As a future Spanish teacher, I definitely plan on using e-pals. This website is an excellent way for students to learn about Spanish culture through the perspectives of peers their own age in various Spanish speaking countries. According to the website, "ePals is the leading provider of safe collaborative technology for schools to connect and learn in a protected, project-based learning network" (ePals GlobalCommunity). This type of collaborative technology is perfect for a Spanish classroom. By communicating with their e-pal, students will not only learn about culture, but they will also be practicing their writing and reading by utilizing the target language. It may be possible as well for the students to skype their e-pal, which would then the students will also be utilizing their listening and speaking skills in the target language. This e-pal program allows language learning to transcend beyond the limitations of classroom learning to actual real world applications. In this way, students will really have a sense of the importance of language learning as well as to have a more realistic connection with different cultures.
I also plan on using Livemocha if the school that I am working for will allow a subscription. Like the e-pal program, Livemocha will allow students to be able to speak with native speakers as well as share different aspects of culture. In addition to the communication component, Livemocha also utilizes tools such as games, flashcards, video and role play. These tools will be helpful for the students to practice Spanish in a fun, interactive way. One article describes some of the benefits of Livemocha: "The casual connections with real people throughout the world, however brief, are not just fun and surprising but reveal more about how the language is really used. The boy from Tunisia, while knocking my conjugation, passed along slang and attitude, something rarely found in textbooks" (Wayner, 2010). In this way, students are able to expand upon their language learning in a way that cannot be learned in the classroom. It is only through this real life interaction that certain elements of language learning can develop. These collaborative projects are a great way to get students interested in language learning.
References
ePals GlobalCommunity. (2010). Retrieved June 24, 2011 from http://www.epals.com/
Wayner, P. "Learning a Language From an Expert, on the Web." New York Times 28 Jul. 2010: B8.
New York Times. Web. 24 Jun. 2011.
Great job this week! Two excellent sites for language learners. You may also find Quizlet to be helpful for students learning vocabulary... there may also be some pre-made flashcards that would be appropriate. The only minor issues I saw with your post were (1) missing the year of publication - i.e., 2010 - in your first citation, and (2) your second reference is not APA formatted - it should look more like the first reference.
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