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1、English teaching in the digital ageIn this article, Edward draws on his experience of English teaching and Internet consulting to discuss the future of English teaching as the world enters an increasingly digital age. This article was written for English teachers who have a growing sense that the In
2、ternet is becoming more and more important for their professional careers. It tells them why the Internet is important to their profession, what they can expect in the years to come, and how they can prepare themselves as English teachers in the digital age. On a spring day in 1992 in Philadelphia,
3、I pressed my Enter key and listened to the familar string of tones from my modem as it logged into the Temple University computer. This was nothing new for someone who had grown up with computers. But this day was one I will never forget: it was first day I ever logged into the Internet. As an Engli
4、sh teacher, my Internet connection back in 1992 meant that I could send a grammar question out to 500 English teachers around the world and have at least 10 replies in my mailbox the next morning. It meant that I could sit at my desk in Philadelphia chatting with a colleague at Purdue, she typing on
5、 the top of the screen and I typing on the bottom, at no cost. It meant contacting the Amerika Haus in Berlin via E-Mail which led to a teaching position at Potsdam University. It meant finding information on almost any topic for the courses I was teaching. Yes, the Internet is good for English teac
6、hing. And it is going to get better-exponentially. In this article, I want to tell you why, and make some forcasts on what the digital age holds for English teaching. My forecasts for the future of English teaching are based on three hypotheses: 1. That which can be digitized, will be digitized. 2.
7、English instruction can be almost fully digitized. 3. English instruction is more efficient when teachers use a digitized medium.1. That which can be digitized, will be digitized. Nicholas Negroponte in his book Being Digital draws a distinction between atoms and bits. A book, for instance, is compo
8、sed of atoms whereas an E-Mail is composed of bits. The difference between atoms and bits is that atoms take a long time to be sent from place to place and are relatively expensive to duplicate. Bits, on the other hand, can be sent around the world in a matter of seconds and cost nothing to duplicat
9、e. If you want to send a book from Berlin to New York, it will probably cost you about $10 and will probably take about 7 days. If you want to send a digitized book from Berlin to New York, it will cost you nothing and will get there in 5 seconds. For English teachers, the benefits are enormous. For
10、 the business world, the profit margins are unbelievable. This is why everything that can be digitized, will be digitized.2. English instruction can be almost fully digitized. What can be digitized and what can not? Text, pictures, voice, and video can all be digitized. Text can be typed in, picture
11、s can be scanned in, and voice and video can be recorded digitally. But this is not all. Interactive conversations can be digitized. Interactive environments, for instance, a classroom, a train station, or a business meeting can be digitized. Since English instruction consists primarily of text, pic
12、tures, voice, video, conversation, and interactive environments, English instruction can be almost fully digitized.3. English instruction is more efficient when teachers use a digitized medium. Digitalization increases student-centeredness. If a student writes a digitized document and gives it to yo
13、u to correct, you can add notes to the document just as you can to a regular paper document. The difference is that the student can then click on your digitized notes, e.g. “use present perfect here“ which takes him to an interactive, multi-media lesson teaching him about the present perfect tense a
14、nd when to use it. Connected to this is a grammar chat room with students and tutors who discuss and answer questions about grammar. The student learns what he needs to know when he needs to know it. Digitalization increases accessiblity. Particularly in English for Specific Purposes, and more parti
15、cularly in non-English speaking countries, specific material in English is fairly hard to come by. For instance, let us say you are teaching English at a company here in Berlin which produces flags. They need to learn vocabulary which has to do with flag production. You simply need to log into the I
16、nternet and type in the key words “flag production.“ You will get a number of web sites of English-speaking flag production companies with information on their products. Print these out and use them in your class. Write an E-Mail to the company and ask them to send you a catalog. Ask them what else is available on the Internet regarding flag production. Also, send an E-Mail to the 13,000 teachers in the English teachers news group and ask if anyone has e
