Target Audience: Secondary, tertiary.

Language Proficiency: Variable, according to task.

Learning Focus: Reading, writing.

Technology Needed: Email.

Instructions:

Course members correspond individually or as a group with others as "keypals" (email penpals or discussion partners). This can be a useful means of developing cross-cultural awareness and improving fluency skills in the target language and content area. Examples of services that bring keypals together at no cost follow, listed in alphabetical order by site name.

Dave's ESL Café: Student Discussion Forums.
http://forums.eslcafe.com/student/
Discussions on current news, culture, and other topics.

ePALS Classroom Exchange.
http://www.epals.com/
Web site for email keypals in many languages.

eTandem.
http://www.slf.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/etandem/etindex-en.html
In eTandem, you work together with a learning partner from another country.

Linguistic Funland.
http://www.linguistic-funland.com/addapal.html
Students enter information on a form and sign themselves up for an email partner.

Helpful Hints:

For best results with keypals, give students a guide (tasks, outcomes) for communication with their partners. When possible, communicate with the other instructor(s) and set common goals and deadlines.

Kay Westerfield, Global Communication Consulting,kwesterf@uoregon.edu