Immersion is crucial for language learning, as it helps a language learner respond quickly and effectively when surrounded by people speaking the target language. However, such immersion isn’t always possible, nor is it always cost-effective.
In fact, language learners usually take group classes in their own country. Yet these do not always provide enough opportunity for a learner to speak the language. The coronavirus pandemic made it necessary for learners to pursue online lessons in greater numbers than before, often by means of platforms like Zoom, Skype, or Microsoft Teams.
At first, online lessons were treated as an extension of face-to-face teaching and therefore copied traditional teaching methodology to achieve the same learning outcomes.
That has changed. Today, remote lessons follow new methods: language coaching, the neuro-language approach, and other methodologies. These have proven better suited to online teaching because of its different class style. Even better, such methodologies may make a positive difference than implemented in traditional lessons.
So, what are the advantages of online lessons?
- MATCHING TIME CONSTRAINTS
For face-to-face lessons, learners must often travel. This can be a challenge for those who have a busy schedule. Since remote lessons can take place at any location and demand nothing more than a computer or tablet with a stable internet connection, learners have greater flexibility to schedule lessons.
In fact, cancellation is less common among learners taking remote lessons compared to those taking face-to-face lessons. The ability to learn from the comfort of your own home is a huge benefit, including for those who travel regularly or who have a second property. Some of my students have moved to other countries yet have continued with Spanish lessons.
- INTERACTIVE SESSIONS ENHANCE PERFORMANCE
Live remote lessons often consist of one-to-one sessions or small groups up to four learners. This improves learning outcomes as each learner has more time and space to speak the language and can therefore make better use of lesson time. It is far easier for both the teacher and the learner to identify and correct mistakes with the language, one of the most important aspects of language learning, rather than competing with a larger number of learners for attention. Such personalised feedback gives the learner a boost of confidence in the long run, improving their language skills.
This also applies to writing. Gone are the days when a teacher had to disrupt an entire class to spell out each word on a chalkboard. Online lessons enable faster interaction between teachers and learners, as they can both write in the same shared document. This also makes correcting mistakes far easier. Furthermore, online lessons allow a teacher to share written materials in the target language, as well as audio files and videos. Learners can therefore save such materials for work outside of the lessons.
- TAILORING CONTENT TO LEARNER NEEDS
Small class sizes ensure that a teacher can tailor the learning material to each learner’s needs. For example, a student who has a business meeting with clients in Madrid or Mexico City requires different learning materials to a student who has an upcoming holiday trip to Latin America.
Language teachers can therefore select the kinds of vocabulary and conversational topics that suit each situation. For a trip to Latin America, the teacher could focus on typical conversations the learner might need when at a hotel or a restaurant, or while in a taxi. This enables a learner to focus on their personal language goals, rather than sticking to a pre-determined syllabus, one of the drawbacks of traditional lessons.
In summary, technology helps learners to improve their language skills in several ways. It has spread the learner-centred approach to language learning by providing platforms that are flexible and convenient. More importantly, technology has produced a need for new and effective teaching methods to help learners become fluent speakers.
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