In our society the use of new media is becoming more and more important. Therefore, it is necessary to use the ”big wide world of new media” also at school and in foreign language education respectively.
On the one hand the use of new media at school is important because the students get a chance to grapple with all the new forms of media, like computers, the internet, certain programs, like “PowerPoint”, and so on, which is not only important for their everyday life but also for the future. On the other hand, especially in connection with foreign language education, it offers various ways to improve the methods used in language acquisition. With the help of computers and the internet you can, for example, improve certain skills and it is easier to realize projects and action oriented tasks.
With the help of foreign language learning programs you can reach a new stage concerning the teaching of foreign languages because there are a row of different foreign language learning software, word processing programs, communicative tasks, which are realizable through the internet, possibilities of finding information via the internet, and so on. Thus, it is possible to improve the writing, hearing, speaking, and communication skills. Furthermore, the use of new media offers the possibility that each of the different learner types is able to learn like he prefers to. Moreover the students get the chance to work independently.
But not only according to students the use of new media offers a row of ways in terms of language learning, the teacher benefits from it, too. It is possible for teachers, for example when using programs like “PowerPoint”, to make the lessons more effective and structured. Moreover the teacher can contact students via email when they are at home so that communication is not dependent on the lesson. In addition the teacher has the possibility to choose a wider range of resources exceeding the normal use of schoolbooks.
Nevertheless there are also some limits and perils in terms of using new media at school. It is possible that students are overtaxed when searching the internet because of too much information. Often students, especially when they are younger, are not able to decide which information are important and which are not. Besides you have to reckon on the fact that there are often technical problems so that the technical equipment sometimes does not work properly.
But in my opinion everyone should use new media in foreign language education because the advantages are predominant.
Hey there!
I totally agree with you that new media should be used in foreign language education. You seem to have thought through the advantages and disadvantages of using new media. After all we ARE part of the new-media-generation and we will have to deal with them in order to teach our students how to find useful and reliable information online or how to use AND check the equipment. well done!