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IntroductionMultimedia computers and the World Wide Web have made computers a source of entertainment, information, communication and education. Computers are versatile. They can emulate a book, an audio CD player, a video game, a telephone, an editing studio or even a drafting table. The combined use of computers and online grammar quizzes sourced from the Web can be used as an alternative to printed classroom materials to provide language practice to English as Second Language (ESL) learners.
Printed classroom materials come in one format whereby one type either works or does not work for a group of students. However, online quizzes can be selected and organized to meet the needs of students whose fluency levels vary based on their exposure to and experience in the language. At the same time, while working on these activities the students also get timely and appropriate feedback.
Advantages of Using Online Quizzes
Based on a study carried out at the City University of Hong Kong to ascertain the needs of the learners and to investigate their attitudes and motivation towards the self-access mode of learning, the use of computers appears to be one of the most ideal medium through which students can be encouraged to carry out practice activities.
There are many advantages in using the computer as a tool in promoting language learning. It is a one-to-one mode of teaching and allows for active interaction between the student and the computer. It allows for the student to progress at his own pace without worrying about negative or impatient reactions. At the same time, it is non threatening.
As for online quizzes, there are a wide range of activi-ties available for free at various web sites. One easily accessi--ble and user-friendly web site is The Internet TESL Journal’s Self-Study Quizzes for ESL students at http://a4esl.org.
The quizzes are developed by ESL/EFL teachers from all over the world. Besides being designed to provide students with a self-access mode of learning, these are also available for teachers to be used as materials to complement their classes. All the quizzes are organized in such a way that enables teachers to select them according to categories (grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, spelling, etc.), levels of difficulty (easy, medium and difficult) and browser requirements (HTML-only, JavaScript or Flash). In addition, there is variation in the presentation of the quizzes such as fill in the blanks, multiple choice, cloze, true or false and multiple choice with radio button, just to name a few.
One of the advantages of using online quizzes from The Internet TESL Journal’s Self-Study Quizzes for ESL students is the availability of a large number of online grammar quizzes which have small file sizes using only HTML code. These are tagged in such a way as to allow users to select either according to grammatical terminology (articles, conjunctions, verbs etc.) or subject matter (John’s Life, Astronomy, An Invitation etc.).
To keep a record of the students’ attempts at completing the online grammar quizzes, the teacher can prepare a form on which he/she can include the titles of the files, the dates on which each has been completed and the students’ scores. In this way, to a limited extent, using such quizzes via computers to provide students language practice work reflects self-access language learning. Self-access language learning is learning a language using materials in a self-instructed way in order to facilitate learning in a self-contained learning environment.
The materials used are readily accessible, complete with available help through answer keys or through counseling by the facilitator. Hence, the students are in an environment in which they take on the role of active participants rather than passive recipients of information.
Some of the characteristics of self-instructional materials appear to suit the use of online grammar quizzes made available off line to students through computers. Firstly, it allows for self-paced learning, private learning, active learning and individualized tutoring. Secondly, such materials can be made available at any time to any number of learners. Moreover, the activities are standardized, up-datable and can be organized in such a way as to allow for structured teaching. Most importantly, learners get continuous feedback, which allows them to monitor their own progress.
利用网络试题帮助外语学习
引言
多媒体电脑和万维网将计算机变成了娱乐、信息交换、通讯联系以及教学设备。电脑集多种功能于一体，它可以是一本书、一个数字音乐播放机、一台视频游戏机、一部电话、一部影视作品编辑器，甚至是一个绘图桌面。将电脑同互联网结合起来，就可以用网络中的外语语法测试题取代书面印刷材料，给把英语当做第二语言的学生提供一种新的语言训练方式。
印刷的教材都会以同样的形式出现，对于某些学生来说，这种教材可能适合于他们，也可能不适合于他们。然而，由于接触、使用外语的程度不同，学生们现有的外语水平也不一样，利用网络中的测试题时, 我们则可以选择、组织这些材料以适合学生们的需要。在进行这些练习的同时，学生们也可以得到即时的、适当的反馈。
使用在线测试的优点
为了确认学生们的学习需求以及他们对自 主学习方式的态度和动因，香港城市大学曾经进行过一次调查，其结果表明电脑是最理想的教学媒体之一，电脑会激励学生完成训练活动。
用电脑作为促进语言学习的工具有很多优越性。它是一种一对一的教学方式，在学生和电脑之间存在着积极的交互作用。它允许学生按照其自己的步调取得进步，而不必担心负面的，或者是焦躁的反应。同时，它也没有胁迫性。
网络中有大量的在线试题，许多网站都免费提供这样的试题。位于http://a4esl.org的英语学生自学测试网就是一个容易进入使用方便的网站。
网站里的试题都是由世界各地的(第二语 言/外国语言）英语教师开发的。这些试题的设计不仅仅针对学生的自主学习，教师们也可以利用这些材料作为课堂教材的补充。为了便于检索选择，所有的试题都进行了分类:如按语言类别(语法、词汇、阅读、写作、拼写，等等), 按难易程度(初级、中级、高级),以及电脑的浏览方式(纯HTML, Java, Flash动画)等。另外, 试题的形式也多种多样，比如,填空题、多选题、完形填空题、正误选择题、带有单选按钮的多选题。
英语学生自学测试网的优点之一是，那里面有大量的在线英语语法测试题。这些试题文件的体积都很小，全都是用HTML语言编写的。使用者可以按照题签选择语法项目(冠词、连词、动词，等等)或者情景项目(约翰的生活、天文学、邀请，等等)。
对于学生们完成的在线试题情况，教师能准备一个表格来记录，包括其文件名和学生们完成该试题的日期和得分。通过这样的方式，可以在某种程度上反映出学生通过电脑利用这样的测试题进行自主式语言学习的状况。自主式语言学习是指用自我指导的方式使用学习材料来学习一种语言，以便促进在自我学习环境下的学习。
所用的学习材料应当是方便获取的，并且可以通过点击答题键得到帮助，或者通过咨询得到教师的帮助。如此一来，学生们在这样的环境中，就成了主动的参与者，而不是被动的信息接受者。
自我指导性学习材料的特点使其适合于以语法试题的形式放置在网上供学生们通过电脑来离线使用。首先，它提供了自我进度学习、个人学习、主动学习和个别辅导的功能。再者，这样的材料可以在任何时间,分配给任意数量的学生。此外，学习的活动是标准化的、可更新的，能够按照结构化教学方式进行组织的。最为重要的是学习者能持续地得到结果的反馈，监测到自己的进步。
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