Thanks to new technology, there are many more methods of available to second language learners today than in the past. However, I would agree that using the internet to self-study is the best for three reasons.
Firstly, self-education enables people to study at a time and place that is convenient for them, which means they are more likely to study on a regular basis. Although I acknowledge that for many people making commitment to a group class is the only way that they can motivate themselves to study, many students find that after the initial few weeks they start skipping class because the promise of regular attendance is too much. Online self-study, however, offers students full flexibility in their learning timetable and, as the key to learning a foreign language is regular study, they are, thus, more likely to succeed.
Another factor is the low cost of online study. Although it could be argued that students can also watch foreign TV programs or listen to music in other language for free, these materials are designed more for entertainment than language instruction. Many websites, however, offer high-level language learning content for free. I believe that this is particularly important for students at beginner level, who may just want to have a free taste of the language before they commit to a full paid course. Moreover, even courses that require a payment work out to be more cost-effective over time than other types of lessons.
Finally, self-study gives you full control over your learning because you are able to choose your own curriculum and decide how quickly to move through it. In contrast, in a classroom environment, you have to move at the pace of the whole group, which may be too fast or too slow for your needs. Moreover, although many argue that the biggest missing element in an online course is a teacher to guide your learning, I would say that most educators give only the same narrow range of content to all their students, rarely creating courses that are totally tailored to an individual student’s need. As a result, you benefit very little from having a real-life teacher rather than a virtual one in terms of guidance, but lose a lot in terms of control.
In short, I agree that computer-based self-study is the best way to acquire a second language as it allows students to study what they want, where they want, when they want and, as a result, they are much more likely to keep up a sustained learning effort.
Thanks to new technology, there are
many
more methods of available to second
language
learners
today
than in the past.
However
, I would
agree
that using the internet to self-study is the best for three reasons.
Firstly
, self-education enables
people
to
study
at a time and place
that is
convenient for them, which means they are more likely to
study
on a regular basis. Although I acknowledge that for
many
people
making commitment to a group
class
is the
only
way that they can motivate themselves to
study
,
many
students
find that after the initial few weeks they
start
skipping
class
because
the promise of regular attendance is too much. Online self-study,
however
, offers
students
full flexibility in their
learning
timetable and, as the key to
learning
a foreign
language
is regular
study
, they are,
thus
, more likely to succeed.
Another factor is the low cost of online
study
. Although it could
be argued
that
students
can
also
watch
foreign TV programs or listen to music in other
language
for free, these materials
are designed
more for entertainment than
language
instruction.
Many
websites,
however
, offer high-level
language
learning
content for free. I believe that this is
particularly
important
for
students
at beginner level, who may
just
want
to have a free taste of the
language
before
they commit to a full paid
course
.
Moreover
, even
courses
that require a payment work out to be more cost-effective over time than other types of lessons.
Finally
, self-study gives you full control over your
learning
because
you are able to choose your
own
curriculum and decide how
quickly
to
move
through it.
In contrast
, in a classroom environment, you
have to
move
at the pace of the whole group, which may be too
fast
or too slow for your needs.
Moreover
, although
many
argue that the biggest missing element in an online
course
is a teacher to guide your
learning
, I would say that most educators give
only
the same narrow range of content to all their
students
, rarely creating
courses
that are
totally
tailored to an individual
student’s
need.
As a result
, you benefit
very
little
from having a real-life teacher
rather
than a virtual one in terms of guidance,
but
lose a lot in terms of control.
In short, I
agree
that computer-based self-study is the best way to acquire a second
language
as it
allows
students
to
study
what they
want
, where they
want
, when they
want
and,
as a result
, they are much more likely to
keep
up a sustained
learning
effort.