TECHNOLOGY and TEACHING

 To my colleagues...

Hello&Welcome to my first blog post!

I am Meglina Murrizi!

Today I want to share with you my first impressions about the subject we are having this semester, Technology in EFL. 

This is a new subject, but I am not unfamiliar with technology and the different forms it consists of.

  I have been using technology mostly for fun and for research about my assignments and I consider myself good enough at using it. For example, when Microsoft Teams was initially presented to us I was on track, but many of my colleagues had many problems using it because it seemed too complicated.  However, I have to admit that when the professor introduced us to the subject I was a little bit confused. 

Technology in EFL aims to develop our skills in integrating technology in teaching English. Therefore, I understand that it is more about presenting us with different apps or technology forms that we can use while we teach English.  This subject helps future teachers to become more aware of the role of technology in the classroom. 

There is no doubt that in western countries technology is already a pillar of teaching, but here in Albania, we are a bit far from that. Teachers in our country still follow those traditional forms of teaching and last year during the country's first lockdown many problems were encountered. Teachers and students had difficulties even in the utilisation of simple applications. Thus, I really hope this subject will give us some good basis for using technology in this context.  

Why is Technology Important in teaching? 

 Technology is a facilitating tool of education from which teachers and students get plenty of benefits. As language teachers, we need to learn how to take advantage of the technology and how to integrate it into our teaching skills. Computers, smartphones, tablets provide powerful opportunities to learn a foreign language. As the use of these tools is increasingly common among students, teachers need to equip themselves with today’s technology. On the internet are plenty of videos of native speakers, so it easy to hear the language in an authentic situation. For instance, pronunciation though the teacher is not a native speaker can be taught to learners with ease using a smartphone.  Besides, teachers can achieve great things in a short time with the help of new technology. The introduction of innovative technologies in the traditional educational process allows teachers and students to improve traditional forms and methods. If we introduce technology to our students we may get a great deal of satisfaction when they accomplish better.  

In a nutshell, technology highly contributes to the teaching and learning process. Technology should be utilized by teachers more than ever as the students in this century are somehow technology and internet addicts. Technological devices like computers and especially smartphones are parts of their daily lifestyle.  

So, let's see how this it's going to end.