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One of my goals for this trip was to connect the Tajik school with my own via webcam. I had recently completed a graduate degree on the use of video conferencing for international collaboration, and Tojiddin and I saw this as a way give his English students practice with native speakers, and my students a chance to learn about another culture. I have done this with many other countries but this was the first time I had ever seen my own classroom via webcam from the other side of the world.
It was a great success. The moment the connection was made was magic, as I saw my students in America appear before me. You could hear excitment on both sides of the world.
When the conversations began, there was a little shyness on both sides. It can be intimidating getting in front of the webcam. But students began to talk. I think one of the most positive things for the Tajik students was having their English understood by native speakers. Tojiddin and I have discussed setting this up again when I return home for more of the conferences.
