I haven't really put much thought into what I would like to do for my final project but I have different areas that I would like to discover/research more about. I am interesting in learning more about the use of chat in the classroom, perhaps because it is a frequent form of communication that I use, and in my own language learning with catalan (I find it very useful) to chat in catalan because it forces me to think read/write in the target language. Another topic that interests me is the use of Epals.
I remember using epals when I took this course as an undergrad through the college of eduaction, and I think that it would be an interesting way to compare the use of epals online with the traditional 'intercambio'. These ideas will be useful for language teaching because you can see what type of imput the student is getting and if he/she is improving in the reading/writng/verbal skills. Also it would be a way to analyze the positive/negative effects of personal/virtual interactions. I hope to discover that the face-face interaction is positively enhancing the student's language skills, and that it is better that internet interaction.
On another note, my students in SPN 1130 this semester have a huge exam coming up, and one of the students has created a facebook group for our course. Now this was not my idea, I use Webct in class as a way to communicate with my students and inform them of their progress. However, many of my students do not check it and they prefer facebook. Through this group they have posted several sites, youtube videos, and announcements for homework. It seems like they have created a nice community and are more open to fb than email or webct. I think that my students have more motivation and communication among themselves, they have also become more autonomous in their learning and that makes me feel more confident as a teacher.
Check this out: http://www.epals.com/
Nos vemos eh?
En Cuba
Che
En la profunda Catalunya
About Me
- Lucía
- Soy una estudiante de maestría en UF. Por el momento me dedico a estudiar la literatura Peninsular con un enfoque en Catalan y la mujer. En algún futuro me gustaría continuar con el Doctorado en Literatura.
4 comments:
I visited the epals website and liked the convenience it offered teachers for finding epals for their students. The lesson resources on the site are also useful for language teachers. It would be interesting to see if epals enhance a student's reading and writing skills.
Hi Lucia!
I think that the EPals would be a very interesting thing to research. It seems useful and we all know how much students love to chat, so it might be a good thing to look at. Also, I'm not sure if you read the post that Dr. Lord made on the TIFLE homepage last week, but there's another similar website called LiveMocha that could be a good avenue for you. Good luck in working it all out!
Hi,
I think that epals would be a great thing to look at for your final project. it sounds like something that students would REALLY enjoy and that they could learn a lot from. towards the end of the course students could compile a portfolio of their interactions and analyze and reflect on them. i think epals could be a great tool in the FL classroom. good luck!
First, I think it is great that your students are making their own little community. Secondly, I like your ideas about looking at chat and epals. I did a pretend email exchange with Spanish 1 kids where they had to write a letter to someone in Spain, and describe themselves and their home life. They all really enjoyed it and wanted to do it with real epals.
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