ABSTRACT
This chapter evaluates an online grammar practice program (GrammarTalk) by investigating students' responses to the program and the effect it had on their grammar skills. GrammarTalk dealt with the following seven relevant linguistic features of the English article system that had been found to be the most problematic for the students. They are Countability and number, Bare count noun errors, Specificity and definiteness, Generic/nonspecific count nouns and their forms, Generic/nonspecific noncount nouns and their forms, The concept of "uniqueness" in a broader and more abstract sense, and Article use with proper nouns. The design principles of the GrammarTalk materials were informed by second language acquisition theory, grammar teaching research, and CALL methodology. The design and development of GrammarTalk was an iterative process and consisted of a series of drafting, piloting, and revising cycles. While developing the first draft of the materials, three small-scale pilot studies were conducted to refine the materials, test their usability, and elicit suggestions for improvements.
