Make an ePal

     Have you ever had a pen pal?  Waiting for the reply from the pen pal is always exciting, isn't it?
     How about a pen pal from a different country, culture, and background?  ePals makes making a pen pal, or that's say "ePal", a possible thing!

Photo by ihave3kids 

     This is a helpful tool for language learns.  L2 learners can continue learning their target languages out of class as well.  Just click on the Collaborate column, and you will see ePals Classrooms, which are available.  This is a good way to make friends all over the world.  Besides, it is a option to do language exchange.  What if I were the teacher of a language class, I would ask my students to make an ePal on this community website.  I will not require them to show me their mails, which received from their ePals.  However, in order to make sure they are really doing this assignment, I will ask them to ask help from their ePals to send at least one postcard from their countries, so that I can be certain that students do make ePals on-line, and practice using the language.   There is one thing I regard important.  If the teacher plans to make this a task in class, it will be better if the teacher can help the students to check the ePals they choose.  This prevent them from beinig cheated or scammed.


     What is more, I personally like the Storrytelling part of this website.  It provides not only the guideline on how to tell a good story, but also some interesting links for the students to make their own stories.  All of the links are easy to operate, and there are various options for students to choose from.  It can be making an animation cartoon or write a story.  The teacher can take some teaching idea from this website as well.