ePals in the Classroom

ePals is a fascinating website that can connect teachers and students across the globe.  What makes ePals so great is that it's limitations for classroom implications seem almost limitless.  Like the world around it, the classroom is becoming more and more a global space for learning and participation.   With internet tools like these it offers students chances to interact with other students from all over the world.  With partners such as McGraw-Hill, the Smithsonian and National Geographic ePals can boast some serious learning potential.

There are a lot of things that you can do as a teacher with ePals.  One thing that I found really interesting as an ESL teacher was the ability to connect with other language classrooms.  On the website they mention "Teachers use the free ePals Global Classroom to create real world, culturally-enriching learning experiences for their students.  With ePals classroom atching, a high school class studying Chinese can connect with a class studying English in China, or the classes can work on a special project together."  Although this is reference to an American foreign language classroom, a similar idea can be used in an American ESL classroom.  You can easily implement something like this in an ESL classroom.  Authentic learning situations and culturally-enriching learning experiences are crucial to second language acquisition.  Both play a significant role in stimulating motivation by the learner.  By allowing ESL learners to interact with native English speakers learning their language as an L2 can be an incredible opportunity for growth as a learner.  Using ePals in the classroom is a great way to take advantage of and properly utilize
technology in the classroom.