Llengua anglesa a secundària. Competència digital

One of the bigest advantages the internet can bring to our teaching is the possibility to expand the walls of our classroom. Thus, we can communicate with people from any other country and exchange all aspects of a language and a culture, or carry out a joint project of research. The possibilities are almost unlimited.

Keypals add a note of motivation to our student’s writing. They make the language significative by providing practice and putting the emphasis on communication, leaving aside - only to some extent, of course - the idea of grammar and structure we are still so keen on.

In this practice we will explore websites that offer keypals and learn ways to set up an exchange with another school.

• It’s-online This is the online version of the print magazine. There are five different sections for teachers and students. The only one that has free access is its-myworld, where you can find a keypal or a postal penpal, among many other things. Check the frame on the left:

In the Penpals section just browse the list till you find someone interesting. As a teacher, if you want to set up an exchange with your class, visit its-teachers (at the top of the page), then access the penpal exchange page there.

At its-teachers you will also see the alert, to which you may subscribe. It’s a very useful teaching aid if you’re interested in introducing cultural notes in your classes. A few days before an important date in the anglo-saxon calendar, you’re sent an email with information on that day, a teaching idea to introduce that topic and an online activity for your students.

If you prefer, you can post your message and wait for someone to write to you.

• It is also interesting to make your students create their own account - for free - at this site. Once they’re logged in, they can make their own personal welcome page, create a city guide or a fan page. All they need to do is fill in the forms with the required information and the page is generated automatically. They may also send e-cards, participate in forums and do some interactive activities. Any of these provide excellent reading and writing practice.

1. A good example of a classroom exchange is The Image of the Other. It is a very successful project by European Schools Project in which students exchange information, data, viewpoints, etc., on many different subjects via email.

In the portal teachers will find everything they need to put the project into practice:

• the Teacher’s Manual with some printable notes on each letter, methodology hints and some forms to keep record of the student’s work.

• a search tool to help you find a partner

• some bibliography

and

• useful links

Pupil’s pages are accessed from the Teacher’s page. They contain the instructions for each letter the students exchange in web or printable versions. In the first letters, the students’ writing is controlled, they just fill in the blanks to complete their letter. Little by little, as they get more familiar with letter-writing, the messages become more open, and the pupils are just given a few useful words and guidelines.

The Project materials contain the teacher’s manual (to the right) and the student’s letters for the exchanges in web or printable versions (to the left). In the first letters, the students’ writing is controlled, they just fill in the blanks to complete their letter. Little by little, as they get more familiar with letter-writing, the messages become more open, and the pupils are just given a few useful words and guidelines. There are also some vocabulary aids at the bottom of the page.

• Material: A worksheet like this may be a good introduction to choosing a keypal. It will make them read the descriptions and decide on who they would like to correspond with (please note that new postings are added constantly, so it may be a bit difficult to find the answer to these particular questions)
• Methodology: There are different ways to approach an email exchange with a whole class, from the completely open to the one where the teacher has full control of the messages.
  • open: the students choose their own partners and answer as soon as they get a reply.
  • individuals in a class: each student has a correspondent in another school. The teacher collects all the messages in his/her class and sends them all together to the other teacher, who distributes them to his/her students. All the pupils are writing, sending and receiving their mails at the same time.
  • controlled: the whole class agrees upon and writes a single message for the partner classroom.

It may be a good idea to have a session previous to the start of the exchange where the rules are set. The emphasis is on communication and learning from others. For this reason, the language must be accurate, but also the tone (inappropriate remarks will be considered offensive by most cultures). Teach your students the basics of netiquette (you have a short article at http://www.learnthenet.com/english/html/09NETIQT.HTM). Encourage them to ask questions to the partner to enliven the replies. Above all, there must always be two basic rules:

1. the messages must be revised both by the student and the teacher before they are sent out.
2. all the messages must be answered.

Linguistic Funland TESL Pen Pal Center is a place for teachers to find a similar classroom to initiate an email exchange. Click on Show Teacher Posts to find colleagues looking for partner classrooms, or post your own request at Request Pen Pals. To contact another teacher, click on his/her name, fill in the form and submit it. If the teacher is interested, you will receive a reply by email.

Shared Talk. Individual partners form over 170 countries to exchange emails with or to chat online (even voice chat) in over a hundred different languages. You need to register for free.

My Language Exchange. Individual partners or partner classrooms from any place in the world. It offers many features to people who want to learn English through writing practice: lesson plans (if you are short for ideas when writing), word games, a notepad to write down new vocabulary, a chat room. Please note that regular (free) members cannot initiate any contacts, but must wait to be contacted by gold (paying) members.

Some hints and readings on keypal exchange: http://www.carla.umn.edu/immersion/acie/vol9/May2006_technotips_keypals.html