Social Networking in Language Learning

Teaching English using
multimedia devices: the

example of SKYPE
In this short presentation we will
Discover the latest didactic innovation
involving IT
Getting to know Skype as tool for
language learning
Find a place were to meet possible
partners in our project
Read some feedbacks from teachers who
are using this tool in their classes

Just to warm up.
a brainstorm
How many communcation apps can
you name?
Whats SKYPE?
Skype (pron.: /skap/) is a proprietary Voice over
IP service and software application.

Some prices of Skype-in or out (in euro):

ITALY > GERMANY: 1,9 cents/min
ITALY > USA : 1,9 cents/min
ITALY > JAPAN : 2.3 cents/min
ITALY > AUSTRALIA : 1,9 cents/min
ITALY > BRAZIL : 2.3 cents/min
ITALY > TURKEY: 2.8 cents/min

TYPE OF CALL CHARGE
PC to PC For free
PC to phone (SKYPE-
OUT)
Cheap calls depending
on the country you are
phonning to / from.
Phone to PC (SKYPE-
IN)
Possible applications in language
learning

Classroom to classroom
videoconferencing activities
1:1 activities, in a school lab
Personal relatioships between students
around the world (TANDEM)

PRO
Intercultural knowledge of the world
Social interaction among classmates and with
pupils around the globe
It increases motivation and interest for the
subject
It stimulates curiosity
Provide direct access to authentic language,
bringing language into life
It sets up linguistic awareness
Its a low-cost activity for the school
CONS
The school has to provide a good
internet connection
The teacher needs to know how to use
the program
Lesson must be prepared very carefully to
prevent technical inconvenient

Where can I begin?
eTwinning is the community for schools in
Europe.
it offers a platform for staff (teachers, head
teachers, librarians, etc.), working in a school in
one of the European countries involved, to
communicate, collaborate, develop projects,
share and, in short, feel and be part of the most
exciting learning community in Europe.

What can I find on eTwinning?
Just by registering on the website
www.etwinning.net/it/pub/index.htm
You can become part of a community of
teachers and schools and:
Create every possible kind of
collaboration (commmon projects,
discussions, etc) with collegues across the
EU countries.
Create a partnership with one or more
EU schools

Some possible activities
Pair works on laptops
Class debates
Competitions between classes
Metalinguistic tasks
Intercultural activities
Some feedbacks (1)

(some extract)
students take a leading role in the project,
also those who are not generally active
can take responsibility, believing in
themselves
Jo speak, Cookridge Primary school
Some feedbacks (2)
It has a peculiar role in motivation, in way that
normal classroom cant. Pupils have a real
audience for their work. Perhaps they might be
interesting for the some thinks. It can be a great
topic of competition
Once a boy asked the teacher to check his work
about football he has written to another country
because he did not want the other to think that
he couldnt write good English

Professor Marylin Leask,
University of Bedfordshire
Some feedbacks (3)
It give some sense of important, it improve
their self-esteem they are able to value
them self and what their doing, they feel
important, part of the community, part of
the school
Nick Falk, Sackville school

Time to sum up!
By using SKYPE you can easily make your
student become part of a something
which was completely unthinkable before!
They can become aware of the real
importance of language learning
They can meet cultures and different way
of lives
They can understand to be a little part of
something much greater.

In other words.

MUCH MORE THEN SPEAKING A
FOREIGN LANGUAGE.

From now on

Its up to us, as language teachers!

SO

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Conor Galvin, 2010, eTwinning in the classroom:
A showcase of good practice (2008-2009),
Central Support Service for eTwinning, Brussels
Council of Europe, 2001, Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning,
Teaching, Assessment, Cambridge University Press,
London
Christina Crawley, Anne Gilleran, Donatella Nucci,
2010, Voices of eTwinning: Teachers talk, Central
Support Service for E-twinning, Brussels

WEBSITES
http://www.etwinning.net/it/pub/index.htm
(visited on Jan, 18th 2013)
http://www.slideshare.net/saraheaton/using-
skype-for-language-teaching (visited on Jan,
24th 2013)
http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-
learning-programme/comenius_en.htm
(visited on Jan, 24th 2013)
www.skype.com (visited on Jan, 24th 2013)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype (visited on
Jan, 27th 2013)

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Teaching English using

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