Website evaluations

WEBSITE EVALUATION

(Based on Dudeney & Hockly, 2007, p.34 – How to Teach English with Technology)

1. National Geographic Kids: “10 Amazing Facts About Japan”

Accuracy

The information is produced by the National Geographic Society, an institution known for scientific integrity. All cultural and geographical facts undergo editorial review and are written by specialists in geography and education. Cultural content — such as traditions, historical facts, and geographical descriptions — is reliable and presented without stereotypes, which is essential for intercultural awareness in ELT.

Currency

The page is updated regularly, with information reflecting contemporary demographics, culture, and environmental facts. NatGeo continuously revises children’s articles to keep them aligned with current global data. This currency ensures that B1 learners encounter up-to-date cultural information suitable for research tasks.

Content

The article offers short paragraphs, accessible lexis, labelled photos, and key facts. It introduces students to festivals, food, customs, geography, and wildlife, directly supporting the unit’s objectives on describing countries and traditions. Its structure makes it easy for learners to extract details for presentations or cultural comparisons.

Functionality

The website is designed for young readers: clear layout, large buttons, colourful visuals, and mobile-friendly optimisation. Text is broken into manageable chunks that support comprehension. The site loads quickly, making it practical for classroom browsing, pair work, or a research WebQuest.

2. Google Earth Voyager: “This Is Home” 

Accuracy

The content uses verified geographical data, satellite photography, and 360° images sourced from Google’s mapping teams and partner institutions. Descriptions of homes, environments, and traditions are based on real communities. This ensures culturally respectful, factually accurate representations — crucial when teaching global citizenship.

Currency

Voyager stories are part of an actively maintained Google Earth project. Images, overlays, and descriptions are updated periodically as new data becomes available. The interface reflects the most recent version of Google Earth’s 3D mapping technology.

Content

“This Is Home” allows learners to explore different cultures by virtually stepping inside traditional homes around the world (e.g., Japan, India, Kenya, Peru). This supports outcomes such as describing cultural practices and comparing daily life across countries. The multimodal format (images + short text + interactive navigation) enhances comprehension for B1 learners.

Functionality

The tool offers smooth navigation, zoom controls, labelled hotspots, and immersive street views. Despite being a powerful digital platform, it is intuitive after a brief demonstration. It works on desktops and Chromebooks, though tablets may have reduced functionality.

3. BBC Learning English: “6-Minute English: Travelling for Free” 

Accuracy

The information is produced by the National Geographic Society, an institution known for scientific integrity. All cultural and geographical facts undergo editorial review and are written by specialists in geography and education. Cultural content — such as traditions, historical facts, and geographical descriptions — is reliable and presented without stereotypes, which is essential for intercultural awareness in ELT.

Currency

The page is updated regularly, with information reflecting contemporary demographics, culture, and environmental facts. NatGeo continuously revises children’s articles to keep them aligned with current global data. This currency ensures that B1 learners encounter up-to-date cultural information suitable for research tasks.

Content

The article offers short paragraphs, accessible lexis, labelled photos, and key facts. It introduces students to festivals, food, customs, geography, and wildlife, directly supporting the unit’s objectives on describing countries and traditions. Its structure makes it easy for learners to extract details for presentations or cultural comparisons.

Functionality

The website is designed for young readers: clear layout, large buttons, colourful visuals, and mobile-friendly optimisation. Text is broken into manageable chunks that support comprehension. The site loads quickly, making it practical for classroom browsing, pair work, or a research WebQuest.

4. Padlet – “Map of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World” 

Accuracy

This board features labelled pins and short descriptions of the ancient wonders (e.g., Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon). The information aligns with widely recognized historical sources and appears fact-checked in terms of names, dates, and geographic locations — making it reliable for learners exploring ancient culture.

Currency

The board is regularly accessible and allows student contributions; the date of last update is visible, and several posts were added in the last year, making it recently maintained and relevant for research tasks.

Content

The resource provides an interactive map format where each “Wonder” is clicked to reveal an image and description. This supports the unit’s aim of culturally and spatially exploring historical sites. Although the site is originally for ancient civilizations, it could be adapted for the “Travel and Culture Around the World” unit by linking past wonders to modern destinations and heritage.

