Why is communication and collaboration so important in the language learning classroom? What ideas did you gain from the Egbert chapter about how computers and technology can be used to facilitate greater communication and collaboration for students? Give any personal examples you have had using these or other ideas.
To me, collaboration and communication is important in the classroom because it allows students to do the very thing they are learning a language to do. To communicate and interact with other speakers of the language! these kind of activities allow the students to learn discourse pragmatics which to me is one of the most important aspects of language. I know from my personal language learning experience (a combination of grammar translation and audio linguistic learning) that I was really not prepared to interact with native speakers in their natural environment. When I was exposed to everyday language use I felt as though I had to learn the language all over again. Creating the collaborative classroom gets students started down the road to learning the language in meaningful contexts that they will actually use in everyday.
Of the examples of activities listed by Egbert I kind of like example number 3, the neighborhood map machine. I think this would be particularly useful in an adult language class to help learners negotiate their new world. I would probably have the students incorporate bus schedules and routes into this activity to help them learn not only where things of importance to them are located but how to get there.
I definitely agree with Egbert about assigning specific tasks to each student and being cognizant of proficiency levels. It has been my experience that if you don't the dominant students will take over and the activity will not be beneficial to every student in the group.
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I did not have as bad learning French in high school. I remember learning a lot of vocabulary and listening to tapes and viewing videos of scripted diaglogue in French. Do I still remember the langauge? Only the most basic things "Qui, Non, Como tale vous?"
Your right about making students work at their level, since not everyone will have the same background knowledge. Some may have little or no prior school instruction, while others would. The student should drive the lesson for the classroom, always keeping the teacher on their toes making sure that students are in the Zone of Proximal Development.
I couldn't agree more interaction with students of the native language allows the ESL student to learn discourse. I also don't think that listening to audio tape is a good way to learn a different language, you need to practice the language and what better way than social interaction with native language speakers. Egbert is correct you have to assign differnt tasks depending on proficiency levels, just bcz their English is not so well does not mean they don't have valuable input.
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