Description:

Can't put a face to that name? This format is a good way to welcome visitors or students in advance, or introduce correspondents who never meet face-to-face. A picture, a short (20-30 second) sound recording and an accompanying script provide the perfect virtual meeting, available at the click of a mouse. Sound files can also be turned into simple listening exercises.

Oregon-Senshu Project
Oregon-Jissen Special Summer Program

Goals:

• To personalize communication; to create a deeper more "human" bond between participants.
• To increase student commitment to and involvement in the language process, activity, experience, etc.
• Pre-Listening questions: to provide a focused listening opportunity.

Alternatives/Follow-Up:

• Limited server space: Have students work in one large or several smaller groups. (Somewhat different focus and format, but see Oregon-Sugiyama Student Projects, Summer 1998).
• Advanced Technology: Use video files instead of or in addition to sound and image files.

Places to find email penpals:
• Intercultural Email Classroom Connections
• Ex-Change
• International E-Mail Tandem Network

• Template to make my own!
• Instructions for using template.
  
  Resources for content:
  
  
• Sound Machine, Free and widely used on the Web.