Skype
What?
Skype is a program nearly every student will be familiar with (like ICQ for example which works very similar). If you register on Skype you can add people (friends) to your contact list and, if they are online (your status can be online, offline or not available) you can either chat with them or you can even talk to them if you have a headset or if you have an integrated microphone on your computer. You can even go further and use a camera so that you can see the person you are talking to.
How?
It is easy!! You just have to register on Skype which is free and then you can start adding people. That’s it!
Personal Experience: Positive/ Negative?
I use Skype very often in my private life. I just have positive experiences to talk about. The one good thing is that I just have contacts in my list which I really like and which I really like talking to or writing with (unlike Facebook or studivz). I can change my status according to how much time I have. If my telephone at home does not work I can use Skype quite often and generally, Skype saves a lot of money I would spend on phoning, especially when talking to people who live in the United States. That is, by the way, one thing I really like about Skype. You can keep in touch with people all over the world. The quality I experienced so far is rather good. The fact that you can even see the people you talk to is amazing! It is completely different from having a normal telephone call. But how can we use that tool in school?
Skype at School?
Unfortunately, I have never used Skype in school. But, in my opinion, it would make sense to do it because students won’t get a better chance to speak to a native speaker unless you invite somebody into class. I could imagine doing it regularly (maybe once a month). You could either always talk to the same person or talk to different ones. Maybe the teacher knows people from abroad who like doing it or maybe even the class has a partner school so that they can talk to students. It would be advisable to talk to people from England due to the time difference. You could regularly prepare questions for the conversation. Make sure people don’t talk at the same time, but maybe the students can give a hand sign if they want to talk. It would be easy if the person abroad would have a camera so that the students can see him or her. Depending on how well-equipped the school is, the class can be seen as well due to an installed camera. That would be my basic idea. A regular conversation (either without preparation of a specific topic or with focus on a certain thing) which engages students to talk English in a “real-life” situation. If the person they talk to always remains the same they will maybe be more confident with the time.
But, nevertheless, the use of Skype requires good technical knowledge and equipment and you have to organize a lot. Nevertheless, these obstacles can be overcome if you are really interested in getting your students speak to a native speaker regularly. The advantages for the students are obvious: They use their communication skills directly and can improve them with the time. In addition, they practice listening comprehension. The speaker provides authentic input which is required in foreign language teaching nowadays anyway.
I would always engage students to use Skype and to make contacts with people from all over the world (maybe they got to know people during their holidays abroad or during an internship or with the help of the exchange school or whatever).
It is a wonderful tool, not only because it is free, but also because people can keep in touch with each other all over the world. Especially if you have contacts to people abroad it is very useful.
added: November 26, 2010
Skype is a program nearly every student will be familiar with (like ICQ for example which works very similar). If you register on Skype you can add people (friends) to your contact list and, if they are online (your status can be online, offline or not available) you can either chat with them or you can even talk to them if you have a headset or if you have an integrated microphone on your computer. You can even go further and use a camera so that you can see the person you are talking to.
How?
It is easy!! You just have to register on Skype which is free and then you can start adding people. That’s it!
Personal Experience: Positive/ Negative?
I use Skype very often in my private life. I just have positive experiences to talk about. The one good thing is that I just have contacts in my list which I really like and which I really like talking to or writing with (unlike Facebook or studivz). I can change my status according to how much time I have. If my telephone at home does not work I can use Skype quite often and generally, Skype saves a lot of money I would spend on phoning, especially when talking to people who live in the United States. That is, by the way, one thing I really like about Skype. You can keep in touch with people all over the world. The quality I experienced so far is rather good. The fact that you can even see the people you talk to is amazing! It is completely different from having a normal telephone call. But how can we use that tool in school?
Skype at School?
Unfortunately, I have never used Skype in school. But, in my opinion, it would make sense to do it because students won’t get a better chance to speak to a native speaker unless you invite somebody into class. I could imagine doing it regularly (maybe once a month). You could either always talk to the same person or talk to different ones. Maybe the teacher knows people from abroad who like doing it or maybe even the class has a partner school so that they can talk to students. It would be advisable to talk to people from England due to the time difference. You could regularly prepare questions for the conversation. Make sure people don’t talk at the same time, but maybe the students can give a hand sign if they want to talk. It would be easy if the person abroad would have a camera so that the students can see him or her. Depending on how well-equipped the school is, the class can be seen as well due to an installed camera. That would be my basic idea. A regular conversation (either without preparation of a specific topic or with focus on a certain thing) which engages students to talk English in a “real-life” situation. If the person they talk to always remains the same they will maybe be more confident with the time.
But, nevertheless, the use of Skype requires good technical knowledge and equipment and you have to organize a lot. Nevertheless, these obstacles can be overcome if you are really interested in getting your students speak to a native speaker regularly. The advantages for the students are obvious: They use their communication skills directly and can improve them with the time. In addition, they practice listening comprehension. The speaker provides authentic input which is required in foreign language teaching nowadays anyway.
I would always engage students to use Skype and to make contacts with people from all over the world (maybe they got to know people during their holidays abroad or during an internship or with the help of the exchange school or whatever).
It is a wonderful tool, not only because it is free, but also because people can keep in touch with each other all over the world. Especially if you have contacts to people abroad it is very useful.
added: November 26, 2010
www.skype.com
