CALL in the EFL Classroom: Background

Experiential learning. Learning-by-doing. Students are made and expected to manipulate information that they gather from the Internet. This information is presented in a non-linear fashion, which makes them design their own navigation routes, so to speak (i.e. they decide what to explore). This manipulation of information helps them transform it to create knowledge (constructivistic approach to language learning).

Motivation. The use of computers in the classroom in general and, in the language classroom in particular, is commonly associated with games and fun, which increases student motivation and, whenever a variety of activities is presented, it also fosters student independence.

Enhanced student achievement. Network-based instruction can help students strengthen their L2 skills by positively affecting their attitude towards learning and by helping them develop learning and self-instruction strategies and thus promote their self-confidence.

Authentic materials. Students can use various resources of authentic materials either at school or from their home, to improve any area of their language learning (reading, writing, grammar, pronunciation, etc.).

Greater interaction. Random access to Web pages breaks the linear flow of instruction. By sending E-mail and joining newsgroups or blogs, students can communicate with people they have never met, but they can also interact with their own classmates. Furthermore, some Internet activities give students positive and negative feedback by automatically correcting their on-line exercises (i.e. the interaction takes place not only student-to-student-to-student, but also student-to-computer-to-student, or, of course, student-to-teacher-to-student).

Individualization. Networked language teaching/learning provides learning opportunities for all sorts of students. Shy or inhibited students can greatly benefit by individualized, student-centered collaborative learning while, at the same time, high fliers can also realize their full potential without preventing their peers from working at their own pace.

Independence from a single source of information. Although students can still use their books, they are presented with opportunities to escape from canned knowledge and discover thousands of information sources. As a result, their education fulfils the need for interdisciplinary learning in a multicultural world.

Global understanding. A foreign language is studied in a cultural context. In a world where the use of the Internet becomes more and more widespread, an English Language teacher's duty is to facilitate students' access to the web and make them feel like citizens of a global classroom, practicing communication on a global level.

Adapted from Lee, J. 2001. 'The Internet for ELT.' The Reading Matrix, Vol. 1, No. 2 (http://www.readingmatrix.com/reading_projects/lee)

A basic principle of language teaching is that language should be studied in its cultural context(s), for language and culture are inseparable and interdependent, so much so that understanding the culture of the L2 contributes to the understanding of the L2 itself. Here, the Internet is an invaluable resource for language teachers and learners. For example, the use of email in the language classroom allows students to communicate with other users of the target language, thus using specific language in an authentic setting for a real purpose. Another possibility is to use the Internet to acquire information from language resources for a variety of purposes. For example, students can access current information from countries around the world. They can obtain geographical, historical, social/cultural, economic, and political information from the countries in which the target language is spoken. Such experiences can allow learners to participate in the culture of the L2, which in turn can enable them to further learn how cultural background influences one's view of the world.

The Internet is also a medium for the experience and presentation of creative work. Thus, students can not only examine the information they find on the Net, but also use this it as a platform for the public exhibition of their own work (weather school essays, or other, freer kind of writing, such as poems, short stories, etc.). In this way, students are not simple consumers of content, but they are actively engaged in the generation of that content.

The use of the Internet has also been shown to promote higher order thinking skills. Searching the WWW requires logic skills. Once information has been obtained, the results must be reviewed which requires scanning, discarding, and evaluative judgment on part of the learner. The information must be put together to make a complete and coherent whole which entails the synthesis process. Such an endeavor permits students to practice reading skills and strategies.

The Internet also promotes literacy for authentic purposes. In addition to being a supplement to reading materials, especially current information, when students are exploring the Net, they are essentially exploring the real world. Such browsing or exploration can also lead to incidental learning as they encounter a variety of information in this way.

Communication with native speakers furthers literacy development for authentic purposes, enables language learners to compare student perspectives on an issue, and allows them to practice specific skills such as negotiating, persuading, clarifying meaning, requesting information, and engaging in true-life, authentic discussion. Promotion of literacy also occurs within a social context. The interaction that results from the above situations can lead to cooperative projects and increased communication between students from all over the world, in turn leading to the development of social skills.

Lastly, the Internet provides supplemental language activities which can provide students with additional practice in specific areas of language learning. These include reading comprehension tests, grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation exercises, cloze tests, and so forth.

Adapted from Singhal, M. 1997. 'The Internet and Foreign Language Education: Benefits & Challenges'. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. 3, No. 6. (http://iteslj.org/Articles/Singhal-Internet.html.

Focus on the Internet. Read this article from the languagesICT website to find out how abou the different possibilities of the Internet for language learning and teaching, and how to use some of its different applications in your particular teaching situation.