Effectiveness of face-to-face language classes over online ones.

 


Is it important to change the way in which a language is taught? In recent years, technology has become a great tool in education, many students make use of it for their duties in schools and learning a second language through it, it is not the exception. With the popularity of the internet, new alternatives to learn have emerged. It is important to know that a complex goal as learning a language, has a lot of requirements that the internet does not provide efficiency to the students. Although the learning process can be very beneficial through technology, there are different aspects of why it should not be considered as a complete process. Therefore, why face-to-face classes are not only the most effective way to learn currently but also the most viable way for other important aspects of students?.

First of all, one of the biggest problems of learning online is the little motivation that students usually have in this way. This is one of the points written by Sethughes, author of the article “Why traditional classroom is learning is better than online courses“ The author says that: “Motivation in one of the most important aspects in a personal goal and at the time to learn in this case a second language which is really essential. Being able to ask questions, generate debates and discussions in class, study different aspects of languages with different teachers and classmates is something that motivates students to learn in an effective way because each teacher has a unique way of teaching and it makes that students develop their own opinions by their own media. In addition, it helps students to be heard and their ideas will be shared or discussed by the teacher and classmates“(Sethughes, Owlcation, 2012)  Taking into account that the motivation of each student is different since there are more determined people than others it is important to highlight that being under a work rhythm that a class can offer is the best way to maintain motivation and the commitment to be able to learn a second language in this case.


Face to Face learning process is essential for understanding different aspects of a language. According to an investigation made up by Nenagh Kemp and Rachel Grieve about face to face vs online classes, they argue that: “Students could find some important complex topics in their learning process. For instance, all the branches of linguistics (morphology, syntax, phonetics, morphosyntax, phonology, semantics, and pragmatics) in which if the students want to learn these topics. They could develop better skills like communication and a great performance in their second language. On the other hand, for these and some other aspects, it is always important to have the supervision of a teacher, it is more appropriate to have a teacher for learning complex concepts as were mentioned before. Also, face-to-face classes help students to improve speech, in which they must be able to improvise and the teacher must be there to correct them immediately to be able to pay attention that mistakes in students do not grow. Classroom classes make exceptional students that promptly are going to be professionals in high quality“.(Grieve, PMC frontiers in psychology, 2014) Although we can find a lot of information on any subject, in any learning process there are always doubts, mistakes, and obstacles that having teachers and classmates will make this process of solving doubts something better for learning.

Now, an important point that many people take into account at the time to take online classes, is the convenience of working directly from home in a comfortable place without long trips to the classroom. If it is well known that attending class is sometimes very difficult for many people, it is a necessary effort for the academic training of students. According to the article exposed by Juan Armando Cobin in which he talks about the advantages and disadvantages of online classes, in one of its points, he argues that: “The practical learning is really useful for the students, who can test their skills and also, perfect their knowledge. Studying from home can cause less experiential learning, so you may not benefit from this type of teaching” (Cobin, 2017) Although learning at home is a great complement to learning, the efficiency of being surrounded and immersed in a second language learning environment and oriented, is much more favorable.


In conclusion, it can be said that technology is still a very important tool and above all, a very useful way to complement our learning. Over time, education will be affected imminently by this media but taking into account some different points of view, there are reasons as the ones previously presented and many others to believe that the face to face classes are still the best options for students nowadays. There are aspects that technology can not cover and most of them are fundamental in education, mostly when we want to learn a second language.

References

Sethughes. (2012, November 08). owlcation. Retrieved from https://owlcation.com/academia/Why-Traditional-Classroom-Learning-is-Better-than-Online-Courses

Cobin, J. A. (2017, October 15 ). Psicologia y mente. Retrieved from https://psicologiaymente.net/desarrollo/ventajas-desventajas-estudiar-desde-casa

Grieve, N. K. (2014, NOVEMBER 12). PMC frontiers in psychology. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4228829/

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