Second Life

Upon further use and exploration of Second Life, I don't think it is something I would implement in an ESL class. While it has some benefits, I don't think they outweigh the negative. I think the inital setup alone may be troublesome for some students, because the tool requires certain capabilities of a computer, and students may not have access to those types of computers. It would be ideal to use Second Life with students in the classroom, but this would only happen under the circumstances that the school provides the instructor with the tools necessary to allow this to happen.

The activities and exercises I would use Second Life for are all tasks that students could complete with real people, in authentic contexts. While it may be easier and less expensive for some students to experience these tasks virtually, the point of the task for me is to allow students to have the experience.

While Second Life does have some benefits for ESL students, I have yet to be sold on its unique benefit to instruction.