Sophisticated in Language Learning

This is the third week I learnt Technology of Language Teaching (TLL). We learnt about MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning) and CALL. Actually, now education is more sophisticated than before. MALL and CALL are some of the new evolutions in technology for education. Example of CALL is glogster. In glogster we can put video, photo, and text that related to language learning. We must make the content become interested, accurate, and comprehensible. Beside it, we must make a good visual design and make multimedia with high quality. I think it would be fun to learn by using glogster and it can help me to explore my creativity. Then the other is about MALL.

Based on my lectures explained before, that MALL uses technologies such as cell phone, PDAs, and iPods. Based on an article that I have read before, each technology has some benefit. The first is benefit from cell phone. The teacher can use SMS to sending vocabulary word, idiom, definition about something that relate to language learning, can sending vocabulary practice via email on cell phone, etc. The other example is if the teacher cannot come to the class because something happen, the teacher can contact the students. It can be easier to teacher and students to communicate each other. Because I think almost all of students in the world have cell phone.

The second is benefit from PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). The students can use PDAs as translation. Beside it, the students can use PDAs not only in the classroom but can use in the outside of classroom to do learning program, because PDAs can use wireless. If we compare PDAs with cell phone, the students can do chatting on PDAs, but in cannot do on cell phone.

The last is the benefit from iPods. I think iPods very support in language learning. It is because iPods have some application for language learning. In iPods there is downloadable language translation software or and electronic phrasebook. Many benefit that can we get from iPods, for example on the article students in Spanish used iPods to submit audio assignments, record audio journal, respond to verbal quizzes, etc. Especially now iPods has podcasting. It is combining between iPod and broadcasting.

All of the statements in above are evidence that now language learning is sophisticated. And then, it’s very interesting for me, because as a teacher candidate I think I must updating technological developments.