Chat
Chatting to each other using the computer is quick and easy. This popular way of communicating used by teenagers is not supported by everyone. Common misconceptions about chatting are: pupils don’t learn anything from chatting; chatting is superficial; chatting happens so quickly you hardly have time to think; you cannot control chatting.
When students log on to the chat program they can immediately see which of their friends is online. They can attempt to chat with one or more of their friends. Chatting is very quick, as you type in your message and press send, your partner’s reaction will be quick.
If you want to learn a foreign language it is important to:
- read and listen
- understand the meaning
- pay attention to forms of grammar
- communicate
- if you don’t know something you try to solve it by using what you know
By chatting regularly in a foreign language you will have to deal with a number of points mentioned above. You have to read what the other person has written. You must understand the meaning. The next step is that you will write a message for someone else and if you don’t know how to say something you have to try and explain it in a different way so that it becomes clear what you mean.
Besides increasing the language skills, chatting can also have other aims. Chatting is very suitable for letting the students discover and look beyond their direct surroundings. Within the scope of internationalisation a chat project can be done on a certain subject or theme. Chatting can offer a positive contribution to the computer skills of the participant. The success experienced from a good chat project can be very motivating.
When starting a chat project it is very important to set the most important learning aims.
Points of interest when starting a chatpoject are:
- Small scale: When you want a project to succeed it has to meet with a number of preconditions. The availability of enough computers is very important. If you have no experience with working on a chatproject it is wise to start with small groups, this to prevent disappointment. Furthermore in these small groups it is easier to chat at home.
- Chatting time: The time of when to chat is very important if you want a project to succeed. The chatpartner has to be online at the same time. Chatsessions mostly have to take place after lessons. Of course you have to take into account the time differences between different countries. It is wise to reserve one or two afternoons a week to spend on these chatsessions and arrange a time in advance.
|
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.