Thing #6

When I saw the list, hands down I chose Skype! Shortly after graduation from college in 2007, I moved to Mexico and stayed there for three years. I made a lot of friends while living there. Skype has been an important tool in keeping me in touch with those friends. I can talk with them and see them at the same time. We can be talking about some funny video I saw on YouTube the other day and I can send them the link and watch them watch the video and see them bust out in laughter. We have even hit the play button at the same time so we could watch it together. It's the next best thing to actually being there with them. Also, if we are too busy to talk, we can chat. Since most of my friends there have smartphones, we can use the Skype app like a type of international texting.

For example, my friend Donald came to visit me and my Spanish students this past semester and talked to them about the importance of broadening your horizons by learning another language/culture. One day I noticed that he had sent me a message via Skype chat. (Admittedly I forgot to turn my phone to vibrate that day.) My students asked what the noise was. When I saw that it was Donald chatting, I read it. The message said something like, "Hey bro! I know you're in class. I'm waiting on a meeting and thought of your students. Do be sure to tell them hello from me." I read it to my class. You should have seen their faces. They instantly remembered Donald and started talking about some of the things he had said in class a few weeks before.

I think Skype could be a useful tool in a class such as Spanish. Students could practice their Spanish with someone who is in a Spanish-speaking country. The idea of an "exchange class program" could take place to where an English class in Mexico could communicate weekly with a Spanish class in the U.S. They could both help each other learn the other person's language. It would be like having a study buddy. This could all be done for just the price of a webcam and some microphones. In my opinion, it's a very cheap price to pay for a great and practical learning experience.