Web Search Strategies: Learning English Online
Six Steps to Websearch
1 What 2Key- words/
ESL 3Synonyms
4 Spelling 5 Search Engines 6Evaluate
Step 1: State what you want to find
First, in one or two sentences, state
what you want to find on the Internet.
For example:
- I want to find examples of emails.
- I want to learn about indirect questions.
- I want to know how I can improve my
speaking skills.
1 What
Step 2: Identify keywords
Next, underline the main concepts in the
statement.
- I want to find some examples of emails.
- I want to learn about indirect questions.
- I want to know how I can improve my
speaking skills.
2Key- words/
ESL
Step 2: Identify key words
2Key- words/
ESL
When looking for online learning
material, it is often helpful to add:
- ESL (English as a Second Language), or
- EFL (English a Foreign Language), or
- ESOL (English for Speakers of Other
Languages), or
-EAL (English as an Additional Language).
Step 4: Check your spelling• It’s a good practice to always check
your spelling.
• Search engines return websites with
words that match your keywords.
But, don’t worry too much…search engines are
smart and able to identify spelling mistakes, and
still give you the results you are looking for!
4 Spelling
Step 4: Try different search enginesA lot of people say that they “google”
something when they look for information
online. The verb ‘to google something’ came
with the popularity of the Google search
engine. However, there are numerous search
engines out there, e.g.- Yahoo! www.yahoo.ca
- Bing www.bing.com
- Other http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_search_engines
5 Search Engines
Step 4: Evaluate the resultsYou are almost done
Now, explore some of the results (first 10
links) and choose your favourite one or two
or three…
Remember to save the links to your
Favourites (= bookmark them) so you can
easily find them in your Internet browser the
next time you want to do some learning.
6Evaluate
Let’s practiseScenario:
You want to improve your spelling skills and you need some interactive websites to practice.
Let’s see if there are some interesting websites.
Step 1: State what you want to find
“I want to improve my spelling skills and
you would like some interactive websites
to practice. “
1 What
Step 2: Identify keywords“I want to improve my spelling skills
and you would like some interactive
websites to practice. “
So far we can identify the following
keywords:-ESL (default)
-Improve spelling skills
-Interactive practice
2Key- words/
ESL
Step 3: Select synonyms
Use a thesaurus - http://thesaurus.com/- http://synonyms.memodata.com/
Synonyms found for spelling: orthography
3Synonyms
Our keywords
Our keywords for the web search are:
ESL, improve spelling skills, interactive practice, orthography
Step 4: Check your spelling
To check your spelling, use a spell-check
in your text editor or a dictionary.
Done? Yes, the spelling of the following
keywords is ok:
ESL, improve spelling skills, interactive practice,
orthography
4 Spelling
Step 4: Try different search engines
Open a few search engines and type
our keywords in them. 5 Search Engines
Step 4: Try different search engines
5 Search Engines
Image "Logo Google 2013 Official" by Google INC - Traced from File:Logo 2013 Google.png. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Logo_Google_2013_Official.svg#/media/File:Logo_Google_2013_Official.svg
Step 4: Try different search engines
5 Search Engines
Original image http://bit.ly/1VaZoDs by Simon CC0
Step 4: Try different search engines
5 Search Engines
"Bing logo (2013)" by Logo is made by Microsoft. SVG version is created and uploaded by AxG (talk · contribs). - The logo comes from bing.com/explore/newbing. SVG version is created by AxG (talk · contribs).This vector image was created with Inkscape.. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bing_logo_(2013).svg#/media/File:Bing_logo_(2013).svg
Step 4: Evaluate the resultsYou are almost done
Now, explore the results and choose your
favourite ones.
-http://www.funbrain.com/cgi-bin/sc.cgi
-http://www.spellzone.com/unit02/page1.cfm
-http://www.spellzone.com/games/index.cfm
-http://www.angelfire.com/blues/writing/spellings.html
6Evaluate
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