Skype with Foreign Language

Similar to Allen's post, I'd like to see what potential the use of Skype has in the classroom, but particularly the foreign language classroom.

I've talked with teachers who've used ePals-sort of solutions for written communication. Has anyone tried Skype with a foreign language class? I have the opportunity to talk about the potential of this tool to a number of middle school f.l. teachers in a few days and I'd appreciate the chance to bring a few real-world examples!

Thanks!

Tags: foreign language, skype

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Permalink Reply by Kimat on February 18, 2009 at 3:15am

Hello I am Kimat from Dushanbe deafschool#8 wanted to know about SKYPE because I didn't know nothing and I found this site from Internet. Please if you have time explain me what is it and how to work? Of course I want to know something new in my teaching use your experiments or somebody's.
Thanks.
Kimat.

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Permalink Reply by Cameron Foster on February 18, 2009 at 5:02am

I share your problem. I teach Japanese. We have a school coming from Nagasaki for a homestay and I will pushing them toward skype. I hope someone pipes up with some real-world examples......

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Permalink Reply by Peggy Sheehy on March 3, 2009 at 7:38am

Please join the "Global Lean"

blog at http://globallean.edublogs.org
AND NING http://globallean.ning.com

Give the world a voice in a joyful celebration of diversity!

Thanks! Peggy Sheehy

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Permalink Reply by Leslie MacKay on March 3, 2009 at 9:34am

This is probably too late, but Skype is used a lot for online EFL teaching. Skype because you can use the webcam and mic. for teaching. The foreign S. has the same equipment. In language teaching it is important that both the T and the S. see each other's mouths. That is how pronunciation is taught. The huge problem is - if your Ss. are in South East Asia and you are on the Pacific coast, it means you have to get up at 3:00 am to teach your students online. Not fun!

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Permalink Reply by Rachael R. on March 11, 2009 at 3:03pm

Have you used this yet in your classroom? I would love to know how it was!

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Permalink Reply by ddeubel on March 11, 2009 at 7:11pm

I've used Skype successfully in the classroom but mostly for 1-1 consultation or just as an "introduce a foreign guest" thing. That works very well and instead of video I just put the person's picture up on the full screen and use a mic for the whole class. One student at a time can come up and ask questions. We all listen as the "guest" speaks. An excellent way to bring a foreign speaker into the classroom.

You don't need to see the mouth to teach pronunciation (though it is at some time in the learning process essential). Fonetiks I highly recommend though, if students are having problems with phonemic awareness or articulation. Thank you U of Iowa Linguists!

However, on EFL Classroom 2.0, we've really been promoting FREE use of voice for learning languages. (too many elearning sites trying to sell and make education a product). Use our conference room with video and recording for free. Or our embeddable (in your own blog/page) Scribblar room with amazing voice stability. I highly recommend scribblar for teaching languages. Not just the clarity of the voice but because of its simplicity and the learning curve is small for users. I'll be holding a "how to give a lesson on Scribblar " session tomorrow in the room.

But yeah, Skype, Tokbox and many other great VOIP applications are revolutionizing learning language.

David
http://eflclassroom.ning.com