Technology as a Method of Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages

Abstract

Technology is by far an inseparable tool to foreign language learning. Computer assistance language learning, (CALL) presented in the sixties was only the beginning of a new era in foreign language learning, to be ensued by information and communication technology (ICT) in the form of e-learning and the Internet in the recent decades. This paper aims at investigating how commonly is technology used in the foreign language classes in Albanian education system and what English language teachers (ELT) state about digitalisation effect in the learning environment and the students` performance according to personal experience. By using “ Eight Questions to Ask Yourself”, (Hockly N., 2011b) questionnaire adopted into test mode, comprising eight items to respond in a Likert scale, coded from 1-6, it resulted that the vast majority of ELT (91-95%) state that digitalization is time and effort effective and it facilitates the lesson presentation and is a crucial tool to enhance the foreign language environment. 42 % of ELT have a range of tools and repertoire of techniques to draw on and only 33 % design effective task types for the tool. They rely on internet application as a resource in foreign language classes. However they consider that technology is both stimulating and distracting to students, who are reportedly digital natives.