Smartphone vs the Classroom
We know it’s good to learn another language. It opens doors, makes you more employable, helps you make new friends, and it’s fun too. But to improve our language skills, many of us have to spend hours of school lessons or evening classes, with our heads buried in textbooks. It’s no wonder then that technology appears to be providing a better and more accessible way of learning.
There is certainly a huge demand for language learning, and having a smartphone means you can have a personal teacher with you wherever you go. Many app developers are eager to cash in on the demand, and there are plenty of learning apps available. One of many popular apps, Duolingo, offers 91 courses in 30 languages and has more than 300 million users. Some educational apps offer languages not popular enough to be taught at physical classes, others even offer“invented” language courses in Esperanto, Elvish and Star Trek’s Klingon — lessons you might not find in a traditional classroom.
Whatever you want to learn, apps allow you to go at your own pace and fit learning around other commitments. But they’re not perfect — you might not understand the grammar and will lack the peer support you get in a classroom environment.
Does technology mean the end of traditional classrooms and teachers? Guy Baron, head of modern languages at Aberystwyth University, thinks not. He told the BBC that apps should be used alongside classroom methods, not to the exclusion of traditional teaching. And he adds: “The apps are very conversational... they’re not designed for degrees, but they could be additional resources.”
Certainly technology is going to help in and outside the classroom. But attending a real lesson, facing a real teacher, probably forces you to be more concentrated. Motivation can be a problem when using an app. But if you have a genuine and practical reason to learn another language, you will no doubt stick with it.
【小题1】Learning a new language has many advantages EXCEPT ________.| A．to learn more knowledge |
| B．to make friends from all over the world |
| C．to get offers from international company more easily |
| D．to make you a funnier person |
| A．help users learn more languages |
| B．earn more money |
| C．provide language classes with high technology |
| D．offer as many language courses as possible |
| A．Students should rely on apps for degree examinations |
| B．Language learners are advised to use apps during class |
| C．Educational apps are useful to practice spoken English |
| D．Apps should be excluded (排除) from language teaching |
| A．An education magazine. | B．A research report. |
| C．A language class advertisement. | D．A science journal. |
