Using Web 2.0 tools in teaching English as a foreign language

Váradi, Krisztián (2024) Using Web 2.0 tools in teaching English as a foreign language. INNOVATE PEDAGOGY, 67 (1). pp. 255-260. ISSN 26636085

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Abstract

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in integrating technology into the process of foreign language teaching. The rapid development of the new wave of Information Technology (IT) and the Internet made these technologies really useful in the lives of people. Portable devices, such as smartphones and laptops, changed the field of language teaching. English is being considered as one of the most important foreign languages to speak, so it is understandable that the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) has undergone various improvements in the last decade. The importance of using technology in education is best shown through Web 2.0 technologies. The most useful Web 2.0 technologies include wikis, blogs, social networking sites, video sharing websites, online dictionaries, and nearly everything which is connected to the Internet and has an online nature. These technologies have many advantages that can help people to learn a new language. However, a major problem with these advantages is that they are not being recognised by many teachers. It is a well-known fact that a good teacher continuously develops his or her teaching strategies and adapts to the new methods to provide his or her pupils as much information as possible. Therefore, it would be one of the most important things to integrate Web technologies and electronical devices into the classroom, so pupils can learn in an interesting and self-centred environment. Teachers have to adapt to today’s technology-driven world and they cannot be afraid of changes. The Internet has some drawbacks, but it has much more advantages and is able to revolutionise foreign language learning. The aim of this study is to evaluate and validate the importance of Web technologies and the Internet in both teaching and learning English as a foreign language. Based on the findings, teachers need to adapt to the latest methods of foreign language teaching in order to enable their learners to perform better in the English lessons. Nearly all pupils use the Internet to communicate in English with foreign friends or to learn the language either consciously or unconsciously.

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