The following links are excellent resources for genuine communication practice with other students world-wide. If you are in an EFL environment and your students are lacking interaction in English, introduce them to these sites.
An oldy but a goody, SchmoozeU is a MOO, MUD Object Oriented. What is a MUD? A multiple user domain. Simply, this is a textual environment where learners can come, create a character, navigate a campus, interact with real people and the environment itself, and learn English in the process. Careful with taking pearls from the Fountain!
Take this fantastic opportunity to connect with other language learners around the globe for conversation in either a text chat or voice chat exchange. Log on and identify your native language and the language you'd like to learn and, voila!, people are knocking on your metaphorical door.
Ready for life in 3-D online? Second life is a virtual world complete with personalities from all over the globe. Nearly every major coroporation, many educational institutions and even National Public Radio have a presence here. For teachers, here is your chance to build your own classroom, even you own school.
Like this blog? I bet you and your students can make an even better one. It's easy, intuitive and a great opportunity to expand the audience for your students' writing beyond your classroom.
