Woodley, Carolyn and Curran, Lisa (2011) Global English Corner: international conversations through Elluminate and WordPress. In: ASCILTE 2011 : Changing Demands, Changing Directions. Proceedings, Wrest Point, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 4-7 December 2011. Williams, G, Statham, P, Brown, N and Cleland, Ben, eds. University of Tasmania, Tasmania, pp. 1353-1362.

Abstract

T his paper reports on a pilot project undertaken by Victoria University (VU) with three partner universities in China (Sichuan University, Henan University and Liaoning University). The Global English Corner project uses online technologies to both encourag e interactions between students in China and Melbourne and enhance the English language proficiency of international students for whom English is not a first language. The Global English Corner project also explores how technologies might achieve a greater comparability of the student experience on - and offshore in supporting the language development of international students. The Global English Corner pilot uses the online conferencing tool Elluminate together with a WordPress blog to conduct and support E nglish conversations between business students in China and two student peers in Melbourne, Australia. This paper presents findings extrapolated from weekly evaluations of the Global English Corner project provided by English teachers in China via email as well as data from an online survey completed by student participants in the project at the end of the project. The end - of - project survey provides important feedback from students about the value of conducting frequent online conversations and covers the popularity of various functions of Elluminate. Student and teacher views of the project, including the value of the project for developing language skills and cultural competencies, are extremely high with nearly 90% of students claiming they were more co nfident to speak English having been involved in the project and most of the students self - reporting an improvement in English proficiency. Beyond this small project, it is clear that other teaching and administrative uses of Elluminate could be supporting offshore teaching programs. Certainly, the project acknowledges that a more widespread Global English Corner program could aid the transition of international students to Australia and achieve a greater comparability of language support options and studen t engagement activities on - and offshore.

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