Nowadays, it is 21st century
education which the changing conceptions of learning and rapid technological advances
have been accompanied by changes in language teaching and learning. Language
classrooms are increasingly turning into blended
learning environments that focus on active learning.
The growing use of ICT in blended language learning environments has changed
the face of language teaching and learning in a beneficial way. The main
benefits of ICT to language learning are presented below by the perspectives of
Jonassen et al. (1999) who define technology-enhanced
meaningful learning as active, authentic and cooperative.
First and foremost,
ICT–and the Internet in particular–provides language learners with the
opportunity to use the
language that they are learning in meaningful ways in authentic contexts.
The Internet provides an easy and fast access to the use of current and
authentic materials in
the language being studied, which is motivating
for the language learner. Such authentic materials include, for
instance, online newspapers, webcasts, podcasts, newsroom video clips or even
video sharing websites such as, say, YouTube. Where language teachers earlier
searched and carried authentic materials like maps and train timetables to a
classroom, they can now ask learners to access such information online, thus
helping them learn with current and real-time materials.
A second important benefit derived
from the use of ICT in a language classroom is based on the opportunities it
affords for cooperation
and collaboration
with one’s peers. Language teachers all over the world are introducing myriads
of ICT-enhanced language learning projects, including simulations, between
their students and groups in other countries, thus widening the language
learning perspective into that of learning about the cultural context of the
language being used. Previously, students or classes would write letters or
later even e-mails to each other. Today, using ICT they can ‘skype’ or chat
online, where they can not only write to each other in real-time, but also see
each other and speak to each other online. Students are thus able to write,
read, speak, listen, and react to a conversation using ICT as part of the language
learning process. They are motivated to communicate and collaborate with peers
to produce common products, for instance, wikis. These beneficial ICT-enhanced
language learning activities call for the teacher to organize and monitor them,
although in a blended language learning class the overall role of the teacher
has changed from the traditional authoritative role to that of a facilitator.
A third major benefit of
the use of ICT in blended language learning classrooms is the opportunity that
ICT-based tools give to language teachers so that they can tutor their learners
more effectively. With the help of ICT-based tools and the constantly growing
number of available educational resources language teachers are able to give individual and personalized
guidance to the learners. The use of several
media–audio, video, authentic contexts, and real-world experiences help
language learners with different
learning styles to assimilate the content according to
their needs.
In a blended learning environment that uses ICT tools, it is easier for the
language teacher/tutor to use different approaches with students and
accommodate different learning styles and the different needs of fast, slow, or
handicapped language learners.
You can read more in http://webh01.ua.ac.be/odlac/guides/4b-GUIDES-INSTITUTIONS-EN.pdf
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