferencing for ESL Students
The term web conferencing actually refers to a group discussion between individuals in an online environment. Web conferencing systems are mainly software applications wherein you can sit at your computer and get instantly and remotely connected with other people who are also attending the same online meeting with you. Web conferencing works particularly good in overcoming distances and as such, the technology naturally comes in handy for ESL students.
Web Conferencing: What ESL Students and Teachers Need
In web conferencing, ESL students and ESL teachers are presented with a virtually limitless environment for a learning discourse in English. For instance, ESL teachers can use web conferencing systems to demonstrate the capabilities of a particular ESL e-learning website so ESL students will know and understand.
With the use of PowerPoint presentations via a web conferencing system, ESL students who are located in different places can participate in an interactive e-learning English class on almost any topic, such as vocabulary, proper pronunciation blends, proper prepositions, irregular verbs, identifying parts of speech, and the like.
The audio capability in web conferencing is very helpful in helping ESL students identify the proper pronunciation of words, including articulation of consonants, inflection, and tonal accent. Video options will also give that necessary feel of being in a real time collaborative environment with other ESL students.
As its basic feature, web conferencing has screen sharing wherein ESL students can view and exhibit some control over the computer screen of the presenter, which in this case is the ESL instructor or teacher.
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