Websites Evaluation

1- ACCURACY:

Who wrote the page? Is this person an expert in the subject matter? Check qualifications, experience – look for an “about me” link.

Is the page content reliable and factually correct?Cross- reference with other similar websites and encyclopaedias.

2- CURRENCY:

Is the content up- to- date?Check factual information against other reliable sources.

When was the page last updated?Check for information at the bottom/top of the page.

3- CONTENT:

Is the site interesting and stimulating?Consider the content from your learners ‘point of view.

Is it attractive or easy to navigate?Check the colour combinations, the logic of the links and visual structure.

4- FUNCTIONALITY:

Does the site work well? Are there any broken links?Be sure to check all the page, and follow all links to all pages you intend to use.

Does it use a lot of large files of alternative technologies (e.g. Flash)?Check how quickly it loads for learners; check sound, video and animation work.

Travelling in Europe 2012 - 13

SITE 1: http://europa.eu/travel/index_en.htm

1- ACCURACY: The author is not specified in the website. The content is reliable.

2- CURRENCY: The site is up to date and has been updated on August 22nd, 2012

3- CONTENT: The content is very interesting according to the topic of the lesson. The website is very easy to navegate.The layout is appealing to the reader.

4- FUNCTIONALITY: Everything works properly and it loads quickly. It´s a simple site, it doesn´t have animations or sound.

Foreign and commonwealth office.

SITE 2: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/south-america/argentina

1- ACCURACY: Foreign and commonwealth office created this website and the content is reliable.

2- CURRENCY: The site is up to date and has been updated on August 3th, 2012

3- CONTENT: The site is specially oriented to the traveler. Although the layout is not so appealing, the information is very useful.

4- FUNCTIONALITY: All links are properly organized and it loads slowly due to the connection now.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada

SITE 3: http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/report_rapport-eng.asp?id=308000

1- ACCURACY: The author is not specified but it´s related to Canada´s government, as it has been updated yesterday, it should be reliable.

2- CURRENCY: It was updated on August 30th, 2012.

3- CONTENT: The site provides the traveler with a lot of useful information related to the tips required by the government to enter the country. The layout is not so attractive in some links.

4- FUNCTIONALITY: All links work well now. As the site is oriented to adults, it doesn´t have much colour or animation.

USATOURIST NEWS MAGAZINE

SITE 4: http://www.usatourist.com/english/index.html

1- ACCURACY.: The author is not specified. It seems to be reliable but we don´t know.

2- CURRENCY: It was updated this year (2012) but it does not say when exactly.

3- CONTENT: The content is very useful for the tourist. It is easy to navigate but it´s not attractive at all. As regards the layout, the font size is too small.

4- FUNCTIONALITY: All links work well now. It provides some slides that are constantly changing.

TRAVEL ENGLISH

SITE 5: http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/travelenglish/

1- ACCURACY: The author is not mentioned but apparently it has to do with ESL Resources. It seems to be unreliable.

2- CURRENCY: It has been updated this year but we don´t know when.

3- CONTENT: The content is very interesting and helpful but in some exercises such as the multiple choice, after having resolved them, we couldn´t check the answers because the link didn´t work. In connection to the layout, half of the site is in blue and the other half is full with links.

4- FUNCTIONALITY: In general, all links work well except for the checking of the answers. It uses no alternative technologies.

Travel vocabulary

SITE 6: http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/vocabulary-lesson-travel.php

1- ACCURACY: The author seems to be “myenglishpages.com” but it´s not specified. Apparently, It’s reliable.

2- CURRENCY: The content is up to date but it´s not specified when it was updated exactly.

3- CONTENT: The content is interesting in the point of view of learners´ interest for the lesson. As regards the layout, the font size is medium and the colour combination is nice. The links are very clear and the site is easy to navigate.

4- FUNCTIONALITY: The site works very well and all links load quickly. There are no alternative technologies but it uses some images to illustrate different vocabulary.

Survival English for Travelers & False Beginners

SITE 7: http://www.esl-galaxy.com/survival.html

1- ACCURACY: The author is “ESL galaxy”. It seems to be reliable because the site includes a biography of the company.

2- CURRENCY: The content is up to date but it´s not specified exactly when it was updated (2012)

3- CONTENT: The content is not very useful for our learners, it´s mostly oriented to teachers. The layout isn´t attractive at all, there is no colour combination and there are some images but they are just advertisements.

4- FUNCTIONALITY: The site works correctly and all links are easy to load. There are some animated links but they are not very attractive.

