Language exchange across generations

Adapted from http://www.goodnesstv.org/en/videos/voir/52869/1/ If you could speak with someone from an English-speaking country, what would you talk about?

What if young people from non-English speaking countries could find native English speakers and create relationships with them? The English speakers would be less like tutors, and more like "buddies."

"Speaking Exchange" is a program in Brazil that does this. It connects young Brazilian students in language schools with elderly Americans living in retirement homes. They connect through the Internet.

After a list of participants is established on both sides, students log in and choose a senior citizen with whom they'd like to start a Web chat. If they want help deciding what to speak about, they may choose from a variety of topics. Otherwise, they can chat freely, about whatever subjects they'd like.

The videos are recorded to a private YouTube channel, so teachers can evaluate the students' progress.

The senior citizens enjoy the company of the students. The students get to practice their English and learn about American culture through the rich experiences of the seniors. And both senior and student get to form an unusual bond.

Joanna Monteiro, executive creative director at FCB Brazil (an agency involved in the project) says, "The idea is simple and it's a win-win proposition for both the students and the American senior citizens. It's exciting to see their reactions and contentment. It truly benefits both sides."

In India, Professor Sugata Mitra established a similar virtual mentoring program as part of a larger project that explores the benefits of selforganized learning (called School in the Cloud). As a result of Mitra's efforts, Shahrukh Khan from Hyderabad and Liz Fewings from London began a close friendship.

Though worlds apart and never having met one another in person, they still remain a big part of each other's lives. Fewings says she feels like an aunt to

Khan. They started chatting online when Khan was just 13. Fewings, a retired teacher in London, saw this as a good opportunity to continue helping children learn. But it became much more than that. Fewings not only became Khan's tutor in English, but mentor in life. As the years passed and Khan decided he wanted to study to be doctor, it was Fewings who helped him choose an appropriate medical school. With Fewings' help and guidance, Khan has chosen to study medicine in the Philippines, something that without Mitra's virtual mentoring program would have been a far-fetched dream.

Such programs are not only a step in the right direction for language learning, but a way to bring people from different cultures, perspectives, and ages together.