Website Evaluation: News in Levels

Hello everyone! 

Today I'm here with another task. This time, I evaluated an ELT website of my choice. 

The website I chose is called News in Levels which is a website that allows English learners to read news articles that are suitable to their level, therefore helping them improve their language.

Who authored the website? 

The authors of this website are working as a team. They don't reveal respective names; they sign the posts with "the News in Levels Team". The only information about the team is that they are based in the Czech Republic.


What is the content of the website? 

News in Levels is a website that allows you to read news according to your English proficiency. First, the website asks you to take a 3-minute test to see which level of English you are on and then tells you which level of news you should read on their site. 

There are various news articles on different topics you can choose from as you can see in the picture I attached above.

It is possible to change the level of news easily.

The site also provides the voiced version of the articles right under the posts.

News in Levels also has other sites that are connected to each other. You can get directed to Grammar in Levels, Robinson Crusoe in Levels, Speak in Levels, How to Learn English in Levels, People in Levels and Videos in Levels using the bar at the top.


Who is the target audience? 

The target audience is mainly the adult learners of English who want to practice their reading and listening. But it is suitable for every passionate English student. 


What is the purpose of the website? 

News in Levels aims to teach English naturally and fast and help the learner achieve a level where they can finally understand original news from native speakers. 


Is there a date that shows when the site has last been updated? 

The site has last been updated on 22-04-2019.

Accuracy of the information- Are there any errors?

The site doesn't seem to have any errors since it is authorized by professionals.

Are there any broken links? 

All of the links work well.

Are the images of high quality and appealing to the target audience? 

The pictures used on the site are very relevant and illustrative. They are definitely of high quality. All of the pictures are licenced under the Creative Commons. Further information about it can be found here.


How can it be applied to EFL teaching? 

As it is mentioned on the Conditions of Use page, the content on the site can be used by teachers only if they are teaching face-to-face in classes. It is forbidden to use it otherwise if you are making money out of it. 

This site can be used as a reading/listening exercise. It can be given as homework and the students can read some articles daily. It is also very useful in developing the learners' word knowledge. 

So, you might want to check News in Levels, it's pretty useful! Thank you for reading my evaluation.

Is Technology Necessary In Classrooms

image taken from here

Hello everyone. In this post, I’m going to talk about a classic yet still very important issue: Technology in education. Is it really necessary? Is it okay not to use technology in schools?

It is hard to get used to something completely new for some people, but we must accept how crucial technology usage is in our lives today. Most people admit how important it is and how we should make use of it in the education field but when it comes into practice, more than half of those people prefer not to use it. However, with time, it will no longer be a choice. It is not possible to leave education out when technology affects everything we know in this world.

It’s the age of the digital natives

Children today are born into a world where constant technology use is normal. They don’t know anything but a world filled with advanced computers, tablets, anything. Do you think it will make sense to them if we rip them off from all the opportunities technology could give to them when they’re at school?

It’s easier for the teacher

Think about a teacher who has four different classes and more that a hundred students. After a  test, grading all those paper is definitely nothing but torture when there is another way to do this. Much easier for both students and the teachers. No waiting for the results to come out, no grading by hand reading each answer one by one. Can you imagine how much time we could save if we had our tests digitally?

Everyone can learn at their own pace

In a class where everything is on the teacher, the students who are quick to understand or the students who need more practice and repeating to get the full understanding of the subject might get disencourage and left out. They might give up on the course completely. There is no way the teacher can deal with everyone individually to prevent this from happening. But technology makes it possible. It gives everyone the chance to repeat whenever and as many times as they want. They control their own learning which results in a much greater success rate.

Technology cannot be ignored in education, because it is already included in every second of our lives. Teachers should acknowledge all the advantages of technology integration in classrooms and apply them accordingly to get the best results. As  Alan November says, “Teachers need to stop saying, ‘Hand it in,’ and start saying ‘Publish It.’”

sources used

・How Important is Technology in Education?

・10 Reasons Today’s Students NEED Technology in the Classroom