Job Discussion Forums

[Guy Courchesne]

repost for this new more relevant forum

I'm looking to put together a program in a small Mexican town for young learners of English to take advantage of video/audio conferencing online with other classrooms and young learners from around the globe - native English speakers or non.

I'm just starting out with it and looking for ideas/examples to put me on the right path. anyone have experience with something similar?

[tttompatz]

[Guy Courchesne]

Yeah it is a hurdle, though I think there is enough range in any given school's schedule for some link up. Late afternoon in Italy say and morning in Mexico...

[Mr_Monkey]

It strikes me that the timezone issue is only relevant if your goal is to do some kind of hand-holdy "one world" conference.

The immediate issue that occurs to me is one of purpose - the use of real-time communications is driven by need. I don't randomly call people on Skype, for example, that I neither know nor care about. How can you expect your learners to do the same? "Communicate with this person because I tell you to" is hardly a regular feature of any kind of discourse.

I run a small shool in the UK, and would be very happy to have my learners link up with yours (although my learners are adults, predominantly young ones) - but there's little point in it unless there's an overarching goal for it.

What is the purpose of the project?

[cmp45]

[Guy Courchesne]

I am indeed just starting out with it, with only a few ideas out of the gate. And I agree, there must be a purpose to the communication.

The students in Mexico are 12-18 in age, high intermediate level. For me the main purpose of a program is to expose the kids to other cultures, English speaking and otherwise, using technology. These kids live in a small corner of Mexico and get little to no interaction with people outside Mexico, let alone outside their state.

I was going to wait a bit before checking if anyone had a class they'd like to link up with us, but if you'd like to hash out some ideas with me Monkey, send me a PM.

[Teacher in Rome]

Great idea Guy. I'd definitely be up for thrashing out some ideas with you.

Up until this year, I was teaching state school kids (14 - 16) during the mornings, large classes, and no opportunities to do anything online. (No computers available.) But from next year on, things might well change and I might be able to "sell" the idea of getting the students speaking practice through linking up with others. We're talking early afternoon lessons here. It would be an experiment, but worth a shot - if I get the hours. Let's talk about it!

[angelabrookss]

It really strikes me that the timezone issue is only relevant if your goal is to do some kind of hand-holdy "one world" conference!

[tttompatz]