With the focus on language, communication, and culture in the national standards for foreign language learning, foreign language teachers are continually searching for better ways of accessing authentic materials and providing experiences that will improve their students' knowledge and skills in these target areas. As the Internet has transformed communication around the world, it is natural that it should play a major role in the foreign language classroom (and, certainly, in the English language classroom as a part of the whole) .
The instant worldwide connections enabled through the Internet have changed the way people everywhere think about communication, information, and doing business. Although Internet applications are really just computer programs that know how to use the Internet to interact, we view them as an extension of the world that we live in, an extension that brings the world to our fingertips. We can share all sorts of things with the world, get authentic materials from anywhere, and interact with people in distant locations as never before. How can Internet software enhance the classroom experience? In addition to the original Internet applications, the wide range of features and media (text, image, sound, video, multimedia) supported by the current manifold of Internet programs makes them powerful additions to the foreign language teacher's repertoire. There are a huge number of Internet applications that can be used to enrich the foreign language classroom, but I want to highlight several. The majority of them are well-known applications, but they are in constant use even now because of the effectiveness.
Electronic Mail
Email was in use before the Internet as we know it today even existed and is still the most commonly used Internet application. Foreign language teachers can integrate email-based activities into their curriculum. For example, international projects that enable students to correspond with native speakers of the target language are easily implemented where participants have the necessary access, equipment, and foreign contacts. The infrastructure requirements for email are minimal, making it the most available of all Internet tools. Distance learning is another curricular area where email is being used. Today's email software can handle text in a wide variety of languages, can transmit diacritics, and can include word processed files as attachments. The software also allows us send sound and images as attachments that enhance the context of the written communication.
And now some words about electronic groups. Electronic discussion groups or "lists" use email to provide a forum where people of similar interests can participate in a professional dialog and share resources. Hundreds of lists of interest to language teachers are available on the Internet. Some are service lists, such as LLTI (Language Learning Technology International Discussion Forum), which distributes information about all aspects of the technology used in language teaching; and IECC (Intercultural E-Mail Classroom Connections, K–12), which provides a service for teachers seeking partner classrooms for international and cross-cultural electronic mail exchanges. Others are language specific and address specific and diverse topics. FLTEACH (Foreign Language Teaching Forum) is a list that cuts across language lines to discuss methodology, instructional innovation, professional articulation, and enhanced student learning, among other topics. Participation in electronic discussion lists can be a useful tool for professional development, particularly for educators who are isolated geographically or within their districts from other teachers of the same language.
World Wide Web
The Web browser, usually Internet Explorer, as it is well-known, is the window through which most people view the Internet. Thanks to its flexibility and integration of other services, the Web represents the broadest and most powerful Internet application, pulling many others in under its umbrella. It has two main defining elements. The hypertext link allows anything on one page to link to any other page in the world, and the ability to combine objects of many different types makes the Web page an excellent format for mixed media. The multimedia nature of the Web and the use of the Web page as an interface to other services have greatly expanded the power of the Internet by making it possible to display information using a combination of formats. This is essential for the delivery of authentic materials, including texts; images; sound recordings; video clips; virtual reality worlds; and dynamic, interactive presentations. All this can allow the student to work in interesting ways with the authentic materials found on the page.
Streaming Audio and Video
One way of connecting students with native speakers and authentic materials is by using the technologies of streaming audio and video, which virtually transport the target language environment to the second language classroom without waiting for huge files to download. Students can listen to live radio stations from around the world or hear pre-recorded broadcasts of music, news, sports, and weather. They may watch the nightly news from France or live TV from Chile transmitted to their computer in real-time. This technology keeps getting better thanks to faster computers and better Internet connections. Remote Access to Libraries and Databases
Many library catalogs, bibliographic resources, and other types of databases are available on the Internet through a Web browser. Many of these used to be housed in closed systems or on CDs, but more and more are now Internet accessible.
Chat, Audio and Video Conferencing, Messaging
While much of the Internet is about the presentation of information, instant communication with other individuals allows an interpersonal exchange with a friend around the corner or around the world. Such real-time communication takes place via several different types of chat, conferencing, and messaging programs.
Nowadays there are a lot of applications, which enable synchronous "conversation" among participants anywhere in the world. Users enter a channel and "talk" by typing messages to all of the other people on that channel; everything that is typed is seen instantly by everyone. Hundreds of channels exist, with names usually reflecting the topics and language discussed. Private closed channels can also be created for use in the classroom.
Audio and video conferencing programs are options for engaging foreign language students in voice conversation. Users can talk directly to their interlocutor and, using the proper hardware and software, can even see and be seen by the person they are addressing. These applications take a large amount of bandwidth and depend on a good modem connection; network traffic will also affect the results.
These programs facilitate quick communication by making a connection to an individual as easy as clicking on a name. These new technologies are already powerful and have the potential for tremendous impact on the ability of students to communicate directly with native speakers in target language environments.
Virtual classroom enabled by VoIP Technology
Virtual classroom enabled by VoIP Technology is a new type of online education method, which is computer and internet based. Unlike CD’s and downloadable programs, this new method is interactive, the teacher and students can talk to each other in real time, and they can even see each other through the internet if the network bandwidth is sufficient. It is made possible by so-called «Voice-over-IP technology» (VoIP). It allows teachers and students to interact with each other in a set up called Virtual Classroom from their homes, work places, or anywhere.
Unlike a physical classroom where the teacher and students are all in the same room, in a Virtual Classroom the teacher and the students are all sitting in front of their computers somewhere. They are able to listen and speak to each other using their computers and microphones through the internet. This is what we call a virtual classroom. It is actually very similar to a physical classroom, in that:
1. When one person speaks, the rest of the people in the room will be able to listen.
2. A student need to «raise hand» to request to speak, typically by clicking a button on the screen.
3. There will be a white board where the teacher can write down key words, sentences, and etc.
I consider the technology to be really innovative and useful for educational process.
Nowadays a huge amount of IT exists which make the educational process easier and better, providing the educators and the students with an immediate access to any kind of information and helping to communicate and to transmit the knowledge people, locating in different parts of the World.
