Khmer

T¹p chÝ Khoa häc ®hqghn, ngo¹i ng÷, T.xxI, Sè 2, 2005

Advantages and disadvantages of using computer network technology in language teaching

Vu Tuong Vi(*) Computer technology has been used in language teaching since the 1980’s. However, with the advent of Internet, the computer has been transformed from a tool for information processing and display to a tool for information processing and communication. The instant worldwide connections enabled by the Internet have changed the way teachers and learners work in their teaching and learning of second/foreign language. Indeed, the use of the Internet and the World Wide Web in second and foreign language instruction has been increasingly recognized. A number of applications of computer network technology have been utilized such as multimedia, email, electronic journals, databases, World Wide Web, chat, audio and video conferencing etc. This paper will investigate both advantages and disadvantages of incorporating such technology in language courses. The computer network has offered language teachers and learners a source of authentic materials, tools for communication and collaboration and tools for improving language skills. First and foremost, the computer networked learning environment facilitates the language teaching and learning by providing teachers and learners with valuable sources of materials. Teachers

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can exploit multimedia to support their language teaching. Teachers also integrate authentic materials on numerous Websites such as http://www.geocities.com, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ etc. into language lessons. With regard to learners, they are exposed to a wide range of resources such as online dictionaries, thesauri, machine translation software, which enables learners to learn vocabulary while reading. In addition, quite a few authentic language journals such as The Modern Language Journal, The Internet TESL Journal etc. are available on the net and databases. The use of the Internet can...