Asignment

Using chat language teaching
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Why?
1 with text chat, we need to teach learners to use text speak, e.g. l8er for later.
It may be useful to teach your learners certain common abbreviations used in text chat like CU for see you or btw for by the way, but you need to consider whether your learners really need to use text chat as native speakers do, or whether they will be using chat to contact other non native speakers. Even if they do use chat to contact native speakers, do they need to sound like native speakers? Using Standard English in text chat is preferable, but this is also an issue worth discussing with your learners to see what they think.
2 Voiced chat is easier to use than text chat.
In terms of technical requirements, text chat may be easier to use than voice chat, as text chat requires less bandwidth, no sound card, microphone, speakers or headset. Text chat can be slow and weaker typists are put at a disadvantage. Also, in the single computer classroom, larger groups can take part in voice chat more easily than in text chat so which one is easier to use with learners depends very much on your teaching context.
3 the teacher requires a lot of technical knowledge to use text or voice chat with learners.
Chat software is generally very easy to install and use. Although more complex chat software like elluminate might require some initial training, less complex programs, like instant messaging, are very user-friendly and require no technical knowledge to install and use indeed, many of our learners are already using tools like instant messaging in their personal lives.
4 it’s a good idea to teach learners some chat conventions, e.g. how to take turns.
The need of either text or voice chat conventions will depend on the size of the group in the chat. Usually if a chat is held between only two participants conventions are unnecessary, but for larger groups conventions are a good idea, especially for text chat.
5 Using chat is best between classes who already meet regularly face to face.
Conducting initial chat practice sessions with a class who already know each other is a good idea, but our feeling is that chat should then be used in a real situation, with learners using chat to contact learners who are not in the same place. For the use of chat to be meaningful for learners, and not just a gimmick in class, we would suggest that chat is used outside class between class members or between two classes who are in geographically separate places.