What ESL WEB is   

The BIG Picture 

ESL WEB is a curriculum development project funded in the spring of 1999 by the New Learning Environments and Instructional Technology Grant Program.  The ESL WEB project aims to create computer mediated and online materials designed specifically to meet the linguistic and cultural needs of the University of Arizona international student population and their instructors.  Initially, this project is working with the content of the nonnative sections of two Freshmen Composition courses: English 107 and English 108.  The goal of this project is to build a site to which all nonnative section teachers and students will contribute and utilize in the years to come.  Additionally, this site will one day include ESL composition information, materials, and ideas for instructors and students in other disciplines at the U of A, which will also be relevant and useful to nonnative writing communities beyond our own.   

ESL WEB is a team effort.  The project supervisor for ESL WEB is Dr. Jun Liu, a faculty member in the English Language and Linguistics (EL/L) Program and the Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT) Program in the Department of English at the University of Arizona.   ESL WEB's builders and editors are Paula Gunder and Randall Sadler - University of Arizona ESL Composition instructors and Second Language Acquisition and Teaching Ph.D. students.  Further support for ESL WEB was provided by The Faculty Center for Instructional Innovation and the English Composition Program. 

The initial creation phase of the project began in the summer of 1999 and will continue during the 1999 fall semester as we pilot ESL WEB.  During the implementation phase of the project, a crucial aspect of the creation of ESL WEB will continue as we include the input our own students will provide in the form of sample writing, activity responses, and other forms of feedback.  On this note, as it is our sincere hope that ESL WEB becomes a cooperative endeavor of all U of A NONNATIVE SECTION ENGLISH COMPOSITION TEACHERS AND STUDENTS, we would like to extend a direct invitation to this group to make use of the Comments page and provide us with your invaluable feedback, ideas, wants, and needs.  Additionally, we welcome all commentary from other site visitors.  

The Course-Specific Picture

English 107 and English 108 are the nonnative courses which make up part of the writing requirements for an undergraduate degree at the U of A.  At a very basic level, the primary goal of the two ESL Freshmen Composition courses is to prepare students to successfully manage the academic writing, research, and reading undertaken here at the University of Arizona as well as that which they will encounter during their future professional careers.

In an effort to accomplish this goal and meet the specific needs of the students in these nonnative sections, ESL WEB supplements and builds upon the curriculum set forth by the English Composition Program for the native English speaking First-Year Composition courses.  ESL WEB supports the nonnative students' language needs by providing them with computer-mediated methods of accessing and managing the standard reading content and essay writing assignments required by the Program.  Using these methods, the nonnative students will work toward developing the skills and strategies they need to more successfully fulfill the academic writing, research, and reading requirements.         

As you can see from the list of clickable buttons at the top-left of this main page, English 107 and English 108 are two of the main components of ESL WEB.  The materials for each course have been organized into the five major areas, which will (one day...) contain course-specific material as shown in the table below.

How to use ESL WEB

We are attempting to make the site as easy for our intended audience to use as possible.  For those of you who are in English 107 or English 108, you can access the course information by clicking on those respective buttons at the top-left of this page and then proceed to the area you want.  Additionally, you can use the above table as a guide to the various English 107 and English 108 sections.  These students may also click on the Syllabi button to search for their instructor's syllabus.

For the nonnative section teachers, we hope what we have thus far within these two sections will be of value to you with regard to generating ideas and for use in your own sections.  Furthermore, we are inviting you to send us your course syllabus and any other activities, so that we as a teaching community can learn from what we are all doing.

We have also included a page of ESL and writing related links we found to contain some good information.  These links, which are accessible via the ESL and Writing Links button, contain both interactive and information material that may assist nonnative students with their writing, reading, research, and general language needs.

Additionally, we are compiling a page full of University of Arizona sites that both students and teachers should find useful to have all in one place.  These are accessible via the Campus Info button above.

Also, please feel free to make us of the Comments page.  This page was created in order to continually support the goals of ESL WEB by using the feedback we get from those who will benefit from its existence.    

Finally, if you are not sure what you are looking for, we suggest that you look through the site via the links on the Homepage.  If you have an idea of what need try finding it either in the Table of Contents or the Search option. 

University of Arizona
Last update of this page:  10/31/99
http://www.gened.arizona.edu/eslweb

This site created and maintained by Paula Gunder and Randall Sadler.
ESL WEB project supervisor Dr. Jun Liu
Copyright © 1999 [ESL WEB]. All rights reserved.