Target Audience: Secondary, tertiary.

Language Proficiency: Intermediate to advanced.

Learning Focus: Reading, critical thinking, summarizing, writing.

Technology Needed: Email.

Instructions:

Hot topics and current events are often discussed and debated through public and professional email lists. They are also used in a daily basis to disseminate information and conduct planning internally in academic departments and business settings. This mode of communication has unique characteristics and can vary according to the "culture" of the profession or institution (e.g. when to type in CAPS, whether you post your reply above or below the original text in the body of an email message, the kind of information that merits a reply to the whole group vs. an individual).

It is common practice for newcomers to a list to "lurk" (read silently and not respond) in order to become familiar with the topics under discussion and the customs or "norms" for communicating within that group. In this way newcomers can gauge whether or not it's a list that they want to belong to, and they can avoid irritating or offending longstanding list members.Some lists have very firm rules to this effect and do not permit newcomers to post at all for a given period of time.

Task: Learners select an email list and subscribe to it. Depending on class preferences and learner preparedness, the whole class can join the same list, groups can join lists together, or individuals can choose lists on their own. up and "lurk" (i.e. follow it) for a set period of time.

Questions to consider:

• What topics or threads are under discussion?
• Track one or two of the threads over several days. How has the discussion evolved? How many postings were there each day?
• What seems to constitute a good (appropriate) posting?
• Were there any instances of misunderstandings or inappropriate posting?
• How would you describe the general characteristics of this group of people?
  

After monitoring a discussion for five days, learners post their own messages.

Questions to consider in summary:

• How was the your posting received (what kind of response did s/he receive)?
• In your opinion, what are some of the strengths and drawbacks to this particular list?
• Is it a list you would like to stay on; and, why or why not?
• Are archives available for prior discussions? What are some pros and cons for maintaining archives?
• Write a one to two page memo that sums up your lurking experience. Incorporate answers to the above questions.

Helpful Hints:

If the list is a busy one, learners may want to use settings that allow them to receive posting just once a day in "digest" format. This information is usually made available through a web site affiliated with the list, as part of the welcome message that a subscriber receives when joining the list, or through help and command functions specific to the server that hosts the list.

There are literally thousands of lists available. The instructor may want to recommend 5-10 particular lists for learners in order to make good use of course time and to help learners avoid lists that off-topic or less useful.

The 2005 article The Language of Business E-Mail: An Opportunity to Bridge Theory and Practice, from Julio C. Jimenez, provides useful background and argues that "...business communication lends itself well to bringing theory and practice closer together. To this end, the article first identifies relevant features which have started to emerge from main studies in the language of business email, a vital component in business communication. It then explores different possible pedagogical applications of these findings in the BE class. The article discusses the SAE (Selecting, Applying and Evaluating) model which can be used to design and evaluate classroom activities. The article finally presents four activities which have been created following the main findings emerging from the research reviewed."

More on this Topic:

Professional organizations often host discussion lists, though membership may be required. For example:

ThomasNet Community Forums.
http://www.thomasnet.com/
ThomasNet is a directory containing over 72,000 product headings and 170,000 U.S. and Canadian manufacturers. In addition to its Community Forums for lurking opportunities, you can search by product, company or brand name. Provides you with basic contact information as well as links to websites and e-catalogs. Free registration required for some features.

The following site may also be useful for finding professional public email lists to which learners can subscribe.

Tile.Net
http://www.tile.net/
A search engine for finding email lists.

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