Web'ster: The Medium is NOT The Message

In the 1993 edition of my beginning-level book, Longman's Business Corres-pondence: Letters, Faxes, and Memos, email style was in the appendix. In the 2000 revision, it will be in the title. And not a moment too soon. Wired students are emailing each other, their teachers, and fellow students around the world. Students are spending eye-ball-hang-time in chat rooms and listserves on every subject. As a teacher you can exploit this opportunity. You can teach basic writing skills using e-mail as your medium. Email catches their attention. The discussion groups hold their interests.

An email is no different from a piece of paper. It's simply a blank slate for a message. The message could be formal or informal, short or lengthy. Like any piece of written communication, an e-mail message must get the attention of the reader.

When a writer considers the reader, questions about how to address an email message; how to develop the body, or how to close are easily answered. A quick e-mail to a friend would mimic the informal style of a hand-written note. A note to a figure in authority (a teacher, for example) would begin more formally: Dear Professor Smith rather than "Hey Professor" as one colleague reported being addressed in an e-mail. Email, like any form of communication, must be clear, concise, and coherent.

An ambiguous message causes confusion, a wordy message wastes time, and a disjointed message annoys the reader. It doesn't matter if your students use email to communicate with friends, colleagues, teachers, or total strangers, the rules are the same. The message should be clear, concise, and coherent. Email like any writing skill needs practice to be perfect. Have your students post email messages daily. There are chat groups and discussion lists around the world that welcome new correspondents at all levels of English proficiency. Some sites are listed after these e-mail netiquette suggestions for your students.
1. Be specific in the subject line. A message in a listserve is competing with a lot of other messages. Get the readers attention by being as specific as possible. If your students are on a homework listserve and have a grammar question, they would increase their chances of getting a response if they would put "In hospital/In the hospital" in the subject line rather than the plea "Please help me."
2. Try to respond immediately. Let the reader know you've received the message. If you don't have time to write a complete response when you receive the email, at least tell the writer when you will be able to respond.
3. Reread your emails before you send them. Once they are sent, you can't get them back. Be careful of your tone. Your reader may not interpret what you say in the same humorous way you meant to say it.
4. If your email program has a spell-checker, use it.
5. Your message is not private. Other people can read it accidentally or on purpose. Your reader could forward the message to many other people. Be careful what you say.
6. Never give out personal information on the Net. You don't know who is reading your mail and who can take advantage of the private information. Do you want someone on your doorstep at three in the morning? Be careful. Be cautious. Be safe.
7. Check your mailbox frequently, at least once a day.
8. Be aware that not everyone has the same background as you. They may not understand that Dr. Pepper is a soft drink or that Sapporo is a beer. Use generic names (like soft drink or beer) to explain what you are talking about. Systems of measurement (metric/foot) and dates (month, day, year/day, month, year) could cause confusion. Be aware of potential cultural differences.
9. Be polite. Typing in all capital letters indicates shouting. Use capitals only to emphasize key words. You can also emphasize words by using an *asterisk* before and after the word or phrase.

Some chat room/discussion list sources for students:
www.nytimes.com/learning Message boards for students, parents, teachers. Ask a Reporter for students. Online discussion for parents. Teachers can share lesson plans.
www.englishtown.com Forums for language, culture, writing, book club, teachers
www.eslcafe.com Discussion forums; Message exchange
www.englishclub.net ESL discussion center
www.kaplan.com Message boards for students to discuss questions
www.freeenglish.com Message boards on various topics (under construction).
www.globalenglish.com Discussion center for TV shows, sites, books, etc.