The Bottom Line
This is an excellent package with the choice to buy the handbook or the interactive CD, or both. While the package is expensive, it is extremely effective and well worth the investment for those who are serious about their ESL program. Easy Writer © has been thoroughly well tested on-site in many ESL programs. I especially recommend this program for ESL programs that include literacy components in the curriculum.
Pros
- Useful are the grammar reference sections that allow students to review appropriate grammar.
- Number of essays that focus on the target area and include specific grammar referral sheets.
- The companion book to Easy Writer is full of grammar explanations, examples and activities.
Cons
- On the expensive side
Description
- Easy Writer © software is ideal for high school and college ESL, and highly motivated individuals.
- Program provides learning through reading, correction and grammar reference.
- Learning grammar is highly interactive, and involves a number of language skills.
- Additional workbook provides extended opportunities to practice essay and grammar skills.
- Workbook also provides a wide range of grammar reference resources.
Guide Review - Grammar, Editing, and Writing Software / Student Handbook
Easy Writer© is designed to take student essays as the starting point for grammar exploration. In this manner, the program not only provides excellent grammar instruction through interactive participation, but also encourages literacy skills. Each level has a number of focus areas such as Level I with prepositions, articles, nouns and pronouns etc. Each area has a number of essays that focus on the target area and include specific grammar referral sheets. An extremely useful tool is the grammar help section, which highlights the mistakes of a particular essay and clicks through to an explanation of the error involved. Students can easily approach the exercises either as a review of or as an introduction to grammatical concepts.
By combining the grammar learning experience with tales by students from around the world, Easy Writer© offers a global perspective on the English learning process while, at the same time, focusing on problem areas that repeatedly occur for ESL learners. This process is appealing, as it does not seem to be top-down (teacher-student), but rather a community of ESL learners working towards improving their written communication skills.
The only reservation I have about the program is that students using the program on their own would have to be rather knowledgeable as far as grammatical terminology is concerned.
