A. Read this article.

Internet: friend or foe?

As an instructor at one of the top universities in the Asia-Pacific region, I have some really smart students. One of my smartest students ever is in my current essay writing class. Her name is Esther. Last week, the deadline for submission of final assignments for my essay was Friday, and I was surprised and disappointed when, at five p.m., the only student who had not submitted her assignment was Esther. I tried calling her, but she was out.

Next morning, I did what most Internet addicts do on first getting up – I checked my e-mail. There was Esther’s assignment, sent as an e-mail attachment. Received at 11:59 p.m. She has a great sense of timing, Esther. I used the ‘insert comment’ function of Microsoft Word to embed extensive comments on her assignment, and, resisting the temptation to mark her down for the anxiety she had caused, gave her a well-deserved ‘A’. I returned her assignment electronically, and an hour or so later received a message from her thanking me for the comments and the grade.

A student in the same section, although not in the same grade as Esther, also submitted his assignment as an e-mail attachment. This student (let’s call him Luke) is considerably weaker than Esther. I was therefore astonished when I opened the e-mail attachment and found an essay far more elegantly crafted than anything Luke had ever produced for me before. It was clear that someone else had written the piece. However, when I confronted Luke he was adamant – of course it was his own work! He even managed to look hurt at the implication that someone else had written it.

I showed the essay to a colleague who immediately recognised it as a piece from the World Wide Web. He downloaded and printed a copy for me which I included, along with the URL, in a message to Luke. Next morning, he was outside my office waiting, shamefaced, to apologise.

These two stories illustrate two of the ways that the Internet is transforming my teaching. I’m sure that many readers have similar stories. If the Internet has not yet touched you on your teaching, it’s a reasonable bet that it will do so in the not too distant future.

David Numan, LATEFL ISSUES

Who or what do these words refer to in the text?

1. my (l.2) 4. which (l.21)

2. her (l.5) 5. you (l.25)

3. it (l.20)

Go through the text and find words/ expressions that mean the same as:

1. clever

2. present

3. a date or time before which something must be done or completed.

4. surprised

Complete the sentences with information from the text.

1. Last week David was surprised and disappointed because ...

2. The first thing he did next morning after getting up was ...

3. Esther’s assignment ...

Answer the following questions on the text using your own words.

1. How did Luke react, when the teacher told him that it wasn’t his own work?

2. What happened next?

3. Did Esther and Luke prepare their assignments in the same way? Justify your answer.

Rewrite passive or active sentences.

1. An article about Internet Security has been written by Peter and Ralph.

2. He sent John an e-mail alert about a new Internet virus.

3. Esther had submitted the assignment.

4. The teacher gave Esther a good grade.

5. Students could send the assignment by e-mail.

6. The Internet is transforming David Nunan’s teaching.

7. Someone else has written Luke’s piece.

8. Is the Internet influencing our lives?

Write a short essay (100-120 words) on the following topic.

‘Nowadays, anyone who cannot speak English and is incapable of using the Internet is regarded as almost illiterate’

· Do you agree/ disagree with this statement?

· For what purposes do teenagers use the Internet?

· Is the Internet always a useful tool? Account for your answer.