Logging on to their blog, nearly three dozen ESL students at Luther Burbank High School (Sacramento, CA) check-in with friends around the globe. Larry Ferlazzo, their teacher, created the blog along with instructors from six other countries. In all, the blog allows 200 English language learners to correspond about their lives and cultures.

Ferlazzo teaches history and English to non-native students. He particularly likes the blog because it provides practice in all aspects of language. They read other students' written posts and listen to voice threads. They write their own posts and record their own threads. The recording forces them to work on pronunciation. They are getting to know eachother and have exchanged photos of San Francisco's cable cars for ones of Romanian architecture and video street tours of Budapest. Soon, teachers will have the students focus on a particular theme, such as "What is your government like?" and "How do people in your country advocate for social change?"

Ferlazzo observes, "It's an authentic audience. It's one thing to make a product that's read by a teacher. It's an artificial audience. It's a whole different picture when you're communicating to hundreds of other students around the world that really want to know what the United States are like."

Seventeen-year old Xeng Her agrees, explaining through her Hmong translator, "It's pretty easy. We can talk to them as if they're our own kind."

Ted Appel, principal of Burbank High, said other teachers have been intrigued by Ferlazzo's efforts with the blog and are looking into doing similar activities with their students - including those who are native English speakers.

"It's just an interesting, dynamic way to have students develop their English language skills and knowledge of their community," he said. "Kids are motivated to do it, and it has a real benefit."

Source: Sacramento Bee, Burbank students use blog to learn English, Kim Minugh