Background on the Aegweb Project

Applied English Grammar on the Web is a collection of grammar activities for ESL writing students who are preparing to enter U.S. colleges and universities.  While the exercises are planned for intermediate/high intermediate students, they might also be 
useful for advanced students who need to review particular areas of grammar.

All of the areas traditional for ESL grammar textbooks are included--nouns, verbs, articles, prepositions, and more!  But the material has been developed from the point of view of the ESL student who needs to learn to be a more effective writer of academic English.  Punctuation is included as an important aspect of academic written English.

The first seven chapters focus on the use of verbs in particular kinds of writing.  The final nine chapters are a reference grammar on topics of most importance to ESL students.     

While it can be used alone, Applied English Grammar on the Web (AEGWeb) is designed to complement the printed version of Applied English Grammar that is available through Heinle Publishing Company.  The printed version has grammar explanations and examples along with practice activities and discussion topics. AEGWeb is focused entirely on practice exercises--most of which are based on the activities in the printed version. 

Thanks are extended to Heinle Publishing Companry for giving permission for the development of this project.  Additional thanks are given to Georgia State University for providing the server space necessary for the project.  

Development Plan

Aegweb is designed to be an entire book of grammar activities on the web. Eventually, each of the 16 chapters in the book will have 5-30 activities. In addition, self-knowledge quizzes will be provided for each of the 16 chapters. While most of these activities are based on activities already found in the printed version of Applied English Grammar, creation of the web versions will take at least a year and possibly 2 years.

As of August, 2003, each chapter had at least 2 activities--and some chapters had many more--with a total of 132 exercises available on the website. The development plan from August, 2003, forward, focuses on working through each chapter in the book to provide larger sets of activities. Once the basic activities are in place, they will be enhanced with audio and graphics as appropriate to support student learning.

Open a popup window to see a table with a count of the number of activities available in each chapter.

The RealAudio readings of selected activities will be added on an ongoing basis. The basic activities will be placed on the site without the RealAudio clip because the activity can be done without the sound support. However, the sound provides an extra dimension for learners and will be added as quickly as possible.

Communication Information

AEGWeb is edited and maintained by Dr. Patricia Byrd as an experiment in materials design and web-publication.  Please send comments, questions, and suggestions to her at patbyrd@yahoo.com.