Example 21

Summary of aims and material
3.1 The aims of the website
The major aim of the CALL materials I designed is to provide students with information about stories and storytelling and to develop their skills to retell a story. These information can be seen as supplementary materials for the class. The website also serves the students as a platform to collaboratively create their own stories with their classmates. In terms of content knowledge, the students will gain a general understanding about the definition of a story and storytelling, the elements of a good story and the steps needed to retell a story. Also, they will gain a better understanding about the sample story, The Happy Prince, which also appears as a text in the Grade 10 English textbook in Taiwan. The students can later easily check their understanding by practicing on the Hot Potatoes exercises. In terms of language, the students will learn key vocabulary in the sample story, The Happy Prince. The students will also practice their reading and listening through the web pages and the Hot Potatoes exercises, and writing skills through Pirate Pad and the discussion form such as Todays Meet. In terms of study and thinking skills, the students will utilize their critical thinking skills and imagination to create their own stories. Also, they will develop collaborative skills to work with others and respect others' works. For the teachers, they will also find plenty of useful materials on the website. They can either use the website as a whole-class activity and ask the students to create their stories with the classmates in class or assign students to read through the web pages, do the Hot Photatoes exercises and complete the stories as a follow-up activity after class. In a way, the website allows the students to continue their learning outside the classroom and save some time for the teachers as they complain about "the already overloaded curriculum" (Tsou et al. 2006).

3.2 Target learners
The website was designed for Grade 10 students in the secondary schools in Taiwan (aged 15-16) whose English proficiency level range from lower intermediate to upper intermediate. Although most of them have more than seven years English learning experience (Note: English is a compulsory subject begin at Grade 3 in Taiwan), they have rather few opportunities to practice writing and are relatively weak in writing. The amounts of vocabulary they acquired are approximately one thousand words as stated in the vocabulary lists in the textbooks. It should be noted here that although this website is designed for a particular group of students in Taiwan, it is also suitable for the use of any English language learners around the world.

3.3 Choice of the materials

I chose the major theme, storytelling, since it is an appealing topic to both students and teachers and relevant to their daily life. In addition, the sample story The Happy Prince is a text appears in the textbook which correspond to the students' needs. I also provide clear instructions to both teachers and students on my web pages. The use of language meets students' proficiency level, neither too difficult nor too easy for them to comprehend. The students also have opportunity to use the target language to complete the Hot Potatoes exercises and to write their own stories. Overall, the CALL materials I chose meet the criteria listed above. 

4. Website design
… The overall design of the website followed the guidelines stated by Kelly (2000) and Liu et al (2008). First, my website is user-friendly and easy to navigate. The users can easily find the information they are looking for. Each page displays a design layout that is consistent: the title of the website is on the top, the navigation bars at the left side, the main text in the centre. The users can use the navigation bars to go back to the homepage or other web pages without going back to homepage. In addition, the colours and the font of the text, and the background is simple and easy to read. As stated by Al-Shehri and Gitsaki (2010), "different layouts of web pages, how online text is presented and other design factors such as color and sound were all found to have an impact on L2 online reading." I also include clear and short introductions on the homepage. Second, the content of my website is useful for second language learners and teachers all around the world. It is suitable for both classroom use or follow-up activity after the class. …