LANG0010-English Proficiency Course
(Semester II, 2002-3)
SELF-ACCESS LEARNING PORTFOLIO (10%)
Self-access learning materials on the Internet and those CALL (Computer Assisted Language
Learning) titles related to the following five aspects namely reading, writing, speaking,
listening and grammar are listed below.
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To access those online materials, you may use your home computers or any computer
terminals in the University provided that they are connected to the Internet.
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To access those CALL titles, you have to go to the Multi Media Lab (MML) (located at
OEW705) of the Language Centre.
Requirement: You are required to choose any FIVE combinations of the five aspects from the
list below and complete the respective tasks. For example, you can choose 2 sets of materials
from reading, 1 set from writing, 1 set from grammar and 1 set from listening.
Note: You are allowed to choose a maximum of two sets of materials from the SAME website
or CALL title, provided that the tasks you have chosen do not overlap with each other. For
example, in the website A, you are required to complete three listening activities. ‘Attempting
two sets of materials of website A’ means that you have to ‘complete six different listening
activities’ from the website.
Assessment: The assessment will focus on both quality and quantity.
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In terms of quality, in each set of the material, you have to obtain at least 60% from
the self-test(s) unless otherwise specified. [If there is more than one self-test in a
specific set of material, you have to obtain at least 60% in ALL self-tests.]
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In terms of quantity, you have to complete all the tasks specified in each of the five
sets of materials chosen by you. You have to print out the self-tests (showing your
answers and scores) and keep them in a folder to become your own ‘self-access
learning portfolio’. [Sometimes, you find difficulty to print out a web page. If so, you
may firstly save the web page on a floppy disk or your desktop and then print it out
later.] Also, you are required to complete a log sheet which should form part of your
portfolio.
Your instructor is happy to help you identify your weaknesses and give you advice. You may
also contact Leo Yu (Email: leoyu@hkbu.edu.hk; Office: OEE1014; Phone: 3411-5803), the
Course Coordinator, if you have encountered any difficulties when accessing online materials
or CALL titles in the MML.
ONLINE MATERIALS
READING
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(R1) Interactive Learning Resources, provided by California Department of Education
http://www.cdlponline.org/news.html
Description: There are many edited short news articles covering a wide range of areas of
interest. After each story, there are some exercises for you to learn
vocabulary or practise sentence sequencing.
Task: Choose THREE news articles and complete all the tasks in ‘Lessons’ of each article.
EPC(02-03B) (Self Access Learning Portfolio)
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(R2) English Club
http://reading.englishclub.com/ss.htm
Description: This site contains stories of different lengths, from 1,500 words to 7,000 words
for students of the upper-intermediate to advanced level.
Task: Read ONE story of 3,000 words (no story of 1,500 words is allowed!) and write a
summary of about 200 words about it on a separate piece of paper.
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(R3) The Many Roads to Japan
http://www2.gol.com/users/norris/roads1.html
Description: The story is about the adventures of a foreigner in Japan, searching for his
identity. There are eight chapters. After each chapter, there are some
questions and exercises.
Task: Read ONE chapter (out of 8 chapters) and complete the questions that follow
[under the heading called ‘Review for Chapter X’, where X is the chapter number].
Write your answers on a separate piece of paper. Your instructor will mark your
answers.
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(R4) The Moonlit Road
http://www.themoonlitroad.com/featurestories001.asp
Description: This site contains some mystery and ghost stories. You can read the script and
listen at the same time by the following steps: first, choose a feature story.
Then select 'Hear the story' option. This will open up an audio player in a small
pop-up box. Next, go back to the menu and select 'Read the story' and you
will get the text on the screen. Then, you can read the text on the screen and
listen to the story (by clicking 'play') at the same time. Apart from the feature
stories, you can access the archive of stories by registering with the site - it's
free.
Task: Read ONE feature story and write a summary of about 200 words about it on a
separate piece of paper.
WRITING
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(W1) The Purdue University Online Writing Lab
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/index.html
Description: This site contains worksheets covering not only some writing skills, but also
grammar notes related to writing.
Task: Choose ONE area below and complete the questions related to the topic (available
under the heading ‘Exercises/Answer Keys’). Please write your answers on a
separate sheet of paper before marking them by yourself.
