Innovation in Language Learning

In Colombia the policies for teaching English as a foreign language have been framed in the communicative competence which entails the linguistic, pragmatic and sociolinguistic competences. These three elements include the “necessary knowledge and skills” that a learner must have to make use of the language. However, in practice we recognize that is necessary to consider the intercultural competence as an intended outcome in which learners have opportunities to deal with language in real situations.

Taking this concern into account, we decided to carry out an exploratory exercise in which we established a relationship with a group of Spanish language learners from a school in the United States and a group of English learners from a public school in Colombia. The main objective of this experience was to offer the Colombian students a context for practicing their acquired skills with the target language bearing in mind that, because of the geographical position of our country (among other reasons), our students do not find the ultimate sense of learning English.

The experience consists on using different ICT tools by which the two groups are working together in order to build a friendship and a mutual collaboration in their target language learning. To ensure the efficacy of this exercise, the project was planned including some specific tasks that students were asked to carry out. At the end, students tell their experience, being able to talk about not only their new foreign friend but also, uncovering the similarities and differences on the cultural aspects found through the exercise.

The socialization of this classroom practice aims to describe the way the project was developed, the participants’ insights and the relationship that emerges between language and culture in an attempt to go beyond the mere linguistic competence, taking advantage of the facilities that ICT tools offer nowadays.