some of the ways that online learning can work for learning languages. The flexibility of online learning is suitable for learning languages because learners can shape their learning, and use the resources that they need to, to help them with their own specific needs. Learners have very different achievement levels in a number of different skills areas. For example, in speaking, in reading, in writing, and in terms of their level of grammar and vocabulary. Within those skills areas, there are also specific needs with regards to vocabulary, pronunciation, and certain areas of grammar.
Online learning allows learners to choose the resources they need for the specific skills and the specific areas within those skills they need, for vocabulary, for pronunciation, and for grammar. The range of resources that are available in online learning allow learners to create a level of individualization and a path for their own learning that is very difficult to achieve in a face-to-face environment. Language learners often lack the confidence to engage and communicate effectively in face-to-face environments. The neutral online space allows them to spend time to think about their responses, and think about what they want to say, before they say it. This is important in writing practice, as students often need to think about their responses before writing them down.
Similarly, in discussion forums, because of the public nature of these, students are exposed to a wide range of language from other students and from their colleagues, who are commenting or responding to similar topics. So they’re able to learn from them by seeing the comments that they write, and improve their language at the same time. The online space has not always served speaking skills very well, but with new technologies available, it’s possible to set up conversations online with native speakers. This is either through closed networks, possibly set up by university, or many of the other websites that facilitate tandem learning.
That is, if you’re learning Italian, and someone else is learning English, it’s an opportunity for you to learn and exchange language together. The other good thing about technology that allows for real-time communication is that these are often recorded, so it’s possible for you to go back and watch a recording, and record yourself talking, go back, and listen to that for your pronunciation, and for the vocabulary, and for the language use. The web also offers a number of opportunities for authentic language practice. There are a number of translation projects or community language projects, for example, the Wikipedia Translate Project or the TED Open Translate Project. There is an increasing amount of research looking at using computers for language learning.
One case study, by Maki Hirotani, has looked at language learning in particular using computers, and has found the following things. Students using computers for learning produce more language overall than students in a face-to-face environment. These students produced utterances with richer vocabulary and sentence structure than those in face-to-face learning. They tended to notice their linguistic errors more than students in a face-to-face environment. So this one study perhaps suggests that learning languages online is effective, but I’ll leave it for you to decide. What do you think?
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