I got an e-mail today from Thomas Robb of Kyoto Sangyo University in Tokyo. He runs a discussion forum known as the Student List Project. Here's how he describes it:
The Student List Project now has had over 1500 participants. Essentially, the SL Project provides a way for your students to discuss topics of mutual interest in a 1-to-many situation rather than the normal penpal 1-on-1. Your students can join any of the forums listed below, read what has already been posted and reply to whatever postings stir their imagination. They receive copies of all postings for the forums that they subscribe to by e-mail, but can also view all previous postings via the web interface. Recent discussions, all student initiated, include topics such as the use of mobile phones, smoking in public, one's ideal partner, blind dates, baseball, current movie hits, and more! The project uses Moodle, an innovative student management system. This allows you, as an instructor, to view all of your own students' postings so that you can give timely advice to them as needed. Currently we have the following topic areas, each with its own ESL professional as a facilitator: For University and Adult Learners: *General Chat *Business English *Culture & Society *Current events *Learning English *Movies *Music *Sports For Immigrants & new residents: *Living in a New Country For Secondary School Learners: *Teen Talk
To participate in the forums you'll need to create an account. This is very easy to do and just takes a couple of minutes.