Abstract
Despite students’ efforts in the classroom, in Japan there are still few opportunities to extend that learning to real-world situations. Unfortunately, many of the students do not have the experience to use English outside of class or interact with people from other countries, which is not a favorable environment for learning a foreign language. By actually interacting in English with students from other countries, we believe that students will be able to enrich their authentic learning and more deeply inquire into the reasons for learning English as a language. National surveys on academic achievement in Japan continue to show that students have problems with speaking in English. The present paper explains how ICT, such as tablet PCs, can be utilized in the GIGA school program to interact with schools overseas, and analyzes the effects of such interactions. By planning and implementing collaborative learning opportunities to use English with overseas schools, we aim to increase students’ motivation to learn English and improve their overall proficiency. Actual examples will be introduced along with a series of potential projects including tips on preparation, practice, evaluation and analysis.
