Teaching with the Internet Materials in Language Teaching Mini-Conference Southern Illinois University at Carbondale Kim Andrus March 22, 1999
INTRODUCTIONLanguage-teaching resources on the internet are still in their infancy. Yet the potential of the internet as a tool for language self-study and for language teaching is unquestionable. The information superhighway essentially puts the world (at least, the internet-connected world), an immense wealth of information, and language-learning applications just a few keystrokes away. Here I review a few of the ways in which the internet is currently being used in language instruction. The activities and applications here pre-assume that students and teachers have internet access and a sufficient degree computer and internet literacy.
For an in-depth look at teaching with the internet, see Language Learning and the Web by Robert Godwin-Jones.
COMMUNICATION
The internet allows language students to communicate in ways never before possible. The ability for students to communicate with native speakers, or other language learners, and do it from opposite sides of the globe is a great asset in language instruction.
- keypals: Also called e-pals, this is the equivalent of the traditional pen-pal. There are several sites for keypal exchanges--here are two heavily-used sites: Dave's ESL Cafe and Exchange.
- discussion forums/bulletin boards: Websites where students can post ideas or questions, and respond to other students. Forums can be general, or dedicated to specific topics. EnglishTown hosts several forums.
- MOOs: Created on the same object-oriented platform as multi-user role-playing games or chat sites, MOOs (Multi-user Object Oriented) allow students to log on, take on a virtual identity, and talk and interact with others in a virtual reality environment. They are often considered somewhat cultish. SchMOOze University is a well-known ESL MOO.
CONTENT SOURCE
The internet has become the source for supporting content. With the millions upon millions of websites, as well as on-line newspapers, journals, cultural information, etc., finding materials for a class can be relatively easy. Languages teachers in general are already quite adept at finding authentic materials and designing activities around them. The internet makes it that much easier to do so, and to let students take a hand in bringing the content into the classroom.
- treasure hunt: Students find and respond to specific information. See Ann Salzamann's Grammar Exploration Activities, and The Internet TESL Journal, and WebQuest, for examples.
- responding to text: As a language teacher, you probably already have many ideas for ways to incorporate authentic language materials into the classroom instruction. Here are two teacher's activity outlines: Heidi Shetzer's reading/writing activity, and Ian Brown's outlines for using scavenger hunts, on-line newspapers and movie reviews.
INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES
"...so now we can do stupid things again."
--a respected CALL specialist comparing Web-based interactivity with the early days of CALLWith the advent and increasing sophistication of on-line programming languages such as Javascript, Java, CGIs, Shockwave, XML, and DHTML, better applications are slowly being developed. On-line applications or programs range from simple quiz-type activities to programs which incorporate video and sound.
- drill & grill quizzes: A huge list of quizzes from the Internet TESL Journal.
- others: A variety of activities: see Douglas Mill's interactive activity Trip to the Grand Canyon, and Marlene Johnhoy's Spanish word/image association activity La Ropa. Both of these use Javascript.
- audio/video activities: Audio and streaming video are slowly becoming standard for internet users, and once they do, programs or activities available over the internet will begin to resemble the polished, published professional software available for PCs. See Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab, Cutting Edge Call Demos and TOEFL Prep. These require your browser to have specific plug-ins, and won't work if the plug-ins haven't been installed.
CONCLUSION
When it comes to learning language, the internet as with any other computer technology won't ever compare to face-to-face communicative activities for language learning. But knowledge of how to incorporate interactivity into on-line activities is slowly growing. Hopefully, the "stupid things" of the present are paving the way for solid, more methodologically sound resources. Wouldn't it be nice if it continues to be free, as well?
This page made on March 22, 1999 by Kim Andrus
Page maintained by
Thomas Leverett, CESL, SIUC