Journal of Convergence Information Technology Vol. 2 No. 3, September 2007 Pedagogical Usability Checklist for ESL/EFL E-learning Websites C. J. Lim 1 , S. Lee 2 1 Dept. of Game and Multimedia Engineering, Korea Polytechnic University, Shihung,, Korea 2 Dept. of Practical English, Hanyang Cyber University, Seoul, Korea scjlim@kpu.ac.kr, slee@hycu.ac.kr Abstract It is, thus, not surprising that English education has gained more attention than ever and there also has been a growing amount of interest in learning English online. Although there are a good number of ESL/EFL E-learning websites available, many of them are poorly designed technologically and/or pedagogically. It is true that technology, such as human-computer interaction (HCI) and computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools, has a great impact on E- learning; however, without appropriate pedagogy, learning outcomes are, ipso facto, limited in online ESL/EFL learning. The purpose of the present paper is to provide usability guidelines for ESL/EFL E-learning websites. Although there are a myriad of ESL/EFL websites available online, guidelines to designing and evaluating them with pedagogical considerations are still rarely found. By taking into account various curriculum theories, instructional design theories and learning theories, this paper proposes a checklist for ESL/EFL E-learning pedagogical usability. Instructors and web developers, on the one hand, can use this checklist as guidance when designing an ESL/EFL E-learning website. Learners, on the other hand, can utilize this checklist when evaluating and selecting a site for their purposes of learning and needs. The purpose of the present paper is to provide usability guidelines for ESL/EFL E-learning websites. Although there are a myriad of studies on general usability, systematic and theoretical usability checklists for E-learning websites grounded in pedagogy are still poor. By taking into account both general usability and pedagogical usability, this paper proposes guidelines to optimize online learning environments to maximize student learning. 1. Introduction The rapid development of the networked computer in recent years has brought at least two changes to language teaching. Firstly, a great many documents are produced and distributed in English on the Internet everyday, which, in turn, has speeded up the role of English as a global language in many fields both online and offline. Secondly, the capability of the networked computer opened up new opportunities of learning English. Traditionally, for most of English as a Second Language (ESL)/English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, learning English was limited to classroom experiences, mainly depending on classroom teachers and textbooks. Now, networked computers allow an array of possibilities to second/foreign language learners to obtain more authentic and updated learning materials, directly engage with people in the target culture, and learn with multimedia. Despite some limitations of learning on and with computers, technology offers a great learning opportunity to ESL/EFL learners. In Section 2, the definitions and distinction of general usability and pedagogical usability will be addressed with a brief description of previous studies. Section 3 will describe curriculum theories, instructional design theories, major learning theories and SLL theories which establish a theoretical ground for pedagogical usability in this paper. In the following section, the complex relationship among the components of online ESL/EFL sites will be illustrated. A pedagogical usability checklist will also be presented. Lastly, limitations of this study and suggestions for future study will be discussed in the conclusion. The checklist has been developed with three audiences in mind: instructors, web developers, and users. The purpose for instructors and web developers is to provide both technical and pedagogical usability guidance for them when designing an EFL/ESL learning site. Users, both learners and classroom 67