1. Email is such an old technology – why would I want to use it with my students?
Email is one of the simplest technologies around. It’s easy to use, and it’s ubiquitous – at least among adults. Even if your adult students don’t regularly use social networks or other online services, they will very likely have an email account. For teachers, email is a good starting point for introducing technology into your classes. This is especially true if you are a teacher who feels less confident about your own technology skills, or if you are unsure of where or how to start integrating technology into your teaching on a regular basis.
2. What’s the best way to start using email with students?
Most teachers will start by encouraging their students to submit their written homework via email, usually as a word-processed document attached to an email. There are plenty of advantages to having your students submit their written work in this way, rather than handwritten on pieces of paper. Handwriting can be difficult to decipher, bits of paper get lost, and word-processing tools can give you a range of options for correcting your students’ written work. For example, you can easily add comments to their homework, highlight sentences that need reformulation, and correct the text by using the ‘track changes’ function. It’s also a lot easier for both you and your students to store written work in electronic format, and to share it with others when necessary.
3. My students already send me their homework via email. Do you have any other suggestions?
There is a range of activity types that you can get your students to do via email, outside class time. For example, you could create an email chain. Give your students a list of phrases which start with One thing, such as One thing I’ve learnt in life is …, One thing I’d never do is …, One thing I love about summer is … . Provide them with a list of their classmates’ names (with email addresses) in random order. The first person on the list writes one sentence beginning with One thing, and forwards it to the next person on the list. The second person adds another sentence beginning with One thing, and forwards it to the next person. The students continue to forward the same email, each time to the next person on the list, adding a sentence starting One thing each time. They cannot repeat what a previous student has said. The last person on the list adds their sentence and then forwards the email to you. In a subsequent class, you can show the students the complete list of One thing sentences, and read through them together. Remember to respond to what the students have written, not just to correct their use of language!
4. Some of my students need to write emails for work. How can I help them with this?
This is often the case when teaching business English. Ask your students to share samples of real emails that they receive, and then work with them on drafting replies. One simple activity you could do involves creating a model email with the sentences or paragraphs in the wrong order, and emailing it to your students. For homework, ask them to put the content of your email into the correct order and send it back to you to check. Review their corrections and then work through the email together in a subsequent lesson, putting the sentences or paragraphs into their right order as a class.
5. What about students who don’t have email accounts?
Those who don’t have email accounts are most likely to be younger students or older students (over the age of about 70), although there are, of course, plenty of exceptions to this. For younger students, it’s arguably more effective to use the kinds of digital technologies that they relate to, such as social networks or other digital tools, in order to provide them with English language practice outside the classroom. However, from the age of about 16, it’s useful for students to start developing their email skills, as they will inevitably need email if they go on to further study, or in the workplace. For older internet users, not having an email account can prevent them from accessing social, educational or financial services and opportunities. So depending on the age and needs of your students, you may want to help them set up their own email accounts – many web-based email services (eg Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc) are free.
Nicky Hockly has been involved in EFL teaching and teacher training since 1987. She is Director of Pedagogy of The Consultants-E, an online teacher training and development consultancy. She maintains a blog at www.emoderationskills.com. In one section of her new book, ETpedia Technology, published by Pavilion Publishing, Nicky suggests more activities you can do with email.
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