I’ve been trying to integrate Twitter into my French class for quite some time now, as I am absolutely convinced of its value and still (to my great astonishment!) underdeveloped potential in language learning.

The article Twitter pour l’apprentissage des langues, published by Elisabeth Buffard on the website of the Académie d’aix-Marseille (for our readers of French), has the virtue of being clear, even for novices. She explains what Twitter is, its advantages, and its potential for the language classroom. She then proposes concrete scenarios for incorporating this medium into language classes. Her examples not only serve as food for thought, but can easily be adapted to your own teaching context.

E. Buffard also reminds us of Twitter’s potential for teacher training (lifelong learning).

For the author of this article, Twitter promotes the learner’s autonomy and represents a “learning booster” as part of a virtual toolkit that plays a role in the autonomous and social learning in which the learner is the main actor and user.

This article is an absolute must-read! http://www.anglais.ac-aix-marseille.fr/spip/spip.php?article470

If you have other examples of how to integrate Twitter in the language classroom, I would be very grateful if you would share your experience with us by posting a comment. Thank you!

eTwinning, the community for schools in Europe is part of Comenius, the EU programme for schools.

It has more than 117.000 active members and more than 4200 active projects.

This article highlights the eTwinning Groups: online groups already active are:

• Creative Classroom
• Social Inclusion
• Maths & Science Read More

Did we ever have doubts about it?

Some of you may already know how much I am in favour of using online learning communities and Web 2.0 tools to empower language learning and learners’ motivation.  So, imagine my enthusiasm to have the opportunity to spread the Word and announce the publication of the Pedagogical Innovation in New Learning Communities report! Read More

The European Association of Computer Assisted Language Learning (EUROCALL) remains faithful to an annual conference, which this year is held by the University of Bordeaux, 8-11 September, under the theme ‘Languages, Cultures and Virtual Communities in CALL’.

Starting off in the mid 80s with a group of enthusiastic professionals setting up meetings and courses to promote the usage of computers in the classroom, the training of teachers, and the development of language-learning software, EUROCALL 2010 stands for a hallmark of the association and its successful progress. Read More

Have you ever experienced these scenarios?                                                                                                                                                          It’s the end of the academic semester and as you’re returning essays or class tests with careful and thoroughly written feedback you notice that students take an eager glance at their mark, compare results, and put papers immediately in their folders to read those jotted comments maybe later. In one of the best case scenarios they do read your feedback–yet they don’t have a clue of what you mean–and although further clarification is needed you’re never asked. In one of the worst… Read More

The Centre for Excellence in Multimedia Language Learning (CEMLL) at the University of Ulster is a project funded by the Department of Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland that for the last five years has provided technical and pedagogical support to adopt new and varied uses of technology in the teaching of languages. CEMLL has mainly expanded the pedagogical effectiveness of multimedia language labs and enhanced students’ independent learning. A core team has created a number of activities, such as task-based learning exercises, and trained staff to use virtual learning environments like WebCT –for further reference you can read the relevant MOLAN case study ‘Centre for Excellence in Multimedia Language Learning’ Read More