If we stop complaining about the limited access to internet, even the computers; if we change our viewpoint that IT technologies is no more than a teaching tool; if we view the world as a whole through internet and the pretty common English, what will we, the English teachers do with internet? How can we use internet for english teaching?
There are several learning goals for us to know: a. active and creative mastery; b. autonomous leanring; c. collaborative learning; d. cross-cultural learning; and e. critival learning. Due to the present situation and condition in most developed as well as developing cities in China, in the high school level, we can achieve at least collaborative leaning and even the cross-cultural learning.
Let's have a second look at the sample web projects described in this section which illustrates the ways that teachers are using the intenet in a variety of contexts.
First of all, all of the examples here have achieved the standards of the Integrative CALL, which means that "computers are used naturally and regularly together with other tools and media serving the creation of an enriched workplace for accessing resources and using language constructively".
Here, I have great interest in the examples of primary schools and high schools, which i think is pretty doable in my teaching school. For example, the "primary school E-mail cultural exchange" project which lasted for over 3 months, aims to enlarge students' vocabulary and in the meantime, develop students' writing skills and also it has achieved the "cross-cultural learning" goal. Obviously, it is a well-designed project which needs teachers to do a lot of preparation work before the performance. Because students have no access to computers and internet, it is an after-school and voluntary work. Teachers from Portugal and US made a detailed plan, carefully coordinating the objectives, activities and logistics. They chose a series of topics for the exchange and at the beginning teachers taught students some key vocabulary that would be helpful in the letters. Along with the project going, teachers play the minimum role as a guide and helper, witnessing the students' writing skills making great improvement.
We can learn a lot from each project and also they give us enough confidence in carrying out on our students.
