This semester, I asked students what they thought of the Virtual Writing Tutor Grammar Checker as a learning tool for their English course at Ahuntsic College in Montreal. You can learn more about the VWT here.
A number of them replied using our internal messaging system (MIO) in either French or English. I have blurred their faces and names to maintain their privacy, but the comments are their own. I corrected the English a little to make the comments clearer, and I have translated French comments to English.
Check out what they have to say.
Testimonials
We used this website during our English course, and it has helped me a lot to correct the errors I often make and has helped me to understand how to avoid making them again. A plus in the English course, in my opinion.
Low intermediate student
Honestly, it is the best tool a student of English could have. It is very helpful and has many features. If I have classes in English at university, I will use it again.
High intermediate student
I really like the website. It helps a lot.
Low intermediate student
I love the Virtual Writing Tutor. It helps me a lot with vocabulary and grammar in English. My writing assignments were well-corrected, and I will use it in my everyday life.
Low intermediate student
I used the software to correct all of my writing assignments in English. Yes, it’s very quick and very practical with its suggestions for corrections to our writing. The corrections were easy to understand and detailed. I will use it in the years to come.
Low intermediate student
I was surprised! The Virtual Writing Tutor is complete, easy to use, and I am certain to use this tool in the future. I haven’t encountered any bugs, the feedback was always detailed, and it was easy to understand, in my opinion.
Low intermediate student
I essentially use the VWT.com to do my homework and to check if my grammar is correct. It helped me to progress a lot. Now, I can make correct sentences! I will use it for sure after I graduate. If I had known about this site earlier, my grammar would have been perfect.
Low intermediate student
VirtualWritingTutor.com was really helpful for me during the semester, and I will continue to use it after (I finish) school. It gives me more confidence because I can correct my mistakes and be less shy about my English when I have to write professional texts in English. I will certainly use it in my future work. It helps to improve English because of the feedback it gives. I think the website is well designed and offers several tools that are useful.
High intermediate student
To be honest, the Virtual Writing Tutor has been the Best website I’ve ever discovered because is it easy to use. Before, I had to correct my assignment word by word instead of checking the whole text at once, which was annoying. I will totally continue to use it now and in the future.
High intermediate student
Seriously, it is one of the most helpful websites for correcting our errors. I hope someone will follow your example and make exactly the same website but for French.
High intermediate student
Use the Virtual Writing Tutor grammar checker with your students
Teachers can give students more writing practice and more feedback on errors by inviting students to use an online grammar checker. The trick is to give students writing assignments that they enjoy writing, and then ask them to submit it to the teacher error-free. Once the grammar checker indicates that the text contains no detectable errors, student free pride and confidence in their writing and will share it with their peers without hesitation.
The Virtual Writing Tutor grammar checker offers a number of useful tools that teachers can use for free. For academic writing, ask students to use the paraphrase checker, the essay outliner, or the essay checker. For lower level students learning basic interpersonal communication skills, create a pen pal exchange with an integrated grammar checker and target structure checker. For students learning professional writing related to their field of study, get students to try blog writing.
