Chatlines are great for students with fast typing skills but hopeless for those unable to read fast as well as type fast.
They, however, are excellent on a one-to-one basis where two people can type to each other and epals has this facility.
so does Yahoo if you go into a private conversation.
I find talking to students on a chatline is a great way to introduce them to this and finally as they make other friends
to talk to, they discard the teacher and chat to each other and new friends quite comfortably and this is the goal of this
program.
Classes can be encouraged to talk to each other whilst learning how to gain the skills needed for using chatlines. Whole
classes is the way to go with the teacher of each leading the discussion initially. It is so exciting to talk to another country
and another school far away.
It is amazing how quickly students will learn to type and to read when they get interested, and students are always interested
in talking to other students.
Correctly used, chatlines are a vital tool that ought to be used far more than they are being used, especially for ESL
teaching, in isolated areas and with home schooling.
