Nowadays emerging technologies represent a potential for teaching English as a foreign language, though I think they are not used or explored as it should be. This is not a claim against traditional language classes. However, in an increasing technology-based world it is still usual to find out English classrooms as if emerging technologies have had no existence or that ignore them as rich means of tools that can be helpful for EFL students to improve their skills. Perhaps English teachers lack mastering in dealing with so many resources that can be used in classrooms or even for extra classroom activities. Anyway real reasons for that are subjects for other discussion. It is important to explain that when I refer to emerging technologies, I mean especially those mediated by computers and that have in Internet its deep-seated icon.
For now I would like to detach a special resource of Internet-based technologies - its world video networks widespread in a great number of languages from everywhere. Regarding the billion of videos ranged into the cyberspace (despite of the doubtful quality and utility of some of them), Internet videos represent the direct access of users for a technology previously mediated only by the mass media corporations. It is a clear signal of the free-access-based cyber-democracy that a worldwide computers net like Internet makes coming up for consensus, debates and reflections.
A skill I would like to specially stand for is listening. The need for constant exposure in the target language would be not a problem if EFL speakers could always travel for English speaking countries or live there time enough for developing and improving their skill languages. Nevertheless it is not the reality of a large amount of EFL students. A great difficulty I have seen in many of those students is their lack of ability to really do well in a conversation with native speakers because of their problems with listening skill. When in a real situation of speaking, words and phrases intonation, rhythm and stress sound far differently of shallow mechanic conversations of actors speech recorded in studios used in EFL classrooms. The genuine sounds of an interaction in real English are changed all into an acoustic smudge for many EFL learners when dialoguing with native speakers and it is not difficult to hear from their frustration and despair.
I think Internet videos are precious useful resources to help in the listening process acquisition and fill the blanks that constant need for language exposure demands when the learner does not live in an English speaking country. For instance, in a video systematic locus like YouTube, at present the most prominent video network, the possibility of finding out every kind of speech genre is led to an unlimited account. News videos, movie thrillers, music, tv shows, interviews, home made videos, lectures, informal conversations, only to mention a few number of all sorts of genres in different accents of every region of the globe where English is spoken are representatives of the affluence of choices possible to work in English classrooms. Besides listening, it is possible to work with other abilities concerned to pronunciation and phonetics, vocabulary acquisition, speaking and to use creativity for a range of activities that shows students the multiple potential of working with new technologies tools like Internet videos. It is also a step for EFL students to work with their autonomy related to their learning. Soon I intend to write about some suggestions on English activities by using Internet videos.
J. S. A. Moura,
Universidade Estadual de Alagoas,
Brazil
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