Activity 8 - Read the article "New Trends in using Technology in the Language Classroom" and comment on it

In relation to the students’ mother tongue or L1 in the acquisition of a foreign language, I think that using only the L2 in the foreign language classroom is not adequate, since this led to the idea that all use of L1 in the language classroom should be avoided or penalised. I think that this conclusion is, of course, nonsense. As Harmer (2007: 132) pointed out “whether we like it or not, students in our classrooms are going to be operating both in their first language and in the language they are studying”. Moreover, in some specific cases, the use of the L1 may be time-saving and more comprehensible for students (lower levels) than just going on and on in the L2. Nonetheless, teachers should not overuse this technique, because the aim of the class for students is to learn English (or any other foreign language). In addition, exact translation is always inaccurate. Finally, if students do not practise in L2, once they are exposed to real situations, they will be unable to manage the language. Hence, I think that a better way to encourage students to learn a second language is to take advantage of students’ L1 and to help them to improve language skills in the L2.

According to what Sílvia has mentioned before, I completely agree with her in relation to the use of technology. I think that any new approach to language learning has advantages and disadvantages, but the main point for teachers is to use technology as a helpful tool to encourage students in the acquisition of a foreign language.

Finally, I was surprised to find out that CMC approach seems to be as effective as face-to-face interaction (except for oral production). Therefore, I think that this paper provides more evidence for the use of CMC techniques when learning a foreign language. However, the author considers three important problems: “the most important barriers [...] were faculty acceptance, the demands of learning teaching methods, and lack of student discipline in the online learning environment” (Blake 2007: 83). I think that there is a huge gap between new technological devices and people’s mentality and it is this mismatch what really leads to a clash.

References

•        Harmer, Jeremy. The Practice of English Language Teaching. Harlow: Pearson Longman, 2007 (fourth edition).

•        Blake, Robert. “New Trends in Using Technology in the Language Curriculum” in Annual Review of Applied Linguisics, 27, pages 76-97, 2007. http://moo.uab.cat/file.php/3784/New_Trends.pdf