Comments on "Planning Tips on Internet for English Teaching"

Original article: Warschauer, M., Shetzer, H., & Meloni, C. F. (2000). Internet for English teaching: TESOL Alexandria, VA. [Chapter 7]

To get the students involved in English learning with Internet assisted, planning is one of the most fundamental and essential steps.


Tips on the planning phase:

1. Time: less, clear and relatively straightforward projects → more, complicated and diversified projects;
2. Computer and Internet access: access to school computers, the most user-friendly types of hardware or software, individual e-mail accounts for each student;
3. Communication: e-mail lists for groups or the whole class;
4. Hands-on training: assistants, handout preparation, pre-training;
5. Partners: multiclass projects--- complex, differences in schedule, level or goals;
6. Team teaching: multiclass projects- reliable partner with similar teaching approach, discussing goals ahead of time, e-mail list for teachers.
7. Student interaction: students’ self introductions and information exchanges;
8. Monitoring: guidelines and timetables preparation, students involved, clear communication;
9. Assessment: assessment clarification;
10. A shared experience: experience sharing by both students and teachers.



Potholes and solutions on the information superhighway:

1. Slow downloads: “World Wide Wait”?
Working in groups; visiting the sites beforehand; downloading the entire site.
2. Dead links: addresses change and Web servers crash
Using larger, well-established sites; checking sites regularly; finding updated or alternate resources by the students.
3. Lost in cyberspace: students with lower English levels or minimal experience with computers
Creating a friendly home page; checking the Web browsers; teaching basic Internet skills.

Tips on high tech in a low-tech environment:

1. Focus on e-mail: simple text-based e-mail;
2. Combine off-line and on-line work: off-line work--- e-mail writing or reading, research, writing, Web page creation;
3. Have students work in groups: sharing a computer, working on the computer by turns;
4. Make use of computers outside school: teacher’s home computer, students’ home computers, computer and Internet connection at local library, community center, business or university;
5. Learn to make do with an old computer: low-cost e-mail and Web-browsing software.


I think these tips are extremely important and useful! They provide detailed matters needing attention, possible problems and solutions. These are very practical when the teacher is preparing for the course. As for the tips on high tech in a low-tech environment, it is helpful for Mainland teachers and students. We can divide the students into groups, assign them with group work, make full use of the computers inside and outside school, and focus on some asynchronous tools such as e-mail and discussion board. There is only one thing I want to add, that is, parents’ permission. The Chinese parents do not want their children to use computers or surf on the internet, because they think it won’t help their children’s learning and will definitely distract their attentions. When we are having computer-assisted language teaching, we need to clearly explain the aim to the parents and ask for their permission. It will be a tough task, because they have already had a preconceived idea that their children will have indulgence in online games and meaningless chatting.