Web 2.0 in second language teaching/learning

There are so many different tools within the Internet to use in the ESL classroom. We only need to be aware of them and learn how to use them.

So, What kind of tools can we use? and How can we make our students to use them?

• Well, the first and most common tool would be the creation of a Blog where the teacher could post information about lessons or the latest events of the class. Another idea is for each student to develop a blog by their own, so they can subscribe to each other's and post comments or share ideas, experiences, etc.

• Secondly, there is another tool that could be very engaging for our students, i.e. Second Life, a virtual world, where people can chat, create their own worlds, build, etc. You can create your own second language world and share it with teachers from other countries in order to create a kind of virtual-pen pal net.

• Other way to support your lessons is to create a Wiki, a site where everybody can add information about anything. You can engage your students to colaborate on doing one bby letting them know the importance of this tool. The best known example of a Wiki is Wikipedia (which our students know really well).

• Podcasts are audio files that you can upload to and/or download from different websites. These are quite useful for listening activities and for learning about different topics. There is a wide variety of subjects, from news reports to gossiping, jokes and general knowledge. You just need to choose the adequate for your class. You can make your students tape their own recordings as well and then upload them in your blog, wiki, etc.

• Now, if you have some .html or web knowledge, you could create your own webpage and upload your own information, lessons, worksheets, etc. But let's be realistic. There is no much time left for a teacher to develop a whole site and to keep it updated, so we can use all these other wonderful tools and more. (Flickr, Scribd, Slideshare, Google tools, Youtube, etc.)

The options are endless. The thing is to find and apply them.