Web-based ESL courses: A search for industry standards

Abstract

This paper considers the criteria that should be used when assessing an online language school. So far, there have been very few, if any, discussions of online language schools in the CALL literature. There is a considerable body of research into the influence of technology on open learning and distance education. None of this, however, addresses the problem that faces a potential learner when they first investigate an online school. Specifically, this paper proposes a framework for evaluating online web school sites. It discusses a number of these sites in the light of the proposed framework and then goes on to describe the authors' attempts to enrol into a number of them. The paper concludes by looking at the potential problems facing the schools and their students and concludes that the concept of cyberschooling is still at too early a stage in its development to fulfil the promise it appears to hold.