Advantages and Disadvantages of ICTs in Language Teaching and Learning

Libardo Quijano
Professor Martinez
Educational Technology
January 25, 2009

Advantages and disadvantages of ICTs in language teaching and learning.

We live in an era of rapid Transformation. If we compare the world today we in the world one hundred years ago, we would discover amazing advances in technology. With just a click, we can send a message to a relative friend living in another country. Dialing some buttons on the telephone can connect us with a close friend having vacations in the USA. We can start a conversation with an English native speaker just by joining a chat room and using a headset. The age of information has brought many changes to our society. In addition to the transformations that we have been exposed to in our daily life due to the arrival of new technological developments, we can observe how the ways we teach and learn have been benefited thanks to the advances mentioned above. Nowadays, it is possible to find schools with a diversity of resources such as digital language labs, DVD’s and TV video, interactive whiteboards, social networking and so forth. They have been implemented as a valuable aid that benefits both teachers and learners. In this context, we can introduce a new concept: ICT – Information and Communication Technology-. The arrival of ICT in the field of education has produced extraordinary effects: classes are more dynamic and interesting; teachers can design attractive activities that motivate the learner to get involved in different tasks. ICT also provides learners with more efficiently opportunities to communicate in the target language.

There are certain advantages associated with the use of ICTs in language teaching and learning. To begin, ICT facilitates rapid, interactive communication between learners from all over the world. If a learner needs to practice his English with a native speaker, he can use the internet to chat in real – time. There are many free chats on the net that offer this service. One of them is Paltalk. On it, the student can find a variety of rooms according to categories. The categories go from hobbies, sports, religion to political issues and eight to ten interactive rooms for practicing English. Another advantage of ICT regarding language teaching and learning is that educators can utilize different multimedia resources such as visual, audio and text aids in the target language. The use of these resources can benefit the different learning styles of the learners and make language process more fascinating. One more benefit of ICT in language education in the fact that teachers and learners do not need to be in the same place at the same time. With the help of emails, blogs, personal web sites and many other resources, both the tutor and the learner have the opportunity to interact and work on projects. One last but not least advantage of ICT in language instruction is that it provides highly motivational activities for learners. Reading stories on line, recording their voices, writing letters and postcards to fiends, listening to music and watching a movie are some of the activities that pupils can develop when using ICTs resources. Most stories on the internet are nicely designed. They contain sound, colored pages and moving-images. Those characteristics catch students’ interests. The learners also have the chance to practice their English by recording their voices in a program than can be easily downloaded and installed in the computer. This important tool allows the learner, in a non-threatening environment, to feel free to try out simple words or phrases and to listen to them as many times as they like. With the arrival of DVD’s and TV video resources, movies and TV series can now be played in English or, in beginning levels, using subtitles. Thus the learners’ interaction with the target language increase

Though ICTs in language instruction and learning have plenty of benefits, there are some disadvantages that impede ICT reaching its full potential. One drawback of ICT in language programs is the fact that computers and other technological aids are very expensive. According to a research conducted by SRI International for World Links, one of the limitations to using technology in schools in African and Latin American countries is the high costs. In fact, it is estimated that many schools in developing countries, according to the report, must contend with a computer lab of ten to twenty computers for the entire school (Hawking). Another disadvantage of ICT associated with language teaching and learning is that some teachers fell intimidated by technology and are comfortable with their own teaching style (Hawking “Ten lesson for ICT” 42). The increase of information and communication technology challenges the educator to keep informed about the new advances in technology.

As a conclusion, we can state that in a world of rapid change it is important that every educator and learner catch up with ICTs resources and that they should also learn how to use them effectively, as ICT has become a very important part of today’s society.




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