Over the past decade the expression “the information age” appeared thanks to the power of the Internet. First email became popular and within a very short time span computers literally changed the way we do everything; from shopping to making friends. In a previous entry here I mentioned that I have 5 computers and 2 of them are on 24 hours a day. They have become my newpaper (yahoo news), telephone (skype), correspondence (yahoo mail / gmail / hotmail) and my shopping center (amazon / ebay) and so much more.
Most people would agree that computers have made their lives easier but in many ways we’re working harder today than ever before. People have come to expect instantaneous answers. Things that took days now take hours or even minutes. I find it unbelievable that we sent Neil Armstrong to the moon with a machine that is the equivalent of a pocket calculator today.
Change is happening so fast these days it’s almost impossible to keep up. However some things haven’t changed. Learning a language is one such example. Today while we may have more materials available (DVDs, websites, computer programs) to teach with the methods are the same. Studying requires effort, time and patience. And for the students reading this – homework.
Each week students at my classroom are asked to do any number of assignments. Some read a chapter in a book and give me a summary, others write up sentences using grammar structures and a few are asked to watch a TV show. It might be tough but over time it’s easy to see a student’s improvement and I’m so very proud of each of them.
While the world is changing at an alarming rate, it’s important to remember that dedication and effort are always required to achieve what we want.
Adrian
Adrian,
How true. Effort makes all the difference. I really enjoy the pictures in your posts. They are so descriptive. Your students are really lucky that you require them to work hard outside the class. It is very important. We want them to make steady improvement and to eventually reach the highest level possible so that they can really participate on a equal basis in discussions with native English speakers. They also must desire this, realize the importance and make the effort to achieve it. Then their success is assured.