Assignment n° 7

Using email: issues

a-  Your learners don´t have email accounts.

They probably not even know how to create an email account so you are the one on charge to make it possible. First of all, you can find out how much they know concerning to the internet by making them some questions, in order to explain what to do next as to get one.

b- Your learners don´t know how to send or open email attachments.

Considering most of them have an email account, not forgetting those who don´t, you can take your laptop to the classroom to give details about getting an email account. Then open yours and send one of your students some info so as to describe the only way to send and open email attachments.  

c-   Your learners use abbreviations such as CU (´see you´) or the lower case i in all their emails.

Firstly, you have to make them know what level of language you are going to work with. That, it is the universal written English, not the informal one, then as time passes correct them in every mistake they might have.

d- You would like to provide your learners with a weekly emailed summary of classwork covered, but have not time to do so.

So, one way to make a summary every week is to send them a page where they can find plenty of information about the topic to be developed. Not only this, but also the importance to let them know they can count on you if something is misunderstood. Then, they will have just to send you an email with some questions to be answered.

e- Your learners are reluctant to do the extra work that belonging to a class email discussion list involves, and do not contribute much.

There are some pupils not involved in class; the only thing they do is to be interesting in doing nothing so, why not asking them what makes them enjoy the most and work on it. For example, if they have to do a work about people they look up to, they may be motivating to do so.  

f-    In a keypal project, your learners don´t know what to write to their partner in another country.

If you are working on a specific topic, you can make some guide to be delivered among your students, so they will have some questions to do. However, they will have to make their own questions as well, in order to get involved in the conversation. 

g-  Your learners are upset by emails received from the partner country, as they find them “rude” or “aggressive”.

Make sure that your partner teacher who you are working with is monitoring his students as the way you do. Let him know you take care of what your students send them so you hope him to do it as well.