Learn English Grammar

1
English Writing Courses

• Online ELT has not caught on in a big way, and
  there are a number of reasons. Two reasons that
  immediately come to mind are logistical problems
  and the fact that the teacher cant be around
  when the student is writing. However, if the
  student needs a lot of writing practice and
  personalized corrections, there are a number of
  advantages of teaching writing online, which Ive
  covered in my previous post. But before this can
  be done, the common problems in online courses
  need to be addressed.
• Some of the common problems are insufficient
  guidance, excessive focus on self-study, and the
  expectation that learners will figure out a study
  schedule that works for them. Educators are left
  with the question Is the student really learning?
• These problems can be overcome through some
  techniques personalized attention for each
  student, making sure that the course is more
  about practice than self-study, a space for the
  student and instructor to interact, an
  encouraging teaching style, and a strong
  administrative and operational support system.
• The last point is often ignored, but this is also
  critical to the success of the course. The
  support system should help with the student with
  the scheduling of the course, counsel the student
  if theyre stuck somewhere in the course,
  function as an intermediary between the student
  and teacher if needed, and resolve any complaints
  or problems the student has.
• As for the platform for online courses,
  open-source learning management systems offer a
  quick solution. The open-source LMS Moodle is
  being increasingly used by English language
  teachers, and from personal experience I can say
  that Moodle works for online writing courses. In
  fact, Moodle was frequently mentioned in the JALT
  conference last year.
• So, to make online English writing courses work,
  teachers need a strong focus on individual
  students, a good support system, and an
  easy-to-use LMS. While that sounds easier than it
  actually is, its certainly not too hard!