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emco: english >Know-how >Writing and Speaking >Communicating in the Internet >
Communicating in the InternetSceptics still insist that electronic correspondence via PCs has led to a degree of orthographic laxity. The enthusiasts and afficionados of unfettered e-mailing hold the opposite opinion, pointing out that people acquire an education in spelling, grammar and the rules of the alphabet as a side-effect of using this means of communication. What is certain is that computer letters and e-mails have substantially changed the quality of writing.
E-mail
Compared to ordinary letters (or ‘snail mail’), e-mail increases the effectivity and speed of communication considerably. Messages reach the addressee almost as soon they are sent, irrespective of the geographical distance between the communicating partners. For many people, typing a few lines into the pc and mailing them directly from home or the office is easier than writing long letters by hand. Hence e-mails are usually shorter than conventional letters and communicative exchanges may, under certain circumstances, take place far more frequently.
As with (electronic) ‘chatting’, when writing e-mails people frequently employ so-called emoticons or ‘smilies’ to express either feelings, such as joy, sadness, or to convey the tone – ironic, humourous and so on.
Beside one to one communication, e-mails offer the possibility of reaching a larger number of people simultaneously by means of mailing lists. Mailing lists are public discussion forums with or without an anchorman/woman. The e-mails are distributed to all addressees on the list (subscribers), who can then read the messages and respond if they wish to. Mailing lists provide a means of acquiring precise information, of exchanging news and views with like-minded people all over the world, or holding discussions. In the meantime, a vast number of mailing lists on every conceivable topic has come into existence.
News letters are information services set up by companies or organisations which can send information to their subscribers by these means. In such cases the communication flow is in one direction only: from the provider to the recipient.
Many websites offer this kind of service in order, for example, to up-date their readers on changes that have occurred.
Communication via e-mail is particularly well suited to teaching purposes. Besides carrying out research on the web, subscribing to a mailing list on the current classroom topic can prove helpful.
E-mail contact to schools abroad provides a great many interesting possibilities, particularly in the field of foreign language teaching.
Chatting
One form of written communication in the Internet is very popular with young people: chatting.
Originally ‘chatting’ was made possible by means of special ‘clients’ (computer programmes) through the Internet Relay Chat (IRC). Now there are a large number of web-based ‘chats’ (available through normal browsers such as Netscape) which have a high acceptancy rate among young people as they are easier to use.
In electronic chatting two or more persons communicate directly with each other by means of written texts. The (male and female) users meet through both public and private channels.
Generally speaking, communication takes place anonymously, as the participants give themselves nicknames when logging into chat rooms. Each individual in any particular chat therefore knows only the pseudonyms of the others involved. This Internet service is employed largely by its younger users as a medium for exchanging everyday information and gossip.
A special form of language has evolved on these chat channels, consisting of acronyms and so-called emoticons (emotion icons). Emoticons are also sometimes referred to as ‘smilies’ (or ‘smileys’). To the uninitiated, electronic chatting can appear completely incomprehensible as these codes are sometimes used very frequently by experienced ‘chatterers’. These chat codes are intended to communicate non-verbal dialogue content such as facial expression, gestures, body language etc. within the text. They express moods and feeling, as well as irony and all the other things which are difficult to convey within the structure of a normal written text.Some examples of acronymsBTW | by the way | CU | see you (colloquial English for ‘goodbye’) | THX | ‘thanx’ (thanks) | LOL | laughing out loud | ROTFL | rolling on the floor laughing |
Examples of smilies (tilt your head to the left and you will see the ‘faces’ clearly!):o) | smile, smiling at you | ;o) | wink, not to be taken too seriously, ironic | :-( | disappointed, sad, angry | ((name)) | hugs |
In schoolFrom the wide variety of uses to which electronic chatting could be put in the classroom, here are some of the most practical: to encourage otherwise ‘lazy writers’ in the class to create their own texts – and hence practise their writing skills. To use electronic chatting as an exercise to motivate pupils to learn to type.
As with e-mail, this form of communication could be used effectively in foreign language classes to stimulate interaction with speakers of the target language in ‘live’ situations and to communicate with other partner schools all over the world.
Furthermore, pupils can hold chat online conferences with other schools to co-ordinate projects or other, similar activities.
Translation: Michèle Lester.
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