Faced with reduced numbers choosing to study foreign languages (as in England and Wales), strategies
to create and maintain student interest need to be explored. One such strategy
is to create ‘taster’ courses in languages, for potential university applicants. The findings presented arise
from exploratory research, undertaken to inform the design of a selection of web-based taster courses for less widely taught
languages. 687 school students, aged 14-18, were asked to identify a web site that they liked and to state their main reason for
liking it. They were invited to include recreational sites and told that their answers could help with web design for the
taster courses. To explore the reasons, two focus groups were conducted and student feedback on the developing taster course
site was collected. Students nominated search engines and academic sites, sites dedicated to hobbies, enthusiasms, youth
culture and shopping. They liked them for their visual attributes, usability, interactivity, support for schoolwork and for
their cultural and heritage associations, as well as their content and functionality. They emerged as sensitive readers of web
content, visually aware and with clear views on how text should be presented. These findings informed design of the taster course
site. They are broadly in line with existing design guidelines but add to our
knowledge about school students’ use of the web and about designing web-based learning materials. They may also be relevant
to web design at other levels, for example for undergraduates.