Jean W. LeLoup Assistant Professor of Spanish SUNY Cortland, New York Electronic communications technologies are proliferating at an amazing rate. School districts are scrambling to provide teachers with the technological framework and rudimentary conduits to enable access to these materials. While this is frustrating in the short run, this access will come eventually, albeit sooner to those districts in which it is a high priority. In the meantime, FL teachers have several other options that are as close as the phone line. Most schools now have some level of Internet access that may range from one phone line into the library, to several dedicated lines connecting a computer laboratory to the Internet, to a very fast frame relay T1 connection.
Many schools even offer e-mail accounts to the faculty for school use.
Access to e-mail opens many doors to FL teachers that can lead to such diverse options as class activities and projects, professional development opportunities for the teacher, direct FL communication with native speakers, and pedagogical support. A list is a discussion group on a topic of common interest to the subscribers. E-mail lists can be valuable resources for FL teachers. Through participation in the discussions of the lists described below and many others, teachers can become involved in a professional dialogue about any aspect of teaching or language they wish. Exchanges ranging from theoretical discussions to practical suggestions for enhancing classroom activities, to comments on textbook series, to advice about travel companies for student trips abound.