Abstract
The ever-increasing role of Internet tools in everyday life is undeniable in our information society. Their impact has been especially significant in Foreign Language Teaching (FLT). Are virtual environments conducive to the development of foreign language competences among EFL students? The present study has the double aim of raising the awareness of the relevant actors with regards to the potential of IT as a powerful means of enhancing the effectiveness of FLT and of determining the right balance needed for a harmonious integration of IT with more traditional methods and techniques in the teaching process. We attempt to give an answer to such questions as: “Is digital technology needed in FLT? Does the value of using IT depend on the context?” The answers given are grounded on the well-supported pronouncements of the contemporary literature dealing with the subject and on data that have an institutional backing reflecting the experience of some advanced countries. Further on a presentation of the opinions and practice of the high-school teachers of foreign languages in Korca, collected through a questionnaire, will be followed by a critical assessment of the results, together with suggestions on how teachers can avoid some of the pitfalls that attend the application of IT in a foreign language class. A synthesis of the dimensions opened up by the integration of IT in the teaching process will conclude this research, highlighting its importance as a means of relating the language classroom to the modern world.
Highlights
In our daily experience and professional routine we hear more and more often expressions such as ‘we live in the Net Generation’, ‘challenges of the information society’, ‘welcome to the digital epoch’, etc., that, to the ear of both scholars and common people, do not sound like metaphors anymore, but represent a living reality throughout the globe.The Internet technology has hardly left any sector of modern life untouched
This research intends to analyze and assess the role of IT in Foreign Language Teaching (FLT) in order to determine a necessary balance for the integration of IT as a pedagogical tool in the FLT process measuring all possible advantages and disadvantages of it in comparison with the traditional FLT methods
This study aims at raising the social conscience of actors – trainers, teachers, learners, education policymakers of the potential of ICT and the limitless options it offers to increase the efficiency of foreign language learning
Summary
In our daily experience and professional routine we hear more and more often expressions such as ‘we live in the Net Generation’, ‘challenges of the information society’, ‘welcome to the digital epoch’, etc., that, to the ear of both scholars and common people, do not sound like metaphors anymore, but represent a living reality throughout the globe. The teaching field as well is facing the challenges of IT tool implementation In this new context, the demand for the application of IT in Second Language Teaching presents a lot of complex issues that need a solution.[1]. The demand for the application of IT in Second Language Teaching presents a lot of complex issues that need a solution.[1] Within this framework, this research intends to analyze and assess the role of IT in Foreign Language Teaching (FLT) in order to determine a necessary balance for the integration of IT as a pedagogical tool in the FLT process measuring all possible advantages and disadvantages of it in comparison with the traditional FLT methods. This analytical research is meant to contribute to the major goal of intercultural global education perceiving Internet technology in FLT as an enhancer of the harmonious development of learners’ and teachers’ identity and personality in a dynamic multilingual multicultural social context to promote citizens’ cohabitation in a complex information society
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