Home:
Work
And Study Abroad
Preparation: documentation/briefing handbooks/websites
As the web is fast becoming an information and pedagogic tool which can be accessed from around the world, it offers a number of possibilities for the student preparing to go on a period of residence abroad and for keeping in contact with the home institution and country whilst away.
Before they go
In the months before they leave, encourage students going on work or study placements to use the web to research up to date information about the places in which they are going to be living and working. Students going on study placements, for example, may find information about courses at their host institution, about the campus, leisure activities, clubs, accommodation and transport. Future language assistants might find their school has web pages and those on work placements may well be able to find out about the structure of the company, its sphere of activity and other employees. All those travelling fairly close to home in Europe should be able to find out something about the region they are going to; maps, local newspapers and adverts, contact addresses, timetables and so on. Those travelling further afield might find web-based information patchy, but still useful in giving some insight into the country and culture that they will be visiting. All students might find that live or recorded Internet radio and TV, accessed through a digital tuner such as vTuner (downloadable from www.vtuner.com), gives a useful pre-taste of the L2land.
The research students carry out could be built into the content or language course; students using and benefiting from the target language input to perhaps present a written or oral report of their findings. At one south-coast university, engineers preparing to go for a final year abroad are encouraged to look for e-mail addresses of fellow engineers or other useful contacts at their host university and to write (in the target language) for further information. Any useful information is reported back to the class.
Vicky Wright
27/09/99