At my college, we have no PCs and no Internet connectivity in EFL classrooms. Therefore, I have been using technology in EFL instruction from home as a supplement to in-class instruction since the year 2000. My students and I use our own PCs and Internet connection from home. I used Blackboard, WebCT, Moodle and Nicenet in teaching 18 reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar courses to freshman students and a culture course to sophomore students. In each online course, there was a student leader. Student leaders had the highest posts and responses (50- 150) and the highest student-student and student-instructor interaction. They were the first to register. They posted their own threads, short paragraphs, stories or poems on the discussion board. One posted a daily quotable quote, another posted a weekly poem of hers, and a third posted a daily joke. They could locate information from Internet sites. They responded to threads posted by me or by their classmates. They created a warm online climate by responding to their classmates, by sending encouraging messages and thank-you notes and inviting students to respond to their own posts. Student leaders had a higher proficiency level in EFL, were well-read, had a good writing ability, and many were creative writers. They were more competent and more comfortable with technology than their classmates, and above all, they were highly motivated and eager to learn. The study will provide sample posts and responses and report results of interviews with student leaders.
Prof. Reima Al-jarf
King Saud University
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf
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