Travel Vocabulary - Tell me your Plans

SITE 8: http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/travel-vocabulary-tell-me-plans

1- ACCURACY: The author is not mentioned. We assumed it´s not reliable.

2- CURRENCY: The date of the last updated is not mention at all. We can see when each activity was updated but we don’t know if the whole site is updated.

3- CONTENT: The site is not very much interesting or stimulating; they are just lots of activities. It´s easy to navigate because it´s full of links.

4- FUNCTIONALITY: The site woks properly and the links load rapidly. There are no animation or alternative technologies.

Language point – air travel vocabulary

SITE 9: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/episode50/languagepoint.shtml

1- ACCURACY: The author of the site is the BBC, so we assume that it´s reliable.

2- CURRENCY: The content is up to date because there are some articles published today.

3- CONTENT: The site isn’t visually attractive; the layout is simple and formal but it´s easy to navigate.

4- FUNCTIONALITY: All links work well. There are some images but no alternative technologies.

Luxury Cruise Holidays & Eco Tours

SITE 10: http://www.cruiseworldtravel.com/

1- ACCURACY: The author is the Cruise world (a travel company), so the information is reliable.

2- CURRENCY: The site hasn’t been updated since 2011

3- CONTENT: The site is very stimulating and interesting for us and our students. The site is full of images of different destinations that make you travel with your mind. Although the layout is simple, it´s attractive.

4- FUNCTIONALITY: All links work and load properly. It’s full of images but no animation.

The world, residences at sea.

SITE 11; http://aboardtheworld.com/

1- ACCURACY: The author is The World, a travel company of cruises, the information is reliable.

2- CURRENCY: It doesn´t say when it was updated.

3- CONTENT: The site is very interesting for those people who are planning to travel in a cruise and are looking for residences there. The layout is appealing to the reader due to the pictures and the simple information.

4- FUNCTIONALITY: All links work very well. The different pictures change every two seconds.

The Guide to Sleeping in Airports

SITE 12: http://www.sleepinginairports.net/

1- ACCURACY: The author is apparently a woman called Donna who is in charge of this website. We don’t know whether the site is reliable or not because the different comments that this person uploads is simply her opinion based on surveys.

2- CURRENCY: It has been updated this year (2012)

3- CONTENT: The site is very interesting and it offers a lot of information related to airports. In fact, the traveller can contribute with comments. The site is very attractive due to its colourful images.

4- FUNCTIONALITY: All links work perfectly. There are a lot of pictures but no videos or animation.

What to Expect at the Airport

SITE 13: http://www.independenttraveler.com/travel-tips/air-travel/what-to-expect-at-the-airport

1- ACCURACY: Although the author is not mentioned, the site seems to be reliable as it has got a lot of useful information related to travelling.

2- CURRENCY: The site has been updated this year (2012)

3- CONTENT: The site is very useful as it has got a lot of tips for the independent traveller. There are a lot of pictures which are very appealing.

4- FUNCTIONALITY: All links work properly. It doesn’t have any kind of animation.

Africa Travel CO

SITE 14: http://www.africatravelco.com/

1- ACCURACY: Africa Travel CO is the company which is in charge of offering different safaris and places to visit in Africa. The information is reliable.

2- CURRENCY: The site has been updated this year (2012) as it’s constatly offering new options and trips to the traveler.

3- CONTENT: The site is complete in all senses. It provides the reader with a lot of places to visit in Africa, safaris, tips, brochures, testimonials, etc. This information is accompanied by great images.

4- FUNCTIONALITY: The links work well. The site has not only pictures but also videos.

Travelfish.org

SITE 15: http://www.travelfish.org/

1- ACCURACY: The author is Travelfish, original Asia travel intelligence. The information is reliable.

2- CURRENCY: It says “Last updated pretty recently”, but it doesn’t mention when exactly. On the other hand, there are blogs shown in the site which are constantly changing – these are updated.

3- CONTENT: The site is appealing to the traveler who can browse places to stay and have information about all these places at hand. The site has got pictures.

4- FUNCTIONALITY: The links work well. The site has images and animation.

Lesson plan #1

Trainee teachers: Samanta Prieto, Noelia Dolenc.

Class: 5th year / pre-intermediate.

Communicative goal: learning about travel advice and at the airport.

Grammar focus: to go by / on, should / shouldn’t.

Vocabulary focus: air travel vocabulary and travel advice by country.

Recycled language: means of transport they alerady know.

ACTIVATION (5 min)

The teacher will divide the blackboard into two and she will ask the learners to brainstorm vocabulary related to travelling. On the first half, she will write means of transports they already know and stick the pictures of some transports on the blackboard. On the other half, she will write the name of the countries that the students want to visit and the different places they may visit, e.g. airports, hotels, museums, etc. After that, students will match those transports that the tourists may use to get to their destinations.

