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##  Enhancing Authentic Language Learning Experiences through Internet              Technology. ERIC Digest.                                                     

With the focus on language, communication, and culture in the                   national standards for foreign language learning (Standards, 1999),             foreign language teachers are continually searching for better ways             of accessing authentic materials and providing experiences that will            improve their students' knowledge and skills in these target areas.             As the Internet has transformed communication around the world, it              is natural that it should play a major role in the foreign language             classroom. 
The instant worldwide connections enabled through the              Internet have changed the way people everywhere think about                     communication, information, and doing business. Although Internet               applications are really just computer programs that know how to use             the Internet to interact, we view them as an extension of the world             that we live in, an extension that brings the world to our                      fingertips. We can share all sorts of things with the world, get                authentic materials from anywhere, and interact with people in                  distant locations as never before. How can Internet software enhance            the classroom experience? In addition to the original Internet                  applications, like FTP for moving files between machines and Telnet             for logging into distant computers, the wide range of features and              media (text, image, sound, video, multimedia) supported by the                  current crop of Internet programs makes them powerful additions to              the foreign language teacher's repertoire. This digest highlights a             number of Internet applications that can be used to enrich the                  foreign language classroom. ELECTRONIC MAILEmail was in use               before the Internet as we know it today even existed and is still               the most commonly used Internet application. Foreign language                   teachers can integrate email-based activities into their                        curriculum (LeLoup, 1997; Warschauer, 1995). For example,                       international keypal projects that enable students to correspond                with native speakers of the target language are easily implemented              where participants have the necessary access, equipment, and foreign            contacts (Knight, 1994; Shelley, 1996). The infrastructure                      requirements for email are minimal, making it the most available of             all Internet tools. Distance learning is another curricular area                where email is being used (Ponterio, 1996). Today's email software              can handle text in a wide variety of languages, can transmit                    diacritics, and can include word processed files as attachments. The            software also allows us send sound and images as attachments that               enhance the context of the written communication. ELECTRONIC                  LISTSElectronic discussion groups or "lists" (sometimes referred            to as "LISTSERVs") use email to provide a forum where people of                 similar interests can participate in a professional dialog and share            resources. Hundreds of lists of interest to language teachers are               available on the Internet. (See, for example,                                   http://alabanza.com/kabacoff/Inter-Links/listserv.html to search for            scholarly electronic lists.) Some are service lists, such as                    LLTI (Language Learning Technology International Discussion Forum),             which distributes information about all aspects of the technology               used in language teaching; and IECC (Intercultural E-Mail Classroom             Connections, K-12), which provides a service for teachers seeking               partner classrooms for international and cross-cultural electronic              mail exchanges. Others are language specific and address topics as              specific and diverse as their membership warrants (e.g., AATG,                  ESPAN-L, TESL-L). FLTEACH (Foreign Language Teaching Forum) is a                list that cuts across language lines to discuss methodology,                    instructional innovation, professional articulation, and enhanced               student learning, among other topics. Participation in electronic               discussion lists can be a useful tool for professional development,             particularly for educators who are isolated geographically or within            their districts from other teachers of the same language (LeLoup &              Ponterio, 1995a, 1995b). 
