The Importance Of Technology On The English Language

Society today is largely propelled by the force of technological advances that have taken place in recent years. From humanoid robots, to spacecrafts that prowl the skies, humans are largely dependent on machinery that can do so much of what we cannot. The pros and cons of this dependence are often debated, and the question of ‘how much is too much’ is nudging its way through many minds. Yet when it comes to education, technology is crucial. It allows for new and innovative teaching strategies, engages minds on a whole new level, and incorporates the younger generation’s aptitude toward the quick and flashy. Bassma Basheer Nomass, an M.A. student from the College of Education for Women, University of Baghdad, strongly believes in the utilization

For listening, programs exist to enable students to listen to the pronunciation of a word, multiple words, or even full sentences and paragraphs. They can re-play that which they find difficult, which will help ingrain recognition of proper grammar usage. For speaking, artificial intelligence computer programs can be employed, wherein human sounds and voice signals can be decoded and analyzed, providing the speaker with information on their syntax, grammar, and pronunciation. For reading, multimedia software with the fusion of text, video, sound, graphics, and animation “can increase the motivation for learners to develop their vocabulary and reading skills” (Nomass, 2013). Lastly, for writing, there are copious amounts of programs that will point out errors in spelling and grammar to the user, which will help the user learn their strong and weak points, and be able to focus on the areas in which they need the most help. According to the article, English language learning laboratories have been utilized in education since the sixties and seventies. The means were not the best then, consisting of “a number of small cabinets, provided with a cassette deck, a microphone and a headphone for each” (Nomass, 2013). Practical and tedious drills were used; and although that was a good step in connecting

I can only assume that the absurd low-numbered result of “60% of the students use technology in their daily life” has direct correlation to the country in which the study was given. I am positive that results in the United States would be 100% student usage of technology, since college life in America requires daily access to a phone, computer, etc. Other results from the study, however, strongly support Nomass’s thesis and are interesting to note. “Ninety-eight percent of the students believe that the computer can improve their English vocabulary. Ninety-six percent of the students believe that using a computer in the classroom increases students’ interaction with learning. Ninety-eight percent of the students believe that using technology will help them to learn English language faster than other ways” (Nomass, 2013). These findings, among the other results from the study, indicate that access to technology would greatly increase the learning of English as a second