A project proposal...

Well, we got invited to do something out of the ordinary... This is going to be our final project for this level. How would you like making friends with a Russian EFL student?.... Read the following project proposal from Professor Olga Scheglova, from Omsk:

Dear Doris and students,

I'm Olga Scheglova, an English teacher from Omsk, Siberia, Russia.  I visited your presentation at CO2011 and really liked it.

I thought that if you are interested, we could have a joint project with our students. The idea of the project is crosscultural communication. It is an opportunity to practice their speaking and writing in English, to learn more about people from another country (some of them are studying Spanish at the moment) and to introduce more technology in their lives.

My students are 17-18 y.o., there are 14 of them, their English level is intermediate (Some have upper-intermediate, some have pre-intermediate). They started learning English at school and now they continue to become translators.

The project can be as following: we pair up the students, first thay exchange e-mails and discuss when it is convenient for them to meet online. Then every 2 weeks they have a topic/ a question they have to ask their foreign partner in skype. After each conversation they write a report in a blog/forum about what they have learned. Also they are encouraged to read and comment each other's reports.  The final product can be a presentation "Now I know that in Venezuela/Russia..."

I wonder if the idea seems interesting to you. I'm looking forward to your answer.

Sincerely yours,
Olga

Omsk F. M. Dostoevsky State University

Well, I think this will be  a great opportunity for you to practice your English and meet new friends...all you will have to do it's to talk to your partner in Russia and tell him or her about our country.. You will report on your blog the conversations and at the end of the trimester your will introduce your friend to the class.

We'll try to meet them on line next Wednesday... please bring your mics...