When participating in discussions,                   certain rules and protocols (netiquette) should be observed.                    Following list guidelines and learning how to accurately express and            gauge the tenor of a post or response (often by using smiley faces)             are very important skills in this faceless communications                       environment. In addition, some lists are very active, and keeping up            with the messages may be a daunting job. Most e-mail software can               easily sort mail into separate folders to help manage list                      messages. ELECTRONIC JOURNALSSeveral electronic journals                  target foreign language professionals. Generally, these journals are            free, are published on a regular basis, and do not exist in paper               form. There are a number of reasons for publishing a journal online.            First, electronic journals can reach a large and diverse audience in            a timely manner and without the printing costs of a paper journal.              Second, the hypermedia nature of Web-based journals enables articles            to include links to related background or reference information                 located elsewhere on the Web. Third, a number of these journals have            a technology focus, and electronic dissemination illustrates many of            the technologies treated in a given issue. With good submission                 policies and a strong editorial board, an online journal can be as              dependable as a similarly run traditional journal. Of particular                interest are "Language Learning &                                               Technology (LL&T)" (http://llt.msu.edu/) and "Teaching English as a             Second Language: An Electronic                                                  Journal (TESL-EJ)" (http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/).                  WORLD WIDE WEBThe Web browser, usually Netscape or Internet               Explorer, is the window through which most people view the Internet.            Thanks to its flexibility and integration of other services, the Web            represents the broadest and most powerful Internet application,                 pulling many others in under its umbrella. It has two main defining             elements. The hypertext link allows anything on one page to link to             any other page in the world, and the ability to combine objects of              many different types makes the Web page an excellent format for                 mixed media. The multimedia nature of the Web and the use of the Web            page as an interface to other services have greatly expanded the                power of the Internet by making it possible to display information              using a combination of formats (Fidelman, 1996). This is essential              for the delivery of authentic materials, including texts; images;               sound recordings; video clips; virtual reality worlds; and dynamic,             interactive presentations. For some media formats, additional helper            applications or plug-ins must be downloaded and installed to enhance            the Web browser. In addition, sophisticated programming functions,              such as CGI, JavaScript, and Dynamic HTML can turn a Web page into              an interactive computer program. All this can allow the student to              work in interesting ways with the authentic materials found on the              page. STREAMING AUDIO AND VIDEOOne way of connecting students             with native speakers and authentic A-V materials is by using the                technologies of streaming audio and video, which virtually transport            the target language environment to the second language classroom                without waiting for huge files to download. Students can listen to              live radio stations from around the world or hear pre-recorded                  broadcasts of music, news, sports, and weather. They may watch the              nightly news from France or live TV from Chile transmitted to their             computer in real-time. One of the many places to find online media              of this sort is Media Info (http://emedia1.mediainfo.com/emedia/).              This technology keeps getting better thanks to faster computers and             better Internet connections. RealPlayer and Media Player are the two            most common streaming formats, and both can be freely                           downloaded. SEARCH ENGINESThe Web is so extensive that good               tools are needed to help us find authentic materials that correspond            to the topics of the foreign language curriculum. A search engine is            an online "private eye" that does this detective work for the user.             Search engines use keywords to find any site (documents, files, Web             pages) that contains the keywords entered by the user. Some even                calculate how good the match is so the most likely hits are                     presented first. The Web is growing and changing so fast that trying            to navigate it and locate desired information without search engines            would be a formidable task. 
The Web has numerous search                       engines (e.g., Yahoo, Altavista, Google). Each one searches the                 Internet, creating extensive indexes of all of the words that it                finds on all pages in all languages. When it finds links, the search            engine examines those pages as well. Although there are language                specific engines (e.g., Ole, Encuentrelo, Crawler.de Suche, Il ragno            italiano, LOKACE, ECILA, SAPO), all of these tools work well for                many languages. Each one performs a little differently, so it is a              good idea to read the "help" page to learn the best techniques for              doing simple and advanced searches with the engine you are using. In            addition to searches, many of them also provide ready-made                      collections of pages on specific topics from current events to                  cooking to business. REMOTE ACCESS TO LIBRARIES AND                           DATABASESMany library catalogs, bibliographic resources, and                other types of databases are available on the Internet through a Web            browser. Many of these used to be housed in closed systems or on                CDs, but more and more are now Internet accessible. The ERIC                    database is an example of an important resource available via the               Web (http://www.accesseric.org/searchdb/searchdb.html), making it               easy for teachers to locate Digests, Minibibs, and articles of                  interest on-line. The Perseus                                                   Project (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/) includes an online database             of classical texts. There are also databases of lesson plans and                teaching resources, like RETANET (http://ladb.unm.edu/retanet/) for             Latin America. CHAT, AUDIO AND VIDEO CONFERENCING,                            MESSAGINGWhile much of the Internet is about the presentation of            information, instant communication with other individuals allows an             interpersonal exchange with a friend around the corner or around the            world. Such real-time communication takes place via several                     different types of chat, conferencing, and messaging programs. One              such application is Internet Relay Chat (IRC), which enables                    synchronous "conversation" among participants anywhere in the world.            Users enter a channel and "talk" by typing messages to all of the               other people on that channel; everything that is typed is seen                  instantly by everyone. Hundreds of channels exist, with names                   usually reflecting the topics and language discussed. Private closed            channels can also be created for use in the classroom. 
