Journal of Languages for Specific Purposes (Mar 2019)
WITH OR WITHOUT YOU: THE USE OF DIGITAL TOOLS IN TEACHING LANGUAGES FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES
Abstract
Several factors have affected higher education during the last few decades across the globe, as a consequence of which, teachers nowadays are facing unprecedented changes and challenges of the 21st century. Due to fast developments in technology, digital competences are of major importance today for both students and teachers. Many language teachers as well as teachers of languages for specific purposes are therefore constantly faced with the question of shall we or shall we not let digital technology into our teaching activity. There are pros and cons to integrating online Web2 technology into the curriculum, just as there to teaching with the traditional methods of offline materials, books and exercise books. Both options have their own advantages and disadvantages, however, the number of those, who focus more on how we should use digital technology in class, instead of whether we should use it at all, is on the rise. Digital tools can be used to our advantage when teaching, nevertheless, this is not an easy task as new digital resources and various apps reach us almost on a daily basis. Which one to select and implement in class that suits the students’ needs and provides authentic materials for classes of languages for specific purposes, which at the same time, will not quickly seem outdated or disappear, is a constant challenge we have to face. The aim of this paper is to investigate the notion of digital education, including digital classrooms, digital students and digital teachers as well as the teaching methods of the 21st century pertaining to language classes, especially focusing on language classes for specific purposes. In authors’ understanding, digital tools can be used as a potential source of stimulation from which to launch into interactive communication keeping a healthy balance between the sensory and the digital resources. Numerous educational digital tools emerge every day, which require special skills, knowledge and competence, therefore teaching with or without them cannot and should not be imposed on language teachers, instead, this decision should lie exclusively in their hands
