gmail in the classroom

I teach French in high school and so communication in the target language is very important.

Every now and then I like to use Google Hangouts for my students to practice chatting in French. Students in the class start chats with other students in the class either in pairs or in groups. I give them a topic to talk about and ask them to use the specific vocab or grammar concept we have just learned. Sometimes they go a little off task and talk about other things, but as long as it is in the target language, I'm ok with it.

I also sometimes ask my students to send me an email as part of their homework. Let's say we studied ways to express frustration or ask for favors in class, I will ask them to send me an email later asking me for a favor or expressing their frustration about something. It's also a good way to learn about email etiquette in French and francophone cultures.