Intercultural Online Conversation Partners

Jorge Torres Almazan, The American School of Tampico, Tampico, Mexico

We are told we must bring authentic material to our classrooms and to include real-life situations and contexts, so students can use language in the real world. However, in my context, many or most of our speaking lessons and activities are limited to role-plays, semi-controlled dialogues, and interaction with the same peers. As the teacher, I am the only proficient user of the language students have interaction with.

I teach at the Languages Division of The American School of Tampico. My students are young adults, many pursuing university studies or employment in different areas. Despite having limited time to practice and study the language, our students are always looking for opportunities to do so.

During the pandemic we, teachers and students, rediscovered something that had been available to us before those days, online interactions. We realize now that there is a lot we can do using this incredible tool. We are now using it to bring real-life situations and contexts to our class.

Networking

Online webinars and social media have given us the opportunity to broaden our networks and find older friends and colleagues. During the early days of the pandemic I reconnected with my first English teacher, Paul N. Weaver, at an ESL Program in a suburb in the Chicago area. He is now teaching Spanish at a University in Ohio. He was excited to find out I am an EFL teacher in Tampico, Mexico. Once the pandemic was over we talked on how to work together in the benefit of our language learners and colleagues.

The Collaboration

First, I invited him for an interview on my YouTube Channel. He shared his experience and knowledge with Mexican colleagues and students. Then Paul proposed the idea of bringing our students together online. The goal is to practice Spanish and English, learn about each other's culture and traditions, make new friends, and bring real-life experience to our classes. This is not a role-play or a controlled activity. Students are themselves. Since our students are all adults there is no need to be there when they are in the video-call.

Planning

I asked my principal for permission to start with this mini project. Paul and I identified the groups of students we would invite to the activity. My students immediately accepted our invitation. My students are at a A2+ level. Paul’s are different levels, but equally enthusiastic.

Each of us collected information about our students’ likes, interests, and the days and times they could meet their peers. I shared the file with Paul and he matched them. One of the conditions is that all students must use institutional email accounts. Students will meet once a week for one hour for 14 weeks. They speak 30 minutes in Spanish and 30 minutes in English. They must be patient, empathetic, and help each other as much as possible. This is not part of their grades.

Possible Drawbacks

Paul and I know our students and we were concerned about their reactions when meeting their partners from the other school. We wanted to prevent any drawbacks. Most of my students feel nervous when they have to use their L2 or they may lack ideas to start or continue a conversation. We wanted this to be a free conversation, real-life one. Paul came up with an idea that helped solve the solution. He created a list of suggested topics -in English and Spanish- in case they don’t know what to say or how to start. The use of the topics is optional. This is a sample, each topic or category includes 8-10 questions.

Suggestions for discussion

1. Myself

• What is your name? Does it have a special meaning?

2. Family

• Share/tell about a time when your family had fun together.

3. Education

• Talk about, share photos of, your experiences in school – where, what was it like?

4. Friends

• What do you like to do with your friends?

5. Food

• What did you eat today?

6. Religion:

• What religion are you a part of?

7. Economics:

• What are the main sources of employment in your community/region/state?

8. Politics:

• What are the major political issues in your nation/country/place?

Another problem we have is that Paul has 15 students, I have 19. So 4 of my students are available to join the meeting in case any of the official Mexican peers cannot attend on a specific day.

In Process

We started the second week of January. Students report enthusiastically about their interactions. Time to assess speaking and listening skills and progress is still to come. What I have now is a recording of my students speaking about one of their new friends. My plan is to ask for another video at the end of the term, compare and contrast.

As mentioned above, time to assess communication skills more effectively is yet to come. At the moment what can be recorded is students´ perceptions and opinions about the experience regardless of their level of accuracy. I use a brief multiple choice questionnaire, for my Mexican students, to collect their impressions during the first 4 weeks of interaction. It included the following 3 questions and options:

1. I have gained more…

1. fluency
2. confidence
3. comprehension

2. It has helped me to…

1. understand my partner´s culture
2. learn more about my partner´s life
3. break stereotypes

3. The experience has been…

1. what I expected
2. more than expected
3. odd

Question 1: 40% of students believe they have gained more confidence, another 40% report more comprehension, and the rest 20% say they see improvement in fluency.

Question 2: 80% report they have learned more about partners´ personal life, 20% think they know more about their counterparts´ culture, none of them report on stereotypes.

Question 3: 80% think the experience is more than expected, 20% say it is what they expected, and 0% report odd experiences.

Conclusion

Using these real-life language activities help EFL & SFL students to form a meaningful connection with the language and native speakers, supporting their learning experience. And as a preliminary report we could say this also reinforces confidence, empathy, and the path to enhance soft skills.

References

Almazán J. T. (2024, October 17-19) “Intercultural Online Language Learning Conversation Partners" MexTESOL International Convention. Monterrey, NL, México https://textinspector.com/using-authentic-materials-language-teaching/

Jorge Torres Almazán has collaborated on International Virtual Exchanges with students and teachers in various countries. He has a long career in the education sector, holding roles such as Head of the Self-Access Learning Center at The American School of Tampico and serving as a member of the TESOL Board of Directors in 2025. He was recognized with the Outstanding Tutor Award in 2022 by the Literacy Volunteers of Illinois and University of Illinois Chicago's Center for Literacy for his contributions to the ESL and Adult Literacy Program at Prairie State Community College in Chicago Heights.