Recent Trends Supporting to Teach Language

Recent Trends Supporting to Teach Language

A. Anne Evangelin, A. Anisha Christy

Department of Mechanical Engineering St.Annes College of Engineering and Technology,

Panruti- 607 110, Tamilnadu, India.

Abstract – The English language is used very extensively as a second or foreign language in many countries throughout the world. It has been widely taught with many approaches, methods, techniques and trends. The most recent and highly developed trend is technology. Teachers have been warming up to using computers in the language classrooms. The use of new technology allows students to engage in the online communication which will be leading for success in their academic and professional pursuits.

Keywords: Language, Learning, Teaching, Technological Resources.

1. INTRODUCTION

   In recent years, teachers have incorporated various forms of technology to support their teaching and engage students in the learning process. The teachers of today cut away from the conventional trends, followed in teaching English the most recent and advanced trend of using new technology. From task design to assessment, technology has become a helpful tool in supporting the pedagogical goals. Todays language teachers must reflect on how to best integrate technology within their methodologies to enhance the effectiveness of their teaching and learning in their classrooms.

   There are three technological platforms that offer tools to enhance language teaching and learning: the Web, Network-based Communication (e-mail, chat programs, wikis, blogs, etc.) and CD-ROM or Hyper Media applications. The Web offers endless sources of materials for content-based lessons and provides plentiful opportunities for interaction with the authentic cultural material. Teachers quickly discover a wealth of on line activity for their students in the form of web quests and on- line communication. By expanding the opportunities for interaction, the teacher observed their communicative potential moving from learners to communicators who actively conversed for meaningful purposes. With the introduction of networked multimedia computing and the internet, language teachers have been warming up to using computers in the language classroom. The Internet is so vast and complex that learning how to incorporate it effectively into the language classroom can be quite challenging. This paper seeks to explore how the recent technology can be used to both assist and enhance the effectiveness of teaching in English language classrooms.

2. RECENT TECHNOLOGY IN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS:

   Teachers must consider how to use new technology so that it supports effective learning. The five guidelines may be applied differently in language learning contexts and are important components in any language classroom.

   1. Teachers should use technology to support the pedagogical goals of the class and curriculum. The use of technology must be subordinated to the learning goals.

   2. Teachers should make the technology accessible to all learners. The technology should be used to address the learners own needs and be useful for a variety of instructional purposes. For example, some students prefer visual activities and others prefer verbal ones.

   3. Computers are often said to play at least three roles in the classroom: tutor, teacher and tool. But the most useful way to look at technology is as a tool that supports learning in a wide variety of ways.

   4. Students should learn language by making effective use of technology. By using a grammar software package in the computer lab, each student can obtain instant and appropriate feedback. In this case, the grammar software might provide more effective grammar practice than the teacher could in the classroom.

   5. With less time and work, efficient use of technology accomplishes learning goals for teachers and learners. For example, a listening programme on a computer can instantly replay a passage, while an older technology, such as the audio tape, may waste the students time because it requires rewinding many times.

      Use of Multimedia technology: Technological developments like multimedia computers and the Internet helps the teacher to teach language. Multimedia technology exemplified today by the CD-ROM allows a variety of media (text, graphics, sound, animation, and video) to be accessed.

      Use of Internet: The Internet is a powerful tool for supporting a socio cognitive approach to language teaching, and it largely accounts for the new-found enthusiasm for using computers in the language classroom. The internet is a vast interactive medium which can be used in a myriad of ways.

3. COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION IN A CLASSROOM:

   There are a number of different approaches for using the Internet to facilitate interaction within and across discourse communities. One way is to use the online activities to foster increased opportunities for interaction within a single class. This takes place both through the computer assisted classroom discussion and through outside of class discussion. The computer-assisted classroom discussion makes use of synchronized (real- time) writing program. The class meets in a networked computer lab and students communicate through writing rather than talking.

   Computer mediated communication and the Internet can facilitate an integrative approach to using technology. For example, students of English don't just study general examples and write homework for the teacher; instead they use the Internet to actually become good writers. First, the students search the Web to find articles in their exact area of specialty and then carefully read and study those specific articles. They then write their own drafts online; the teacher critiques the drafts online and creates electronic links to his own comments and to pages of appropriate linguistic and technical explanation, so that students can find additional background help at the click of a mouse. Next, using this assistance, the students prepare and publish their own articles on the Web.

4. CONCLUSION

Recent technologies in the language classroom can only be interpreted in the light of the changing goals of language education and the changing conditions in society. Language teachers now, seek not only to teach students the rules of grammar, but rather to help them gain apprenticeship into new discourse communities. This accomplished through creating opportunities for authentic and meaningful interaction both within and outside the classroom, and providing students the tools for their own social, cultural and linguistic exploration. The computer is a powerful tool for this process as it allows students access to online environments of international communication.

The successful use of technology in language teaching lies not in hardware or software but in teachers and our human capacity as teachers is to plan, design and implement effective educational activity. By using new technologies in the language classroom, teachers can better prepare students for the kind of international cross-cultural interactions which are increasingly required for success in academic, vocational or personal life.

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