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E-mail in modern language development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2008

Roger Austin
Affiliation:
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland
Florian Mendlick
Affiliation:
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland

Extract

Although there is now a growing volume of literature on the role of electronic mail in schools, relatively little has been published about the specific value to modern language teachers of using such technology. In the few cases where projects have been described, it is claimed that such links are ‘valuable’ (NCET, 1991), with an implication that school age students are able to go beyond ‘mere transactional language’ to develop ‘more creative use of language’. This paper describes a language project which began from the premise that for teachers to embark on e-mail, with its additional costs, new approaches to classroom learning and training requirements, it would be essential to establish what realistic learning improvements might be expected. To look closely at the ‘cost-benefit’ ratio was felt to be particularly important in the context of increasingly tight budgetary control in schools.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning 1993

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References

Reference

NCET, On-Line Electronic Mail in the Curriculum, National Council for Educational Technology, 1991. p 54 (See also Seppo Telia, The adoption of International Communications Networks and Electronic Mail into Foreign Language Education, Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, Vol 36, No 4, 1992, pp 303312)Google Scholar

Related literature

ZCU, Bus 24. Computernutzung an Schulen, Zentralstelle f¨r Computer im Unterricht, Augsburg, 12 1992. (This contains examples of Bavarian schools' use of e-mail.)Google Scholar
Austin, R (ed.), Communicating across Europe (1990) and Young Citizens in Europe (1991), Annual reports on the European Studies ProjectGoogle Scholar
Austin, R., A European dimension in the curriculum – the role of satellite TV and E-mail, Learning Resources Journal, Vol 8, No 1, 02 1992, pp 813Google Scholar