RESOURCES AVAILABLE IN THE INTERNET FOR THE FOREING LANGUAGE CLASSROOM
The foreign language teacher who has access to the Internet has
a powerful tool in his/her hands. New tools should be carefully
integrated into the curriculum in order to improve the student's
learning process. The following is a list with a short explanation
of these resources according to their possible use in the foreign
language classroom:
E-mail is the facility to send and receive typed messages over the Internet to anyone with an e-mail address. Its ease of use and speed makes it a particularly efficient and cost-effective mode of international communication. Some ideas of using e-mail in language teaching include:
Keypals
This is a useful and quick way for students to correspond with penpals in a target country. The authenticity and speed of interaction promote language development and motivation. Depending on the classroom set-up and access of computers, e-mail exchanges can be done on a class-to-class, group-to-group, or individual basis. Also the use of e-mail can incorporate other projects as well.
Mailing Lists
When the foreign language teacher subscribes to a mailing list he/she will be able to receive regular postings of daily news or electronic magazines, or participate in email discussion groups in which messages posted to a central "listserv" are distributed to all subscribers. There are a number of mailing lists which can be very useful for language teachers either in obtaining up-to-date information from a target country or in networking with fellow professionals by contributing to discussions on topics of mutual interest.
Newsgroups
Participants send messages to a newsgroup which are posted up
to be read by anyone accessing that newsgroup. They can be a
good source of contacts for arranging keypals, and like e-mail
discussion groups, they are a good forum for sharing ideas and
views.
These are facilities by which users can communicate in "real
time" on the Internet; in written mode only. These have been
used successfully by many language teachers. Students find it
motivation and good for "conversation" practice. However,
since the teacher often has no control of who joins the conversation
special care should be taken.
IRC
IRC stands for "Internet Relay Chat". In this participants "converse" in text mode in real time, creating a written dialogue on the screen as they go. These can take place with participants from all over the world and there are IRC channels in several languages. IRC could be very helpful in enhancing students' communicative competence.
MUD`s/MOO`s
"Multi User Dimensions/MUD object oriented"- these are
textual real-time "adventure games" in which participants
move around an imaginary scenario choosing paths and objects from
a selection. There is also the facility to communicate in real
time with fellow players, as in IRC.
Real-time communication is done through audio and video. Audioconferencing
allows participants to use their computers for real-time audio
conversations. Videoconferencing can be done on the Internet by
participants connecting to the same "reflector site"
(a specified computer address) at the same time. CU/Seeme, the
most widely used videoconferencing software on the Internet, supports
black and white video only and computers must have a video camera
connected to the back of their computer. This technology is still
under development and is expected to improve the pictures image
in a near future.
The World Wide Web is an information access facility in a colorful, graphical format. It is a series of sites linked by "hypertext". This means that you can go from one site to another simply by clicking on an icon or highlighted portion of text. This makes the WWW very easy to navigate and use. Some of the things you can do in the WWW are:
This is definitely one of the major advantages of the WWW. Having the students accessing text, graphics, sound, and video from authentic sources will motivate them to study more about the language. What would be better than having them find out the weather in Puerto Rico and report about it using the Spanish language? Also, "virtual tours" of sites from any Hispanic country with the whole class will give them a clear image of what that country looks like.
Both the teacher and the student can find a variety of learning
materials in the WWW. Lesson plans, professional conferences,
professional sites, foreign language courses, dictionaries, worksheets,
etc. are available to any Internet user. The best thing is that
every day more Web Sites are published on the Internet, and many
more are being improved and up-dated with the most recent information.
Nueva Alejandria: Teachers in la Argentina got together to create this site and serve the Hispanic community and any Spanish students around the world. In this site you can find use groups, educative projects, international e-mail, magazines online, and friends clubs.
Classroom Connect: This site is geared to k-12 educators and students. It provides a teacher contact database, connected classroom conferences, press releases, products, and services, as well as its own searching engine.
Spanish Language and Literature: Here you will find Spanish language sites, Latin American sites, valuable information about Mexico, newspapers, short articles with their vocabulary list, resources for travelers, and many useful links.
Spanish: This site was created by Laura Price, a Spanish teacher from Virginia. Here you will find anything related to the Spanish language: its countries and their cultures.
Red Mundo Latino: Excellent resource for Spanish teachers that like to be informed of up-to-date news. This site has newspapers, music, art, dialogues among Hispanic people, and many other resources.
Internet Resources for Language Teachers: This site is good for any foreign language teacher. Its many links will give them with specific and needed information about any language. Also you will have access to e-mail discussion lists and newsgroups.
The Eduzone: This site is meant for any k-12 educator of any subject area. Through its chat rooms teacher have the opportunity to share ideas and information with other teachers. Also you will find tips and handouts, educational news, products and many professional resources.
Hispanic Linguistics: The University of Toronto prepared this page that provides many links related to Spanish grammar and Linguistics. Among their links is the journal Hispania, and the magazine Idiomanía.
Web Spanish Lessons: Online lessons about basic grammar and vocabulary prepared by professors Tyler Jones and Jennifer Chambers. New words, sample sentences, pronunciation guides, grammar explanations, and self-tests are included in most of the lessons. In addition, each lesson contains audio of that lesson's new words being spoken.
The Human Languages Page: Comprehensive catalog of language-related Internet resources. Online language lessons, translating dictionaries, native literature, education software, language schools, etc.
Puerto Rico: Get to know my country. Links through the Governor's page will allow you to travel through " Enchantment Island".