There is still research coming out of E-LIVE project. Here Begoña Clavel-Arroitia has just finished presenting a talk on Diversity and Differentiation in Virtual Exchange in Primary Education. You can find more information here:
DIVERSITY AND DIFFERENTIATION IN A PRIMARY SCHOOL CONTEXT
Diversity and differentiation are of the utmost importance in the language learning classroom. In the words of one of the teachers in this study, not taking diversity into account can lead to frustration and lack of engagement in the classroom. This study centres on a virtual exchange (VE) between a group of pupils in an infants and junior school in London (St. Joseph's Camberwell Catholic Schools' Federation), UK and another group in a primary school (Santo Ángel de la Guarda), in Badajoz in Extramadura, Spain. The pupils' ages ranged from eight to nine in Spain and ten and eleven in the UK. Both the teachers involved have extensive experience in VE. The teacher in the UK, Óscar Balseiro-Mayi, teaches Spanish while the teacher in Spain, Concepción González-Acedo, teaches English. The exchange was proposed by the teacher in the UK and the Spanish partner was found by an E-LIVE coach. Both teachers took into account the diversity in their classes and tailored their activities to suit the needs of their pupils. Both teachers reported that the exchange was a success as VEs offer pupils a chance to put their target language to use with peers from the countries where the languages were spoken and thus converted a subject into a real tool for communication.
