Riding the Digital Wave
With the appearance of the Internet, a whole new world developed, a world of possibilities and infinitely more resources than we could have accessed before. Everything we may be interested in is out there, “at our fingertips” or “at a click’s distance”.
With the abundance of resources comes, of course, the difficulty in selecting them. There are so many of them that it becomes essential to develop filters in order to select the most valuable, trustworthy or the ones that suit our needs best.
The Internet and digital media have changed numerous things: entertainment, media production and consumption, business, shopping, etc. It is only natural that the world of education and language learning has a lot to benefit from this, too.
There are numerous types of online resources that can be accessed, each with its specificity, ranging from dictionaries and glossaries (www.merriam-webster.com, www.oxforddictionaries.com), where you can check the meaning and use of words, the same as you would do in a printed dictionary, to social networks and online communities which imply a higher degree of interactivity and participation.
The online spaces where learners can meet and exchange ideas and resources on languages are becoming more and more common. Attempting a classification is not an easy task, as there are numerous types and the distinctions between them are not always obvious. Although social networks such as Facebook or Ning are not designed for this specific purpose, you can find there groups set up for language interaction by language teachers or spontaneously by engaged learners.
Some media companies, like BBC (www.bbc.co.uk/languages) and Deutsche Welle (www.dw.de) have set up interesting initiatives to provide online content for any Internet user interested in learning or practicing a language. In the same category fall the online learning spaces organized by institutions promoting abroad the culture and language of various countries, such as British Council (www.learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/)
The actual online communities differ from both these categories of practices. Firstly, they run on special designed platforms, and secondly the communities offer learning material often structured in courses, helping the users explore a language within a given framework (even if not perfect).
Analysing the differences between these learning communities, we can categorize them roughly into three main types: structured language learning communities, marketplaces and language exchange social networks:
1. Structured language-learning communities, LiveMocha, Busuu and Babbel where learning materials are accompanied by structured learning pathways.
LiveMocha is the most popular, having over 14 million users and offering courses for 38 languages. Learners can choose their level and follow a set course containing elements of grammar, vocabulary, conversation, video materials, game playing, writing. Learners can attend the live-instructor-led classes or, for a fee, have a private online tutor. The tutors are all experienced teachers of English.
2. The second category, marketplaces, refers to communities in which learners can look for language tutors online and language tutors can offer their services for a fee (examples are italki and Palabea).
On italki users can look for a community tutor or a professional teacher. In addition, they can find a language partner that wants to learn a language they know, practically exchanging language information in a non-formal context. Thus, they can have real conversations, on topics of their choice, and get the chance not only to practice the language, but also to find out about life, culture and customs in various countries from natives.
3. In the third category, language-exchange social networks, users meet for language socialization purposes in loose ways with no formal support of any language learning materials (such as Lingofriends, Polyglot Club and MyHappyPlanet).
MyHappyPlanet, for instance, is less formal and less structured than the first two categories, the main focus being on the socializing part, while practicing a foreign language at the same time.
The Internet is here to stay, and students spend a great amount of their time online. It can be time consuming and disruptive, quite different from what we used to consider proper study and learning. It often happens that the Internet gets the blame for the students’ lack of interest and motivation in the classroom.
At the same time, teachers are well aware that the classroom is not the only place where learning can occur. A large number of students have learnt English from Youtube, movies or computer games. Learning languages via the Internet can be fun, social and interactive. Teachers may worry about rules and accuracy, but outside school, students can have more control over the content and pace of their learning, and consequently might feel more empowered and confident. Thus, instead of judging things in terms of formal education versus the Internet, we should all try to make the most of what it has to offer.