Language teachers at local schools are entering into a competition to win iPads for their classrooms and publishing desperate pleas to support their entries on Facebook.
I don’t get this at all. I’ve been teaching languages literally for decades and I can’t even begin to imagine how an iPad can help in this process.
I’d rather kids weren’t introduced to anything that is run on apps. Apps make people dumb. If you are desperate for technology in the classroom, go with a computer. Although, I fail to see how even a computer could be useful in language learning.
For the TOEIC test, my iPad was very useful, though.
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Can some computer software detect when your vowel sounds in a new language are not quite correct? This might free up time of the teacher to work on other aspects of language learning.
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Pronunciation is best addressed by singing all together in the target language. And it’s so much more fun than staring at a screen, isolated from the world.
Language is a tool of communication. You can’t skip communication when learning language.
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Computers can be useful for language teachers if they want the hear/view oral presentation again or for pronunciation diagnosis.
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Pronunciation is better addressed with singing songs, but teachers can use computers to hear again those same songs and address pronunciation problems more efficiently.
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“Apps make people dumb”
Nope…dumb people overuse stupid apps.
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These are kids who are in the process of formation.
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Of course, but you don’t have to use stupid apps in class.
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I’ve seen about a million language learning software programs and not a single one was of any use whatsoever. Universities waste tons of money on these systems when it would be of a far, far greater use to spend the money on hiring teachers and cut the number of students in each group.
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Of course, but computer can be useful for language teachers if they use it appropriately, though.
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And of course, language learning software sucks ass, but this is not what I’m talking about.
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Why do kids need iPads, though? Even I don’t need it. It’s just a silly overpriced toy.
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You’re right on this: this is not a need for those kids in class. But a good teacher can use this appropriately.
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Sorry…the comment a out computers and accents was from me. I am on a new device and forgot to enter my email.
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A computer can be useful in language learning if one goes on sites written by those who are literate and have good vocabularies.
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Language learning apps are, like google translate – most useful to those who could get by fine without them.
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Haha I agree! Modern technology like mobile phone and apps make people dumb….
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