In more than a decade years of teaching experience, I have found English language classroom, a great challenge

Skype for Real Conversations

You’re probably already familiar with the popular video chat program Skype. But it’s also an excellent tool to give students real English conversation practice with native speakers.

If your school is located in an area with very few native English speakers, Skype lets them practice the skills you’ve been teaching without buying a plane ticket. You can ask some of your friends from the ESL world (or even other English-speaking friends and family) to donate an hour or two for Skype conversations with your classroom.

You can also encourage students to use Skype for individual language exchanges. Find out if your school has any relationships with other international schools, where students are learning your class’ native language and looking for speaking partners.

If not, your local university might help with connections to international schools or exchange programs.

Best of all, Skype allows students to record chats. This way, they can re-listen to material and use it to notice and correct their mistakes.