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General Writing Concerns (Planning/Writing/Revising/Genres)
Research and Documenting Sources
Sentence Construction
Parts of Speech
English as a Second Language
EPC(02-03B) (Self Access Learning Portfolio)
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LISTENING
* Remember to print out the exercise page with both your answers and the suggested
answers.
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(L1) The ESL Wonderland
http://www.eslwonderland.com/activities/index.htm
Description: There are six topics under the heading ‘Listening Activities’. In addition to the
main listening task, each of them contains a pre-listening or a post-listening
task or both.
Task: Choose ONE listening activity from the list. Complete all tasks (the pre-listening and
the post listening tasks, if any, in addition to the main task).
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(L2) Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab
http://www.esl-lab.com/index.htm
Description: There are many short listening quizzes in four main categories and at different
difficulty levels.
Task: Choose THREE listening activities at the level of ‘difficult’ or above and complete the
tasks of each activity.
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(L3) John's ESL resources - Interactive Listening Exercises
http://www.johnsesl.com/templates/quizzes/LQ.php
Description: There are six listening exercises at the intermediate or advanced level.
Task: Choose TWO listening activities under the heading ‘Intermediate and Advanced’.
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(L4) English Listening Lounge
http://www.englishlistening.com/flmenu.phtml?level=3
Description: There are ten listening exercises in five main categories, ranging from foreign
customs to travel.
Task: Choose TWO listening activities and answer ALL the questions. Write your answers on
a separate piece of paper (or in a WORD file) before clicking the button ‘Questions
and Answers’.
SPEAKING
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(S1) Focus in English
http://www.focusenglish.com/enginfocus/enginfocusindex.html
Description: There are several topics and functions on this site where you can listen to
native speakers' ways of expressing themselves in everyday conversations.
Task: Complete the tasks in all the seven topics under the headings ‘Functions’ and
‘Topics’. Write your response on a piece of paper (or in a WORD file) before clicking
the button ‘Sample Response’ to compare yours with the suggested responses.
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GRAMMAR
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(G1) English At Home
http://www.english-at-home.com/home.php
Description: This site contains many examples of grammatical points.
Task: On the right hand side of the page, there is a menu bar. Select either ‘Grammar’ or
‘Tenses and Verbs’. Study the grammatical notes. When finished, go to ‘Test Yourself’.
There are several tests. You do NOT have to attempt all tests. If you select ‘Grammar’,
do the tests named (1) Articles, (2) Comparisons, (3) In, on or at, (4) Question tag, (5)
Some or any, and (6) Time expressions. If you select ‘Tenses and Verbs’, do those
named (1) If sentences, (2) Past perfect tense, (3) Past simple, (4) Present tense, and
(5) Gerund or infinitive.
CALL MATERIALS (IN MML)
When you choose a CALL title to study in the MML, remember to use your student number as
your login name because the computer network will keep track on your learning process and
the scores you get in tests/quizzes. Since there is no printer in the MML, the assessment will be
based on the information stored in the computer network. So, remember to use your student
number as the login name every time when you use a CALL title.
Important: You need to attend an orientation before using any CALL titles in the MML. The
orientation will be held in the week of 24-28 March. If you want to attend, please send an
email to Leo Yu (leoyu@hkbu.edu.hk) with your timetable attached on or before 18 March. If
you think that the suggested online materials suit your needs and that you do not need to use
any CALL titles in the MML, you do NOT need to attend the orientation. So, you are strongly
encouraged to visit the suggested websites this week to decide if you need to attend the
orientation. Please note that no further orientation sessions will be organized after 28 March.
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(C1) Click into English
Description: It focuses on reading and writing skills, including some exercises in grammar.
There are six units related to family life at the Upper-Intermediate level while
another six units to work and study at the Advanced level.
Task: Choose ONE unit from either the Upper-Intermediate level or the Advanced level
and complete all the tasks in that unit/topic.
For details of the title, please refer to a separate leaflet entitled ‘Click Into English’, which is
available in the MML.
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(C2) Tense Buster 2001
Description: It covers many grammar areas which are grouped into five levels. In each
level, there are several units focusing on different language areas or skills.
Task: Choose TWO units (i.e. language areas/skills) from the Intermediate, the
Upper-Intermediate or the Advanced level and complete all the tasks in each unit.
For details of the title, please refer to a separate leaflet entitled ‘Tense Buster 2001’, which
is available in the MML.
EPC(02-03B) (Self Access Learning Portfolio)
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