Functionality

The Padlet gallery layout is visual and intuitive: students can zoom, click on posts, and navigate between pins. It works on tablets and computers, supports image and text content, and enables sharing. While user-generated content must be reviewed by the teacher for accuracy, the tool is easy to use and visually engaging.

5. YouTube – “Street-Interviews: What Do You Love About Your Country?” 

Accuracy

The video presents conversational interviews with native speakers about what they appreciate in their country. The subtitles are professionally prepared, reflecting accurate English and allowing B1 learners to follow naturally spoken language. The representations of countries are respectful and fact-based, ensuring cultural reliability.

Currency

The video was uploaded in [check upload date] and remains relevant to the theme of national identity and cultural comparison — important for a unit on travel and culture. The format remains widely used and accessible, supporting current digital environments.

Content

Learners observe authentic speech, expressions of cultural pride, and everyday vocabulary associated with home, tradition, and identity. The visuals show real people in real environments, which aligns with your objective of describing different countries and cultural traditions. Subtitles and translation options increase accessibility for intermediate learners.

Functionality

The video loads reliably on YouTube, with standard playback controls (pause, rewind, subtitles). It can be embedded in a digital classroom, shared via link, or shown on a projector. The bilingual subtitles support comprehension and support flipping the video for classwork or homework.

6. Kahoot! – “World Capitals Quiz” 

Accuracy

The quiz provides correctly matched country-capital pairs, verified by the creator in 2025. Distractors are similar in style, promoting thoughtful selection rather than guess-work. This supports geolinguistic accuracy relevant to the unit.

Currency

The quiz has been recently updated in 2025, making sure that any political or geographic changes (such as capital renamings or country name alterations) are reflected. Regular updates ensure relevance to classroom use.

Content

Comprising 15–20 questions, the quiz covers world capitals in English, incorporating country names and capital cities, thereby reinforcing vocabulary related to travel and geography. This aligns with the unit’s objective to research and present information about countries.

Functionality

Kahoot’s interface allows students to join via code on their devices; questions are timed, incentivising quick recall. Works seamlessly on mobile devices and tablets, boosting engagement through gamified learning and peer competition.

7. Breaking News English: “Air Bridges Could Restart Tourism” (Level 4) 

Accuracy

The lesson is based on a real BBC news report and rewritten by Sean Banville, an established ELT materials writer. The text has been graded for intermediate learners while maintaining factual accuracy (statistics, references to real-world policies, and direct reportage). Activities such as vocabulary tasks and comprehension questions are methodologically sound and linguistically reliable.

Currency

Although published in 2020, the topic of tourism, borders, and international travel remains relevant for a unit on Travel and Culture Around the World, especially because it explores how countries reopen, collaborate, and manage cultural mobility—concepts still meaningful today. The site continues to be updated weekly, ensuring overall recency and pedagogical continuity.

Content

This specific lesson includes:

• A graded news article (two reading speeds)

• Vocabulary pre-teaching

• Comprehension questions

• Discussion prompts related to travel policies

• Gap-fill and sentence-building tasks

The content supports your unit’s goals: describing countries, discussing cultural practices, using past/present tenses, and reflecting on global travel. The reading is accessible to B1 students and provides both linguistic and cultural input.

Functionality

The webpage loads quickly and is simple to navigate, with downloadable PDFs and MP3 files. Although the design is visually basic, all materials are clearly organized. The “interactive quiz” features work consistently across browsers, and the lesson can be projected or printed without formatting issues.

8. Canva: Travel Infographic Template: “Travel Guide Infographic”

Accuracy

The template is produced by Canva’s design team (Canva Templates / Canva Education). It follows established infographic conventions—clear sections for geography, culture, tips and visuals. Factual accuracy depends on student input, but the template’s structure supports correct and logical organization of information.

Currency

Canva continuously updates its template library; the travel infographic templates reflect current visual trends and remain contemporary for student publications and digital sharing.

Content

The template guides learners to include destination overviews, cultural highlights, must-see sites, and practical travel tips. This structure supports the unit’s task of researching and presenting information about a country and helps scaffold writing for B1 learners.

Functionality

Editable by drag-and-drop, collaborative (share & comment), autosave enabled, and exportable as PDF/PNG. Works across devices and allows straightforward integration into student portfolios or Padlet galleries.