COMPREHENSION (10 min)

The teacher will show students a site related to sleeping at airports http://www.sleepinginairports.net/ . They will

explore the site with the teacher and then she will explain them what they should and shouldn’t do if they had to stay at the airport for a long time. After that, she will stick a poster of a big chart on the blackboard with different situations a traveller may encounter and then students will raise their hands and contribute with a piece of advice.

Imagine that one of your friends travels alone, misses the flight and has to wait till the next day, what should and shouldn’t your friend do if he or she had to sleep at the airport?

SITUATIONS SHOULD SHOULDN’T

If I wanted to eat something..?

If I had to go to the toilet..?

If I didn’t feel well...?

If Ifelt tired and wanted to sleep...?

Others...

APPLICATION (15 min)

Activity 1:

Group scheme: Pairs.

Skills: Reading and writing

Instructions: Each pair will be assigned a country such as France, Netherlands, Mali, Turkey, etc and they will have to work with the following site http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/. This site if full of suggestions for the traveller who is planning to travel to one country or more. The pair’s task is to explore the information connected to the assigned country and then make a list with the different suggestions.

Activity 2 (10 min)

Group scheme: Pairs.

Skills: listening and speaking.

Instructions: By the end of the lesson, each pair will go to the front and tell the other classmates the suggestions they have worked out to travel to the assigned country.

For example: “if you want to travel to France, you should… and shouldn’t… “

Lesson plan #2

Trainee teachers: Samanta Prieto, Noelia Dolenc.

Class: 5th year / pre-intermediate.

Communicative goal: Preparing a brief brochure of diifferent destinations.

Grammar focus: Simple present, will / won’t, should/shouldn´t.

Vocabulary focus: All the vocabulary related to travelling.

Recycled language: Everything they have learned in the previous lesson connected to means of transport, lugagge, etc.

ACTIVATION (5 min)

The teacher will mention some countries she wants to visit, for example Canada and ask the students to give her information related to the country and pieces of advice. Students will act as if they were travel agents.

APPLICATION (35 min)

Activity 1 (25 min)

Group scheme: Groups of four or five.

Skills: Reading and writing.

Instructions: Each group will be assigned a destination and the website in which they can look for the necessary information. In each site, they will have access to a lot of links with useful tips for the traveller. After having searched, the group will prepare a brief brochure promoting the place they are in charge of. The posters will contain information about the different places the tourist can visit, for example, at the airport, at the hotel, tours and tips for the traveller. This mini-project can be taken as a rounding-off of the topic.

Note: the teacher will provide each group with images related to the assigned destination.

Group 1: http://europa.eu/travel/index_en.htm

Group 2: http://www.cruiseworldtravel.com/

Group 3: http://www.africatravelco.com/

Group 4: http://aboardtheworld.com/experience

Activity 2 (10 min)

Group scheme: groups of four or five.

Skills: listening and speaking.

Instructions: By the end of the lesson each group will go to the front and show the other classmates what they have prepared. They will show their posters asi if they were promoting the best place to go on holiday.

Lesson plan #3

Trainee teachers: Samanta Prieto, Noelia Dolenc.

Class: 5th year / pre-intermediate.

Communicative goal: preparing a Package Tour for a traveler.

Grammar focus: -------- Revision

Vocabulary focus: vocabulary related to travelling in general.

Recycled language: Everything they have learned in the previous lesson connected to countries, lugagge, places to visit, etc.

ACTIVATION (3 min)

The teacher will ask students to give her tips for the traveler. She will give them an example of a country she wants to visit, and they will tell her what she needs to take into account when travelling abroad. They will make use of Should and Shouldn’t and general concepts, not so specific.

COMPREHENSION (7 min)

The teacher will tell them that now they will have to act as agent travellers and find information about different countries and what they offer. After that, they will have to prepare a Package Tour for a traveler who wants to travel aborad for his holiday using the internet. She will present the learners the webquest and she will explain how to use it.

http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=162082

APPLICATION (30 min)

Activity: (30 min)

Group Scheme: pairs

Skills: reading and writing.

Instructions: the students will solve the webquest on their own and the teacher will monitor and try to help them whenever they need to. While they work on the webquest, they will have to visit different websites provided by the teacher, choose one and prepare a Package Tour with the information they collect on the internet following certain tips that they will have to complete. They may add images if they want.

After having finished the Package Tour, they will send it by e-mail to the teacher.