Audio and              video conferencing programs, such as CUSeeMe and MS NetMeeting, are             options for engaging foreign language students in voice                         conversation. Users can talk directly to their interlocutor and,                using the proper hardware and software, can even see and be seen by             the person they are addressing. These applications take a large                 amount of bandwidth and depend on a good modem connection; network              traffic will also affect the results. The development and                       availability of broadband service through cable-modem and Digital               Subscriber Line (DSL), which are much faster than modem access, is              making desktop video conferencing a reality for an ever growing                 number of people. 
Messaging software such as ICQ or Instant                   Messenger provides an instant connection to the people on a user's              list of contacts by letting the user know when those people are                 online. These programs facilitate quick communication by making a               connection to an individual as easy as clicking on a name. These new            technologies are already powerful and have the potential for                    tremendous impact on the ability of students to communicate directly            with native speakers in target language environments. WEB COURSE              MANAGEMENTWeb course management software is designed for                    creating and managing online courses but can also be used to support            and extend a traditional class by making materials with teacher                 annotation, glossaries, syllabus, and assignments available to the              students through the Web. The collaboration tools built into this               software for communicating with and among students have been                    exploited by language teachers for interactive homework by having               students exchange messages in the target language in a real-time                chat session or on a closed bulletin board (open only to the                    students in the class). The computer automatically saves these                  messages for the teacher. Two examples of course management software            are WebCT and Blackboard. 
CONCLUSION
   Ultimately, it is                    incumbent upon the foreign languageteacher to integrate these tools             into the curriculum in apedagogically sound and meaningful way.                 Clearly, targetlanguage communication and cultures are easily                   accessiblethrough current and emerging technologies, and                        informationabout using these resources is readily available online.             Theintrepid and creative teacher will venture into this                         virtualrealm, find authentic resources, and use them to make                    thesecond language classroom a marvelous place to                               learn. REFERENCESFidelman, C. G. (1996). A language                       professional's guide to the World Wide Web. "CALICO Journal,                    13" (2 & 3); http://agoralang.com/calico/webarticle.html 
Knight,              S. (1994). Making authentic cultural and linguistic                             connections. "Hispania, 77," 289-294. 
LeLoup, J. W. (1997). But I             only have e-mail--What can I do? "Learning Languages, 2,"                       10-15. 
LeLoup, J. W., & Ponterio, R. (1995a). Networking with                 foreign language colleagues: Professional development on the                    Internet. "Northeast Conference Newsletter, 37," 6-10. 
LeLoup, J.             W., & Ponterio, R. (1995b). FLTEACH: Online professional dialogue.              In M. Warschauer (Ed.), "Virtual connections: Online activities &               projects for networking language learners" (pp.375-392). Honolulu,              HI: University of Hawaii Press. 
Ponterio, R. (1996). Internet                 resources for a French civilization course at SUNY Cortland: A pilot            project. "NYSAFLT Annual Meeting Series, 11," 43-50. 
Shelley, J.              O. (1996). Minneapolis and Brittany: Children bridge geographical               and social differences through technology. "Learning Languages, 2,"             3-11. 
"Standards for foreign language learning in the 21st                    century." (1999). Lawrence, KS: Allen Press. 
Warschauer,                      M. (Ed.) (1995). "Virtual connections: Online activities & projects             for networking Language Learners." Honolulu, HI: University of                  Hawaii Press. 
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This digest was prepared with funding from              the U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Educational Research and                 Improvement, National Library of Education, under contract no.                  ED-99-CO-0008. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the            positions or policies of ED, OERI, or NLE.                                   **Title:** Enhancing Authentic Language Learning Experiences through Internet              Technology. ERIC Digest.                                                     **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC/CLL, 4646 40th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20016-1859. For full             text: http://www.cal.org/ericcll.                                            **Descriptors:**  Computer Assisted Instruction, Databases, Electronic Journals,                 Electronic Mail,  Internet, Listservs,  Second Language Instruction,            Second Language Learning, World Wide Web                                     **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests                                                                 
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