How to use e-mail By Zainab Muman

Outline The benefits of email. Basic email skills. Using email with learners out of class. during class. Keypal projects.

The benefits of email Email is one of the most used and useful information and communication technology (ICT) tools around today. Email allows us to keep in touch with other teachers around the world. It also allows us to communicate with our learners outside the classroom, for example setting, receiving, marking and returning homework and other written assignments.

The benefits of email Reading and writing emails either in or outside class time gives a learner more exposure to the target language, and interaction is real in the sense that learners are writing to real people . If learner are writing to learners in other counters , as in a keypal project , this allows them to make contact and interact with different first language and from other cultures.

The benefits of email One of the biggest advantages of using email with learners from the teacher’s point of view is that the technology is relatively simple to use, and most of our learners will already be familiar with it. If our learners are not familiar with email, it is not difficult to teach them to use it, and the technology is both ubiquitous and free.

Basic email skills learners need to be familiar not only with the mechanics of sending and receiving emails and attachments, but also with the kind of language used in email. Basic skills may be considered in two groups: communication skills. technical skills.

Communication skills An email written to enquire about a job vacancy will have a different level of formality to an email sent to a close friend. Friend email may include abbreviations, emoticons, misspellings or lower- case characters such as i, these are entirely inappropriate for a more formal email. If teacher using email with her /his learners for example to receive homework he/ she will want to negotiate with them the level of formality you feel is acceptable.

Communication skills It is also a good idea to teach your learners some of the basics of netiquette. These are rules for effective online communication. well- known netiquette rules include: Not using only capital letters, which is perceived as "shouting" online. Avoiding "flaming" ongoing arguments which become increasingly personalized and possibly public. Being sure to respect other's opinions. Making sure that files sent email attachments are not too large, as the person receiving the email may not be able to download them.

Technical skills Many learners will already have a personal or work email account that they will be willing to use for their language class work, but others may need help with setting up a new email account. There are several free, web-based email services, though which it is easy to set up and use an email account. The best known are Yahoo, Hotmail, or Google mail , although google mail currently requires you to receive an invitation from an already registered google mail user for you to be able to open an account.

Technical skills learners need to be able to send and receive email, and to attach and open documents in email. Depending teachers on teaching context , they may want to first give their learners a questionnaire to assess the overall email skills of the class. Review basic email skills based on the results of that survey, either with the whole class, with individual learners to teach the novice basic email skills outside class time. If the language level of low, there is a case for providing this basic technical skills training in the learners' first language if you teach in a monolingual context.

Using email with learners out of class Learners can submit class work as attachments by email, which can be marked by the teacher, and returned by email. The teacher can email learners a summary of classroom, plus homework or extra material, or updates on classes, after each classroom on a regular (e.g. weekly) basis. The teacher can email learners regular newsletters about the class and themselves. There are many ways of using email with learners, from simple administrative tasks such as the submission of a assignments or homework via email, to more complex email projects, involving classes in different countries.

Using email with learners out of class Learners can use email to prepare before class. for example, the teacher can ask pairs to prepare information on a topic, which they can do via email. Learners can use email to send queries about a topic, or a grammar area, to the teacher before a class. This can help the teacher prepare a class that focuses on and addresses specific learner issues. A class mailing list can be set up for general discussions out of class time. Email can be used a collaborative writing tool.

Using email with learners during class Using email during class time is worth doing if more complex projects are being set up and if your learners have limited access to computers outside the classroom. We describe two examples of data collection projects. These can run over several classes, weeks or even months, and require quite a lot preparation on the part of the teacher.

Using email with learners during class A data collection project requires learners send emails to real companies, individuals, organizations or websites to solicit information. Given that the chances of unsolicited emails not being answered is high, it's important to ensure that you choose a topic that requires your learners to send emails that stand a good chance of receiving a response.

Keypal projects Keypals is the term for pen pals who use email to communicate. Email provides a simple and effective way of putting learners in touch with other learners of the same age and level in other parts of the world. Learners can talk about their cultural communication.

Keypal projects issues Ensure that you agree on clear deadlines and time frames with your partner teacher for emails to arrive, and stick to these. Negotiate groupings with your partner teacher, and decide whether emails will be written by individuals in one class to individuals in the other class, in pairs or in groups, or even as whole class. Decide which language will be used in emails. Ensure that all learners have the basic emailing skills and knowledge of email netiquette.

Keypal projects issues Keep the keypal project short and focused. Discuss with your partner teacher to what extent there will be teacher involvement. Discuss with your learners the issue of possible misunderstandings across cultures. In terms of general email etiquette in email projects, it is worth reminding learners that it is always a good idea to remain polite, and to not respond to aggressive or insulting emails.

Conclusions Looked at the benefits of using email with learners. Considered what basic technical and communication skills learners need to use email effectively. Looked at how email can be used out of class. Looked at two types of email project that can be used in class: data collection and keypal projects. Discussed some of the issues involved in setting up and running keypal projects.

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