A Valparaiso University (Indiana) computer network was used to investigate the use of campus electronic mail to encourage students in English-as-a-Second-Language reading and writing classes to increase communication among themselves, to make homework assignments more interesting, and to familiarize students with on-line composing and editing. Four types of activities used in the approach are described here. They include: (1) a vocabulary/idiomatic expression exchange, in which students are given an expression for which they must find and send a definition to everyone in the class including the teacher; (2) on-screen debate, in which two students discuss an issue on a split screen; (3) opinion collection, with each student sending an opinion to classmates and the class responding; and (4) an exercise in which students write a paragraph, reacting to a reading, movie, song, or controversial statement, for response by teacher or classmates. Samples of each are included. (MSE)